Cycled all the way to Pennsylvania from Monkton, Maryland

I could finally strike off one of my resolutions this year when a bunch of Singaporeans cycled crossed the Maryland-Pennsylvania state line in New Freedom, PA on May 3 (Sat).

We started the day with a big American breakfast at Pete's Grille at Greenmount and 31st. I could not finished my third big hotcake, served with turkey ham and scrapple.

Then, we proceeded towards Monkton, located near the 8-mile marker of the Northern Central Railroad Trail since the bike rental shop at the beginning of the trail was closed.

We rented five bikes from a bike shop located at Monkton Village Center. We began cycling at 12.30pm. The scenery from the 8-mile marker was more picturesque than between the zero- and eight-mile markers. There was more open space with big houses on huge yards, equine farms with grazing horses and vast fields. Adding to the scenery was the meandering of The Gunpowder River along the trail, where one could hear the river gushing over boulders, forming rapids. Large boulders also dotted the trail. For those interested in bird watching, I could recognize cardinals, blue buntings and hawks, among other bird species sighted.

I stopped at a spot to investigate strange markings on some tree trunks after spotting a dam constructed from branches. I suspected it was the work of beavers since no human would build a small wooden dam in the middle of nowhere. Secondly, the trunks did not show sign of being chopped with an axe. We tried to look for the animal to no avail. Upon researching on beavers, they are mainly nocturnal.

We finally reached the state line around 3pm and I discovered that the trail actually continued for another 20 miles into York, PA.

Going to York would require another trip but for this trip, we cycled for about 25 miles in 4 hours.