No trails today May 31

 It’s the last day of May and the last full day for us in Ohio.  Tomorrow we ride into West Virginia.  Todays ride was mercifully short, only 37 miles, but mercilessly hilly.  We had about 2600 feet of climbing over about 28 miles, with several 9 or 10 percent grades, and one that I walked up probably even steeper.  Today I was riding with my two friends with electric bikes, and Stan, who is about 115 lbs. of pure muscle.  (He rode 100 miles the day before yesterday “just because…”). They were very nice about waiting for me and taking extra breaks the last 15 miles.  Helicoptering over the Alleghenys would be very nice.

Here I am with Hope and Sharon, still looking chipper.

We must be getting near West Virginia.

In the groove May 30

 Why do we ride?  For days like this one.  We made an early start, knowing the afternoon would be hot.  The ride was only 37 miles, ten easy ones, then a fair amount of climbing, as we made our way to Massillon, an old steel producing town near Canton. Fortunately, the hills weren’t too long, and they came with some great downhills and nice rollers, where you have enough momentum from the downhill to roll right up the next hill.  And as I hope you can tell, the scenery along the way was lovely.  Add in a comfortable lunch in the breakfast room of tonight’s hotel, a peaceful afternoon, and a fine Mexican dinner, trading stories of other biking adventures, and it was one fine day.

About half the day’s ride was still in Amish country.  Hope took this photo of me pacing a horse and buggy.

I saw one, two, three, four and five horse teams in various fields along the way.  Hope also took this photo, after asking permission.  Since the Amish are somewhat reluctant about being photographed, I didn’t want to bring out my camera, too.

The big barrel-like green tank is holding oil pumped from the small oil well behind it.  I saw several of these contraptions but didn’t know what they were until Ken explained at dinner..

We have gone from butterweed to buttercups.

Massillon reportedly has a notable football history, commemorated on this mural.

Another mural in the downtown area, this one recognizing the role of the Ohio and Erie Canal in Massillon’s history.  We rode along a little of the old towpath today.  Massillon was once referred to as a port, even though it is almost 90 miles south of Lake Erie.

Ohio Amish Country May 29

 Yesterday’s blog title was supposed to be Easy Riding.  I guess East Riding is correct, although it sounds like a Canadian parliamentary district.

We rode 42 miles today, again mostly on great trails, in to Millersburg, Ohio.  Millersburg and the surrounding area are the Lancaster, PA, of Ohio, with a large Amish and Mennonite population.  We had great riding weather, and somewhere along the way, the terrain changed from the flat prairie to hills and valleys. One stretch of rail trail had about two miles of gentle uphill, one to two percent grade, and an even longer downhill.  After miles of flat riding, some ups and downs are a nice change.  

Our first trail was the Kokosing Gap Trail.  Note the bike wheels in the heart.

Scenes along a beautiful trip.  Can you find me under the big, old sycamore tree?

Parts of the trail allow horse and buggy as well as bikes.  We saw many more Amish and Mennonites on bikes, trikes, and electric bikes than in buggies.

I thought this courthouse was quite impressive. We are staying in a nearby hotel that was built in 1847.  It is a very nice change from the chain hotels like Comfort Inn that we most frequently frequent.

East Riding May 28

 Yesterday was a rainy day off in Columbus, Ohio.  We figured out city buses to ride to an REI, where Sharon and I bought new rain pants.  The inner lining of my 15 year old pair was flaking off, leaving a trail of goretex dandruff and not doing much to keep me dry.  If we get no more rain on the trip, we plan to take credit and bill the others for keeping them dry.

Today we started in a cool mist, but no rain, and we had nice sunshine by the end of the day.  We rode 46 miles, mostly on trails, to Mount Vernon, Ohio.  We had expected to have longer stretches on roads, but we met a local rider who advised us that more of the trail was open than we had expected.  

After two days of heavy rains, the creeks we riding along were more like rivers. 

We encountered this marvelous playground structure at a park near the trail. The kids are climbing a little wall and ropes inside the tower, then would come sliding down.

 

This stretch of trail wasn’t completed a week ago when our local guide had ridden out to it.  We did have to ride around yellow tape to get on and it felt a little sticky, but it was very rideable.

We had lunch at a park at the geographic center of the state.

Girders from an old Pittsburgh Plate Glass plant now an outdoor sculpture.

Mount Vernon features this whimsical fountain and a great custard stand. Hope wanted to take a picture of us eating our treats, but we pretty much polished them off before she came out. 

Riding in the rain May 26

 Knowing that the forecast was was not promising, we had agreed on trying to get on the road by 7:15 this morning.  It was not a good morning to sleep through my alarm and wake up at 6:52 am. Fortunately, I had organized well the previous evening, and my riding mates were not moving super fast.  I grabbed some breakfast, took my bags to the truck, and we rode out at 7:25!  

Once again, we were on a beautiful trail, and the first twenty miles were dry.  After our traditional 20 mile break, usually a banana and some carbs for me, we rode in quite steady rain.  At our lunch stop, mile 44 of a planned 66 mile ride into Columbus, everyone seemed quite happy that Ken and Nancy had figured out how to shuttle us in to out hotel without resorting to a UHaul.  

