We covered 62 more miles today. The landscapes were beautiful but difficult as 5 more Appalachian ridges needed to be surmounted. They were: 

• Martin's Mountain, near Flintstone, Maryland, 3.5 miles uphill (~1635 feet); 

• Polish Mountain, 1.5 miles uphill (~1800 feet ); 

• Green Ridge, within Green Ridge State Forest, in Allegany County, Maryland, 1 mile uphill (~1100 feet ); 

• Town Hill, 1 mile uphill (~1000 feet); and 

• Sideling Hill, 4 miles of uphill riding (~2300 feet).

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Leaving Frostburg, the descent of Savage Mountain continued nearly all the way to Cumberland. Route 40 through the Queen City was narrow and congested. 

It (Route 40) followed the path of what is now I-68, which didn't exist there in 1981. If you've ever driven I-68 through Cumberland, you know that there is a steep drop into the city that is followed by tight and narrow curves where the posted speed limit is very low for interstate highway standards (50 miles per hour). Route 40, back in '81 essentially followed that same road. 

We passed through Cumberland, without stopping, and immediately began the climb of Town Hill. It was shorter and didn't seem quite as difficult as some of the others, except for the increased traffic.

The next climb was Sideling Hill. 

In some ways, it is the grand daddy of hills in this sequence. Its geological strata pattern, exposed by the cut made for the highway, shows the unusual syncline or downward folded rock strata pattern that exists between two anticline or upward folded patterns. Today, there is an exhibit center and steps that lead up the face of the exposed rock, for a closer look. I don't believe any of that was there back in 1981. But the views from up there were tremendous, as you can see from the photos above.

After taking in the view from the top, there was a long descent from the Sideling Hill summit nearly all the way to Hancock and resembling our descent into Cumberland this morning. At Hancock, since US-40 joined with I-70, we were forced onto the Interstate Highway for several miles.

Side note: The C & O Canal and Towpath was in existence back then but nowhere near as well known or popular as it is today. We did not know it was there and nobody we spoke with mentioned it to us. Had we been alerted to its presence, I am not sure what condition it was in. As it turned out, we took the interstate and did not have any problems, except traffic noise.

Threatening signs on I-70 said that bicycles were not allowed but nobody stopped us while we rode on the wide shoulder. Since Paul was having a tough time during the last 3 miles to Indian Springs, we exited I-70 there and looked for a place to stop for the day. A KOA Campground qualified as a good spot to stop. We learned that John Marino, who broke the record (at that time) for crossing the country on a bicycle (11 days) camped here. I'll bet he too rode on I-70. We're in good company... but well behind his pace!

The destination for tomorrow is the home of some more of my relatives. This time, it is my maternal aunt, uncle, and their family. I had stayed with them during my ill-fated cross country attempt in 1978. They're great folks, with whom I am looking forward to catching up and spending some time.