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Share the Road:
Annual Cycling Event September 8
 Once again, the country roads of Thurmont and the surrounding
countryside will be full of bicyclists from the Baltimore Bike Club as riders participate in the club’s Civil War Century ride on September 8, 2007. This year marks the seventh year
for this popular annual ride.
The cyclists come to this area to enjoy the beautiful scenery, the area’s diverse historical sites and quiet country roads — all of which are perfect
for cycling.
The Baltimore Bike Club’s Civil War Century Ride features a ride for every type of rider. Five rides, ranging from long and mountainous to short flat
all begin and end on Frederick Road in Thurmont across from the Thurmont Community Park.
The full Civil War Century ride is a 105 mile route that visits three Civil War battlefields (Antietam, Gettysburg and South Mountain) and offers
breathtaking mountain vistas along the way. This hilly ride has about 7,400 feet of climbing with four mountain climbs, but if you get tired, you can bail out at 66 miles, skipping
Gettysburg (and the last mountain climb) in favor of a scenic seven-mile descent back to the start/finish.
The Gettysburg Three-quarter Century of 77 miles is for those who want a more challenging ride to Gettysburg, but who don’t want to tackle the full
century. With about 6,400 feet of climbing, you’ll scale four mountains en route to the battlefield. If you get tired, don’t worry — you can avoid the last big climb and bail out at
the 38-mile point, cruising seven miles downhill back to the start/finish.
The Gettysburg Metric Century of 62 miles lets you get look at the mountains, not climb them, as you meander along pleasant country roads through the
lush rolling farmland of the Monocacy and Carroll Valleys to Gettysburg and back. As a bonus, you’ll see five covered bridges on this route.
The Gettysburg Half Century of 50 miles takes the easy route to Gettysburg, traveling along most of the same pleasant country roads as the metric
century, but skipping three of the covered bridges.
The shortest ride of the three, the Covered Bridge Quarter Century of 25 miles is a flat ride where you won’t visit any battlefields, but you will
get to cross three covered bridges that were used repeatedly by the troops of both sides in the Civil War.
Scenic View Orchards of Sabillasville is a sponsor of the event, providing fruit at all rest stops along the Civil War Century ride. The event is
also sponsored by REI and Woof Designs.
The ride is well-known in the cycling community for the scenic roadways and countysides along the five rides and ride organizers are grateful to the
community for sharing country roads with cyclists for this one day event. "We appreciate your patience on the road on the day of the event," said event coordinator Howard Rosenbaum.
The Civil War Century Ride is open to all riders. You need not be a member of the club to participate. the ride is open to the public. Registration
is $25 until August 27 and $30 up through the day of the event.
To receive a registration form or for more details about the ride, visit www.baltobikeclub.org. Registration and check-in for pre-registered riders
begins at 7:00 a.m.
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