The only pictures today are in my head, lovely phlox along the trail, even in the rain, and a killdeer doing a great broken wing act hopping away from the trail.  I recognized the broken wing act, but didn’t remember that it was a killdeer until one of our bird watchers clued me in.

Cindy took this photo of the group waiting for out food at a Culver’s the other evening.  Culver’s is my favorite fast food restaurant.  They have real salads and excellent chocolate custard ice cream.  And they started in Wisconsin!

Into Ohio, no rain. May 25

 We crossed the state line into Ohio almost immediately after we left the hotel and rode 59 miles to Xenia, Ohio, anout 15 miles east of Dayton.  We had expected to ride in and out of rain all day, but we were lucky, took off rain gear after about 30 miles and we’re putting on sunscreen at lunch.  We don’t think we will be so lucky tomorrow.

It’s always fun to come on a covered bridge.

Dayton has a great network of bike trails, but they could use a few more ramps.  My bike is light, and I could get it up the steps quite easily, with Sharon boosting the rear tire. The e-bikes are much heavier, but Ken and Dave made it look easy.

Looking back across the Miami River at a nice mural.  Our trail went right in front of the mural; then we had to climb the stairs to get to the bridge.

Old mill and my favorite, a quilt square, on the building behind 

I don’t always eat ice cream.  We found a great cafe right off the trail, where I had this avocado toast.

Just a great day for riding May 24

 We rode most of the day’s 50 mile ride to Richmond, Indiana, on the Cardinal Greenway, a 62 mile long rail trail that cuts diagonally through Indiana.  We rode a short portion yesterday, and today got back on just a little further down and rode to the end, right on the Indiana Ohio border.  The trail is nationally recognized, well maintained, has many more picnic areas and bathrooms than most, and with a combination of long wooded stretches and peeks at small towns at trailheads, was a joy to ride.  Weather-wise, the day was perfect, which made the trail seem even nicer.

Mile marker along the way.  Wonder where the got all the big rocks.

Interesting bike racks

John,Cindy, and Hope relaxing at a trailhead. 

The trail is built on the old C&O rail line which operated until 1986.  Work on the trail began in 1993, and the trail just celebrated its 25th birthday.

 

                                                                                 

Wait a minute—now it’s cold. May 23

 I had to dig out gloves and extra vest that I had buried in my duffel, as the temperature was barely scraping 50 degrees, with a bit of wind on top this morning.  We rode 50 miles from Kokomo to Muncie, Indiana, mostly on country roads.  For the first 25 miles we had a strong crosswind which slows you down and is very noisy.  Then we turned south, and suddenly the wind was helpful.  Nothing like coming in with a nice tailwind to make you think positively about a ride.

This llama was definitely posing for us for at least three minutes.

We are still seeing mammoth grain silos, like this one in an otherwise sleepy little town where we stopped for lunch.

Sharon used her plant identification app to find out that this spiky flower is butterweed.  It is lovely, native, and toxic to animals.  It’s been a wet spring, which it likes, so we are seeing lots of it.

                          Nancy riding her recumbent down a trail decorated with butterweed.

I’m still working off yesterday’s ice cream extravaganza, but this sign was too good to pass up.

Back in the van again. May 21 and 22

 The forecast on Saturday was for thunderstorms and a possible tornado, so Nancy and Ken rented another  UHaul to schlep us in to Kokomo, Indiana.  The weather wasn’t as bad as predicted, but we probably wouldn’t have started riding until 11 am, a bit late for a 67 mile day.  I’m one of just two women riding a pedal bike and definitely the oldest pedal biker.  Four men who much stronger riders than I am pedal, and four people ride electric bikes. I’m used to being in the middle of the pack in terms of speed, and now I’m one of the slowest, so I was particularly grateful not to try a long ride with a very late start.

Today was a day off.  Some people went back and explored some of the trail we missed yesterday, and Sharon and I set off on foot to explore Kokomo.  I ended up at almost six miles of walking for the day!  One of my favorite parts of these trips is learning a bit about places that I’ve never visited.

This crazy building is a convenience store, built about 10 years ago with quite an assemblage of salvaged and recycled materials. 

Giant praying mantis on a street corner

We found lots of nice street art in downtown alleys, which looked to be illuminated at night.  Although everything was pretty quiet on a Sunday afternoon, the downtown area seems much more attractive than in many towns we see.

     Kokomo claims to be a town of firsts, including the first gasoline powered automobile.

We toured the Seiberling Mansion, built between 1889 and 1891 by the man who founded a glass factory here.  It was subsequently owned by George Kingston, a close friend of Henry Ford, whe developed the carburetor used in the Model T and also built a manufacturing plant in the city. Oh, yes, and it is claimed that he invented and manufactured the metal roller skates the you tightened with a key. Remember those?

                        I was fascinated by the round brick columns on the encircling porch.

I should have put my hand next to this ice cream to better show the size of the scoops.  Since the cafes and coffee houses were closed, I splurged on two scoops of ice cream for my lunch.  I couldn’t finish it!  The top scoop of black walnut is completely hiding the triple chocolate under it.