Available NOW! Digital Maps for Bicycling Antietam
All Civil War Cycling digital (PDF) maps are packed with color maps, photographs, and historical touring tips. The C&O Canal Towpath maps provide extra bicycling details -- e.g., elevation data, GPS coordinates, and road descriptions -- to help you to choose the route that is right for you.
And as always, Civil War Cycling digital products do not require passwords or license keys.
I hope you enjoy riding these maps as much as I enjoyed making them.
Civil War Monitor Book Review (December 2019 Issue)
If you are thinking the same, then maybe it's time to start thinking about a bicycling adventure at Gettysburg National Military Park. Right now, too much of Pennsylvania is shut-down to plan a tour, but it is not too early to dream, read, and maybe even plan to plan.
Here is one place to start: Did you miss this book review in The Civil War Monitor magazine? THIBODEAU: Bicycling Gettysburg (2019).
I am grateful for the review. Happy cycling!
Civil War Times Book Review (October 2019 Issue)
"After following the book's Culp's Hill course on a balmy Saturday morning in May, I'm sold that there may be no better way to tour the battlefield than on two wheels. The opportunity to cruise past the landscape's open fields, rocky hills, and woodlots, while easily hopping on and off bike for frequent stops to read monuments or signage or to snap photographs, is incomparable. Anybody looking to do the same could only enhance their experience through the use of Thibodeau's informative battlefield guide."
Available NOW! Guidebook for bicycling Gettysburg
If you pre-ordered this one-and-only guidebook for cycling the Gettysburg battlefield, your book is probably already on its way. (Of course, that depends on the bookstore or online retailer that you selected).
Reviews
"The best ways to truly see a battlefield are by walking and biking. And biking a battlefield such as Gettysburg provides a rush like no other. Sue has produced a valuable book about how to ride that most hallowed Civil War ground. A definite keeper." ~ John Banks, journalist, blogger, author
"Three days in July 1863 changed America. Whether you are an experienced cyclist or just starting out, a serious historian or history buff, you will want to visit Gettysburg more than once. Make sure you take this guide along." ~ Ken Rich, Gettysburg history buff
"Quite fascinating, Bicycling Gettysburg National Military Park is a great, easy to read book for history buffs and rookie history learners alike. It is a pictorial book that also has detailed information about the Battle of Gettysburg. I am excited to use the maps and images on my next visit to Gettysburg." ~ SPC Kevin Kozlowski, U.S. Army veteran, American Studies graduate student
It is time to pre-order your Gettysburg guidebook on Amazon
Not a bicyclist? Not a problem! I wrote this book for visual learners who want a guidebook that focuses on broad historical themes and human interest stories. The book presents a history of the Battle of Gettysburg from the unique perspective of a cyclist, who is constantly scanning the park for landmarks to stay oriented. For recreational and experienced bicyclists, the book solves the puzzle of planning a trip.
Look for book excerpts and sample images!
In the meantime, you will find a series of articles on the publisher site, https://www.civilwarcycling.com/blog/. The articles provide brief excerpts and sample maps and photographs from the guidebook. I hope that you enjoy "On great fields something stays."
Holiday Sale! Get your Gettysburg maps for 2019
Bicycling is the best way to tour the Gettysburg battlefield. In fact, most people enjoy the experience so much that they have a hard time explaining why it's "best." It's probably a combination of things. It's fun to learn-by-doing. You get to decide what you will learn, and how, and when. Your body will thank you for the exercise. Perhaps most importantly, there is something very special about feeling the twists and turns of the landscape over which thousands of Americans fought. With a little help from park wayside exhibits (or portable educational materials), your body learns history and expects your mind to play catch-up.
But as much as I recommend bicycling Gettysburg as a way a fun and safe learn-by-doing activity, if you don't know Gettysburg like the back of your hand, then you need a touring map that is designed specifically for bicyclists. I learned that lesson the hard way. For a full explanation, please see "Biking the Gettysburg Battlefield – Not Just Any Map" (Civil War Cycling, October 9, 2018).
Purchase and download today. Sale ends December 31, 2018.
Available Now! PDF maps to bicycle Gettysburg
For more than thirty years, and over many dozens of visits, I toured Gettysburg National Military Park by bus, car, and foot. In 2012, I toured the battlefield on a bicycle for the first time. The experience of learning American history while exploring park land on a bicycle is hard to describe, but if I had to pick one word, it would be “exhilarating.”
And yet it took four years to work out the kinks in my self-directed, solo tours.
I created my own maps (and guidebook) because I could not find any maps that met my needs as a bicycling tourist.
I was frustrated by one-way roads, incomplete or inaccurate maps, and not knowing how best to avoid town traffic. At first, I did not know what equipment to pack, what clothes to wear, and where to find convenient access to water, portable toilets, and shade for picnics. I had to figure out on my own how best to sequence my visits to what monuments and within what general timeframe.
Coming Soon! Get your PDF maps to bicycle Gettysburg
To this day, the three day Battle of Gettysburg (July 1-3, 1863) produced the greatest loss of life in the history the Western Hemisphere. About 25 miles of park avenues wind through the fields, wood lots, and hills of Gettysburg National Military Park, which in over 6,000 acres, greets visitors with more than 3,000 monuments and markers -- all of which make Gettysburg, Pennsylvania home to the largest outdoor sculpture garden in the world.
Gettysburg's natural and physical landscape tells the story of the Battle of Gettysburg in a way that bicyclists are inclined to understand, because the lessons of history speak to our active minds and bodies through the experience of bicycling the battlefield.