The local human intelligence was spot on last night and we followed the given instructions to find a great site on the high ground with proper cover and concealment. Folker even ensured I kept proper noise discipline on the way into our site. He may have been in his element?

I slept on a nice slope and kept the rain and wind cover off to enjoy the views and nice breeze. I actually slid into my sleeping bag liner during the night, rare occurrence on this trip.

We exfiltrated well before sunrise and I may have jeopardized Folker’s night vision with my headlamp waiting on him to get down the hill. Oh well, he survived. We said our “see you laters” once on the road and I took off to enjoy the rolling hills of Maryland.

My first quick stop was at a bike and coffee shop that had not opened yet. However, they had a nice water source that I fully took advantage of by filling all my water bottles. Places like these are so wonderful to come upon while out on the road.

Later on down the road, I pass a man working hard in his yard and he asks me if I needed anything. Water? Food? A shower? A place to sleep? I immediately pedaled back to him and began a conversation with this super generous man.

Dave, originally from Ohio, has been cleaning his yard for the past few days due to a tornado that knocked down two of his trees on Tuesday. Ironically almost a year to the day, another tornado had knocked down a few of his other trees. He was happy this year to have only suffered some cosmetic damage to his house.

After his generosity was on full display, I explained to him how he reminded me of those unfortunate people from Eastern Kentucky that had lost everything during the horrific flash floods on my trip a couple years ago. These people, just like him, were more concerned with my well being than their own in their time of need. It really just shows you how humans can be so kind. Dave clearly made my day and put a smile on my face that lasted all day.

About half of today’s ride would be spent on a rail trail. It was such a beautiful ride leading up to the trails as the horse stables and farms in this area were breathtaking. I saw a fox for the first time on this trip, actually three of these magnificent creatures were encountered this morning along with numerous deer. The most deer I have seen in one single day as a matter of a fact. Maryland is truly a gem.

Within Maryland, the rail trail is known as the Northern Central Railroad Trail. This trail has a little bit of a concrete surface and a gradual gentle rail grade hill climb to the state line.

The Mason-Dixon Line crossing put me in Pennsylvania and I am now officially on the northern part of my adventure. Pennsylvania’s side of the trail is known as the Heritage Rail Trail.

New Freedom was where I made my first stop of the morning for a coffee and breakfast. A local turned me onto the New Freedom Roasting Company and it did not disappoint. I guided Folker to my location and it seemed he also enjoyed the refreshments and perhaps even the atmosphere.

I enjoyed watching all the Saturday morning cyclists, runners and walkers that passed by on the trail during my breakfast stop. As the morning progressed, more and more were obviously taking advantage of this scenic trail.

The remainder of the ride today was simply amazing as the gentle downhill and the crunching of the small gravel on this side of the trail was absolutely therapeutic. The charm of the towns with the old rail road stations was a treat this Saturday morning.

Riding on a rail trail in this part of the country is special as the railroads helped ensure our industrial revolution was so successful. America’s strength today is a direct result of the hard workers from this part of our beautiful country. I am so happy to be in Pennsylvania.

We will not be sleeping in the middle of nowhere tonight. We successfully made it to a private campground adjacent to the trail and I have a nice spot down by the creek. Lucky me!