As many of you know, I live in Catonsville, MD and have a BMW F650CS motorcycle. My college roomate and best friend, Buzz, lives in Wooster, OH and has a Honda 750 Nighthawk. (In fact, he’s the reason that I got back into motorcycling after a 35-year layoff, but that’s another story.) So, we decided to ride West and East, respectively, and meet roughly halfway at the Summit Inn outside of Uniontown, PA. After a great couple of days riding together, I found myself at the Summit Point Raceway–home to my 10 years of racing with the Sports Car Club of America.
About a year ago, a sprint car photographer acquaintance told me about the Eastern Motor Racing Museum in Pennsylvania. However, I didn’t catch its location, and it wasn’t until Road & Track magazine ran a story about the museum that I resolved to visit it. So, yesterday I rode from Catonsville, MD up through Westminster, Union Mills, Hanover, and York Springs to the museum. It was a gem!
On Sunday I rode up to the Eastern Motor Racing Museum near York Springs, PA. On the way, I decided to get in touch with my early car-racing roots, so I stopped by the Lincoln Speedway near Abbottstown, PA. I once autocrossed my MG here back in my college days.
On the way back from the museum on Latimore Valley Road, I ran across a junior version of Burnside’s Bridge –very similar architecture, but shorter and narrower, not as famous as the one at Antietam, but still in use! And, in the middle of nowhere, I even found the aptly named Tape Worm Road.
For your viewing pleasure, here are a few pictures from a ride that I took a couple of weekends ago. Weather was virtually perfect, there was minimal traffic, and there were lots of interesting and/or scenic things to see. Here are a smattering of them.
Yesterday, I tried “Ride 13” from the book Great Roads, Great Rides, which is a guide to scenic and interesting routes in the Mid-Atlantic area. This ride is entitled “Apple and Peach Orchards of South-Central Pennsylvania.” I didn’t actually see that many orchards, but the route winds through lots of PA state parks, mountains, and forests. Definitely scenic, and a lot of fun.
Two weeks ago, after all that rain, I went to see if there was any flooding–but I didn’t find much. I ended up in Cowans Gap State Park, near Mercersburg, PA, which was my boyhood vacation spot. If you haven’t ever been there, it’s well worth a visit. Very scenic, and free! I hadn’t been there for maybe 40 years and was pleased to see that it hadn’t changed a lot. (Looked a little smaller for some reason…)
Two weeks ago, after all that rain, I went to see if there was any flooding–but I didn’t find much. I ended up in Cowans Gap State Park, near Mercersburg, PA, which was my boyhood vacation spot. If you haven’t ever been there, it’s well worth a visit. Very scenic, and free! I hadn’t been there for maybe 40 years and was pleased to see that it hadn’t changed a lot. (Looked a little smaller for some reason…)
Today’s trip began with a visit to Bob’s BMW–to pick up my F650CS after its annual service and new tires. With suitable caution regarding the new tires (complete with stickers), I set off for western Montgomery County, Maryland, to finish off the “Map 2” rustic roads identified in the county guide–including another opportunity to ford a for-real stream.
