Bike the NCR Trail: Start at Southern Endpoint

**Check back to see if the date or start time has changed. This ride will be postponed (possibly replaced with another ride) if the chance of rain is above 49%, or wind speed or wind gusts are above 15 mph (per Accuweather) **

TRAIN OR BUS STOPS
Unknown

BIKE RENTAL/REPAIR
There is a rental shop across the road from the Paper Mill parking lot and one near Monkton Station. Pedago Bike Shop (near Monkton Station) has e-bikes.

PARKING ADDRESS
NCR Trail, Paper Mill Parking Lot
Paper Mill Rd, Ashland, MD 21030 · Ashland, MD

PARKING AND MEETUP SPOT
Park in the lot or side of the road, if needed. Meet us at the trailhead. After check-in, we’ll do an icebreaker question.

ABOUT THE TRAIL The NCR Trail (official name is Torrey C. Brown Trail) is nearly 20 miles long in Maryland. It continues into PA for another 20 miles. The trail is 10’ wide with a stone dust surface & it has mile markers along the whole length. It runs along the Gunpowder River, is fairly flat and is shaded by trees on both sides.

SKILL LEVEL: Beginners can enjoy this trail; it is wide and fairly flat compared to other bike trails that we use.

TYPE OF BIKE: Any kind of bike frame and tires. Due to the stone dust surface, hybrid tires are recommended but we’ve ridden with our road bikes several times and were fine. Ensure it is the correct frame size for your height so you can get maximum output. Participants are responsible for ensuring their bike tires, brakes, and chain are in good condition and they have a spare inner tube on hand. Organizers can try to help but aren't responsible for everyone's bike conditions.

PACE: It’s up to you. The event organizers average about 10-15 mph on flats. Note: The speed limit is 15 mph on paved trails. We make stops at tricky points on the trail and /or to regroup every 2-4 miles. Since paved trails can sometimes be crowded, we don’t have expectations of being able to go very fast.

· If you prefer a faster pace than the lead riders, you can make stops to wait for them to catch up.

· If you’re not sure what your avg. speed is, be prepared to return solo in case you don’t catch up to us at our stops.

THE PLAN Plan to arrive at 9:45 AM so you have time to find parking, get your bike, water bottles, your helmet on and check your tires. We'll do roll call and an icebreaker at 10:00 and then depart. If you're arriving late, leave a comment in the event comments and try to catch up with us at Monkton Station, where we take at least 10-minute break.

DISTANCE OPTIONS
Participants can choose to return at any point. These are just suggestions.

OPTION A: 13 miles total. Bike up to the Monkton Station, mile marker 7.2. It has restrooms, water, telephones, benches & picnic tables. The restored 1898 station serves as a museum, gift shop, & ranger station. Option to stop in at Monkton Hotel Cafe, across the parking lot, for cooling down, playing a table-top game, just relaxing, etc. Coffee, tea, bakery items and sandwiches.

OPTION B: ~22 miles miles total. After stopping at Monkton Station, continue up to Gnome Hill, near mile 11, for another break then bike back. Gnome Hill, a 10-foot-high hill with hundreds of garden gnome figurines to check out. There is usually a drink and snack station at Gnome Hill (with a cash collection jar) outside the homeowner’s fence.

OPTION C: 40 miles total. Same as above but continue north until you get to the PA border (~19.5 miles one way).

OPTION D: 43 miles total. Continue for 1.3 miles on the Heritage Rail Trail to the town of New Freedom for a rest stop in town before biking back. There are a couple of food options right off the trail.

OPTION E: Bike up to the endpoint in York, PA (27 miles from the PA border line). (There is a 16-mile train ride that runs on a limited schedule from New Freedom up to Brillhart Station (just south of York). $30 one-way, 1.5 hours. See Northern Central Railway for more info.

BATHROOMS Restrooms/Portables are at Paper Mill Rd (after the benches), Phoenix lot, Glencoe, Monkton Station (best option), White Hall, Bentley Springs, & Freeland.

RECOMMENDATIONS
Bring: Cash - if you want to use Gnome Hill's outdoor drink/snack shop. Water bottles, snacks, biking gloves, bike bell, bike lock, helmet visor, sunglasses, bike tube, pump, patch, first aid kit, mobile phone with nav app installed (e.g. Google maps, we use RidewithGPS). If you get leg cramps during or after a ride, take electrolytes before and during your ride (or add salt and magnesium to your water). A change of clothes for your ride home or a car seat cover to absorb sweat.
Clothing: Wear biking gloves and durable clothing so that if you do fall, your skin is protected. Avoid wearing all black, all dark grey, all dark brown, or all dark blue, which blends in with pavement, especially while riding through a shady segment. Consider wearing something light to help others notice you.

REQUIREMENTS
Participants must wear tightly secured helmets when on their bike.
Be proactive to avoid a fall/crash and minimize injury:
· Keep a distance between yourself and other bikers. If the biker ahead of you suddenly stops, you should be able to avoid hitting them.
· Don’t make stops on the trail. Pull over to the side and use hand gestures to let people know you’re slowing down to make a stop.
· Yelling out “Passing on your left” and/or ringing a bike bell as you approach people ahead of you, so they don’t inadvertently move in your line of travel.
· Slowing down to wait, rather than speeding up when trying to pass people at the same time walkers/bikers are approaching you from the opposite direction.
· Avoid potholes and debris and slow down when approaching bumps
· When approaching road crossings and iffy situations, triple-check before crossing and don’t let yourself be distracted by talking, etc.
· Ensure your helmet is tightly secured so that it won’t move if you hit the ground.

MEETUP POLICIES
Participants should understand that biking is an inherently dangerous activity, and an accident could happen at any time. Participation is at your own risk.
An RSVP of “Yes” to an event is your digital signature acknowledging that you have read, understood, and agree with Meetup’s and MD Rail Trail Biking’s policies, esp. section 6 “Release” and section 8.2 ” Limitation of Liability,” found at https://www.meetup.com/terms/
You should not hold the organizers, leaders, and other participants accountable for any injury that occurs during a meetup event.