Dear Friends,
We're riding the "Four Presidents" RUSA Permanent on Saturday, starting from McDonald's in Shepherdstown, West Virginia at 07:00. It's a very challenging 209K route (130 miles), beginning by heading northwest through Bedington, Sleepy Creek and New Hope on its way to Berkeley Springs. Leaving Berkeley Springs, the route climbs up onto Horse Ridge and rides along the ridge for five miles before plunging down to the Potomac River, where it crosses into Hancock, Maryland. The route then climbs up Tollgate Ridge into Fulton County, Pennsylvania, continuing to head north through the villages of Dickeys Mountain and Big Cove Tannery, to a lunch stop in McConnellsburg. After lunch the route turns south as it climbs over Tuscarora Mountain, rewarding the rider at the top with spectacular views of many ridges to the west and followed by a delightful descent through the Buchanan State Forest into the Little Cove Valley. Continuing south back into Maryland, the route picks up the Western Maryland Rail Trail at Little Pool for a few (3½) flat(!) miles, and then follows US40 over Fairview Mountain into Clear Spring. At last the terrain mellows out as the route passes through Williamsport and Sharpsburg on its way back to Shepherdstown.
The ride name "Four Presidents" pays homage to four US Presidents who played a role in shaping the rich history of the countryside through which the route travels: George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, James Buchanan and Abraham Lincoln.
The scenery is truly spectacular and, in the words of Dr. deMento, "there's lots of downhill". Estimated elevation gain ~ 10,000 feet.
RUSA rules require that all riders be RUSA members and officially registered for the permanent. If you'd like to join us you'll need to contact me as soon as possible, preferably today but NO LATER THAN THURSDAY MORNING, to request registration and release forms. I'll then email those forms to you and you'll need to print them out, complete them, and email the registration form and SIGNED release form back to me by Friday morning. Then I'll email the control card and cue sheet to you and you'll need to print those out for yourselves. Please be sure that you've read and understand all the information regarding riding a RUSA permanent, available on the Permanents page of the RUSA website, www.rusa.org, before registering for the permanent. Note: If you haven't registered for the permanent, please do not show up at the ride start to "come along for the ride," as it's against RUSA rules for anyone who is not officially registered to ride with those riding the permanent.
We'd love to share the experience with you!
Crista
