Grand Tour de Gettysburg 200k

POSTPONED TO SUNDAY, DECEMBER 7TH DUE TO ICY CONDITIONS.

Ride Report:

The start of the Grand Tour de Gettysburg is at the Woodbine McDonalds, but please park in the Park and Ride that is located in the same shopping center. The start at 7:00 am is 12 minutes before sunrise, and most riders will finish after dark, so we will have a bike inspection for lights and reflective gear. The finish of the ride is at Tony Locos restaurant in the same shopping center. If you follow the RWGPS, it should take you there.

Jack Nicholson, Bill Smith, and I set off on the checkout ride on a cool, but beautiful day, with temperature rising from 35F into the 50s. We had a great ride and hope the weather is as good on Dec 6. Note that there will be a Christmas Parade in Gettysburg on Dec 6. We have rerouted around the announced road closures, and hopefully any other parade effects will be minor.

You will first head northwest to Thurmont on moderately hilly terrain. There is about a mile of gravel on Old Bohn Rd., but it is smooth and should be fine with almost any tires. Thurmont, at mile 36, will be your first opportunity for resupply, and there are many choices including Roy Rogers, Highs, McDonalds, and a 7-Eleven.

After Thurmont, the route passes through the Roddy covered bridge and heads northeast toward Gettysburg in somewhat flatter terrain. It passes through Emmitsburg, but the only resupply options are well off route. After passing through the historic Sach’s covered bridge, you will arrive at the First Shot Marker and enter the battlefield portion of the ride at mile 60.7. The centerpiece of the route is a 21-mile tour through all three days of the battle, including most of the famous sites and a few less famous ones. We recommend that you read this battlefield guide to familiarize yourself with the interesting sites that you pass. It would also be useful to have the guide loaded on your phone. (The route no longer goes through the main square where Lincoln stayed due to the parade closure, but all other sites are still included.) The battlefield tour passes through the town of Gettysburg three times. On the second pass at mile 70.6 there is a 7-Eleven on the right where you turn left on Chambersburg St, followed by Ragged Edge Coffee House on the left after the turn. On the third pass at mile 80, there is a KFC and McDonalds as well as a number of sit-down options. We ate at the McDonalds.

On the return to Woodbine, there is another short gravel section, after which the best resupply option is the Subway in Taneytown at mile 101.8, which is a few hundred yards off route by staying on MD140 at the right turn to Trevanion Rd. After Taneytown, you will pass over Big Pipe Creek and then climb a steep ridge to Uniontown (which you know is along the Civil War Pipe Creek Line if you read the battlefield guide). The rest of the route after that is fairly hilly, but you will hopefully have Christmas lights to entertain you as you make your way back. After you cross the railroad tracks on Watersville Rd, you will have two more steep climbs and then a very nice 1.5 mile descent to the finish at Tony Locos.

This new brevet out of Woodbine takes a deep dive into Gettysburg. An extensive tour of the Gettysburg battlefield, with sites from all three days of the battle, including the first shot marker, McPherson’s Ridge, the railroad cut, Oak Hill (Eternal Light Peace Memorial), Barlow’s Knoll, Culp’s Hill, Cemetery Hill, Seminary Ridge with the Lutheran Seminary, the Peach Orchard, Little Round Top, Devil’s Den, the Wheatfield, Cemetery Ridge (the Angle), Benner’s Hill, and East Cavalry Field.

The ride starts at the High’s in Woodbine and finishes at Tony Loco’s in the same shopping center.