We attended our fifth Eastern Tandem Rally in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Bucolic rolling hills, sprawling battlefields peppered with cannons, historical markers and low trafficked roads made for beautiful rides.
The first ride of the weekend took us to the Mason-Dixon Line. The southern border of Pennsylvania makes up the largest part of the boundary between the north and the south. This is a bit of a simplification, but on this ride we went over the line into Maryland (one of three states on the “southern” side).
There was no Friday mass start and we did the 37-mile ride alone. We don’t mind riding by ourselves but one of the reasons we go to rallies is to ride with other tandems.
The ice cream social is one of my favorite traditions, and I’m happy to report that there was a wonderful social function where we had the opportunity to reconnect with some acquaintances and make some new friends.
Saturday morning was all sunshine and togetherness.
We rode with a variety of people and rested at the “most historic covered bridge” in Pennsylvania. Evidently, this title is good for tourism.
Ten more miles took us to our lunch stop at Hickory Bridge Farm (in Orrtanna, PA). We still had 18 miles to go after lunch which put us over 50 miles for the day. It wasn’t always the case, but these days that’s a long day on the bike for us!
Saturday concluded with a banquet dinner which I neglected to photograph.
Sunday morning was a yellow sunglasses kind of day. We made our own “mass start” with 8 other tandems. At the first climb the group split and we rode most of the 24 miles with Ross and Victoria – our riding companions from the PEI tour one year ago – and a few other bikes.
Up next, we have a two more rides (of special significance) before we conclude this trip. I’ll report on those in my next post.
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Eve and Roger's Cycling Adventures 
where ard chris and connie from? we know them from somewhere tandemy, but cannot remember which ride!
Sue: You were on the Adventures In Tandem Chile with Chris and Connie.
that’s what we thought! thanks!
AIT Trip? They travel to rallies, etc.
We briefly wondered who Mason and Dixon were at the rally.
From Wikipedia: The Mason–Dixon line is a demarcation line separating four U.S. states, constituting parts of the borders of Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware, and West Virginia. It was surveyed between 1763 and 1767 by Charles Mason and Jeremiah Dixon as part of the resolution of a border dispute involving Maryland, Pennsylvania, and Delaware in the colonial United States.
For some more incredibly detailed information, click here.