August 27 Milestones
After returning to the campground last evening, there were some threatening clouds building up in the west. We checked weather, and even though no rain had been predicted for yesterday, we got rained on for 20 minutes and now thunderstorms were predicted for the next hour or two. We quickly moved our tent to the raised covered stage and sure enough started seeing some lightning. So we were thankful to be under cover.
Today began with a series of 2 beeps right in a row every 5 to 10 minutes which started about 5:30. At first we thought that one of the other people in the campground were not turning off their alarm on their cell phone, or could it have been a nearby house where the battery was going bad on an alarm? We went to breakfast at Donges, the same place we had supper. One of a group of 4 on e-bikes were also camping came there too before the rest arrived. We found out that this man's 15-year-old grandson is diabetic and his alarm was going off because his sugar was too high or too low. He slept through the alarm but his dad would wake up and give him what he needed. We also found out the grandfather was disappointed as he had his grandson work in his body shop for the summer and he was not very motivated.
We rode about 12 miles to arrive at the Eastern Continental Divide between water flowing to the Atlantic or to the Mississippi.
A few miles farther we went through a very long tunnel, the Big Savage Tunnel built in 1911. A number of windmills were on the ridge above. After the tunnel the trail turned to angle down the ridge and there was a beautiful view of the valley below along the trail. All along the trail today we saw individuals and groups enjoying the trail, many at this overlook, including a group having a picnic. Soon after that we stopped at the Mason-Dixon line and crossed into Maryland. We had 2 more shorter tunnels on the Maryland side. At Frostburg, the town built a bicycle path using switchbacks up a steep slope so bicycles could ride up to their downtown area. From Frostburg, we were next to railroad tracks used by the Western Maryland Scenic Railroad. We had the fun of seeing the steam-engine-powered train passing us on its way up to Frostburg.
We coasted about 22 miles from the Continental Divide into Cumberland. During this part of the ride Kay's odometer which has recorded her mileage since shortly after acquiring her recumbent, turned to 10,000 miles!
In downtown Cumberland, the GAP trail ends and the C&O begins. There is a medallion in the pavement in front of the Western Maryland Train Station. Shortly beyond is the place where the canal used to connect to the juncture of Wills Creek and the North Branch of the Potomac via a set of guard locks.
We chatted with some cyclists and met one who is a Warm Showers host and invited us to stay at her home. So we have set up our tent in her backyard. She grew up in the Netherlands and came to the US at 10 years old when her father was transfered here. We have had a lot of fun sharing stories.
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