SUNDAY, OCTOBER 26, 2008

"PILGRIMAGE TO PROSPECT PEAK," starting from SPRINGFIELD MIDDLE SCHOOL (NOT the high school), 334 Sunset Avenue, Williamsport, Maryland. **NOTE "LATE" MEETING TIME 8:00 a.m.** **Important note: The only store that we'll be passing before Berkeley Springs is a 7-11 at mile 3.9! Please have a good breakfast and bring enough snacks/fluids to carry you to lunch at mile 54.**

This new and VERY SCENIC ride is a variation on some other rides to Berkeley Springs that we've done in the past. The first 41 miles are identical to "A Quad State Ride" but, in fact, this is only a two-state ride. We won't venture into Virginia before lunch nor will we climb up Tollgate Ridge into Pennsylvania after leaving Hancock in the afternoon. What we WILL do is head straight into West Virginia leaving Williamsport, eventually hooking up with Dave Berning's old 300K route along River Road through Cherry Run and Sleepy Creek. Then we'll detour south on Potomac Road, with several attention-getting ups and downs, culminating in the steep climb up to Highland Ridge. From there the terrain moderates significantly as we continue south. After enjoying the ridge-line views for several miles, a turn north onto Winchester Grade will head us toward the spa/resort town of Berkeley Springs -- oh, and it's DOWNHILL into Berkeley Springs! The best part is yet to come, as we pass Berkeley Springs State Park -- http://www.berkeleyspringssp.com/ ) -- and then turn west to climb up to Prospect Peak. The legendery (and reportedly haunted) Berkeley Castle will be on our right as we begin the climb -- http://berkeleyspringscastle.org/cas...ngsCastle.html. It's about 3 miles up a winding road to Prospect Peak, but well worth the effort. Not only is there a breathtakingly beautiful view from the overlook on your right -- http://www.berkeleysprings.com/trail/gwtrail-9.html -- but on the left is the Panorama at the Peak restaurant, where we plan to have lunch! -- http://www.panoramaatthepeak.com/index.html

After lunch we'll enjoy the swooping descent back into Berkeley Springs, quickly catching our breaths before the grinding climb up to Horse Ridge (more fond memories of Dave Berning's old 300K brevet). The five miles along the ridge are delightful, the descent quick, and then we cross the Potomac River into historic Hancock, Maryland. If you're tired of all that climbing, you can finally relax, as for the next 10 miles we'll ride the FLAT Western Maryland Rail Trail east to the trailhead near Big Pool -- http://www.hancockmd.com/WMRT/info.html. You'll probably agree that 10 miles of flat/straight is more than enough. The last 25 miles through the rolling Cumberland Valley will provide welcome relief!