In a word, hilly.
Maryland is far hillier than I expected. It started less than a mile after we left the hotel and really never stopped, aside from the seven miles going gently downhill on the Northern Central Railroad Trail that we picked up in Monkton. (The whole trail is about 20 miles and goes to the Pennsylvania state line, where it connects to the York County Heritage Trail for another 20 miles or so to York, PA. Oh, to connect the Schuylkill Trail to that via some existing trails and some new links.)
This is why I brought the road bike, even if it now desperately needs a clean from the rain on the trail.
Today’s mileage: 52 or so. We climbed more than 3,000 vertical feet. That’s a lot.
Two more things you should read: This article in the Annapolis paper (we head there tomorrow) and a fellow rider’s blog to get Jack’s take on the ride.