Day 1 Sunday September 29 – 54.5 miles
We drove to Cincinnati in the early morning and met at the Little Miami Golf Center where we left our car for the duration of the bike ride. There, we met our guides, Heidi and TJ, and our fellow riders (2 guides and 12 of us riders in all). The journey will require riding our bicycles 40 – 61 miles every day. Each day’s breakfast will be followed with a brief ride description, and they guided using the “Ride with GPS” on our cell phones to follow the routes to each of the indicated rest stops, lunch, and evening hotel stops. One guide rides at the end of the group (sweeper) and the other goes ahead in the vehicle and is ready for us at intermediate snack and meal stops.
Day 1 starts with the Little Miami Scenic Trail, a tree-lined paved rail trail from Cincinnati to Xenia, Ohio – 54.5 miles. However, the remnants of Hurricane Helene has made its way into Ohio and the day’s ride is in the rain. Our first support stop is the Little Miami Riverview Park (12 mile mark) where there are chipmunks everywhere. Our second support stop is in South Lebanon (at 20.8 miles) which we arrived at by avoiding downed trees, and where we saw our first “albino” squirrel. Lunch is at the “Little River Bar” (at 35.9 miles) where hot pizzas and salad were much needed to warm us up from the chilly rain. After lunch, we rode to the first day’s end in Xenia, where there is an option to either shuttle 10 miles to the hotel in Yellow Springs or bike your way there. Some shuttled and some biked. The lodging for the night was in the very accommodating Mills Park Hotel. It is actually built in 2015, but is designed to look older, and is quaint with a lovely gift shop. After cleaning up, we met in the lobby and walked a short distance to Ye Old Tavern for German bar food and traditional entrees – all treated by the tour guides.
Day 2 Monday September 30 – 56.7 miles
Today’s ride from Xenia to Columbus is on a combination of trails: the Little Miami Scenic Trail, the Camp Chase Trail, and the Lower Scioto Greenway. Most of the trails are slightly downhill and we end in the center of downtown Columbus, the capital of Ohio.
Breakfast is provided at the hotel restaurant and consists of country eggs, meats, fruits, and bread. Our first Support Stop is at the Charleston Train Station (at 18.5 miles) with a lunch stop of salad and wraps in the town of London (at 28.8 miles). After lunch, we rode to a support stop at Camp Chase (at 42.3 miles), and then finished downtown at Hotel Leveque (which is very glamorous) (at 56.7 miles) and is one of the tallest buildings in Columbus – once the tallest building in Ohio. Our bikes are housed for the night in an empty second floor room. Tonight, dinner is on our own. At 6pm, we planned to walk to the nearest Subway but it was closed, as were 2 others near us, despite the signs on each saying that they were open until 7pm. Instead, we ate at O-H Pizza and Brew which is principally a carryout business. However, their hot pepperoni rolls and sub sandwiches are delightful. Back in our room at the hotel, there is a projector that beams the night sky of stars and constellations onto the ceiling for the night. In our dark room preparing to sleep, the stars look like glittering diamonds.
Day 3 Tuesday October 1 – 52.1 miles
After breakfast at the hotel restaurant, we climbed on our bicycles and rode through some of Columbus’ historic neighborhoods and various parks to the Genoa Multi-Use Trail passing through the Char-Mar Ridge Preserve. After a support stop at Cast Park (13.8 mile mark) we continued along the trail avoiding and climbing over downed trees, to lunch outside of the Big Walnut apparel shop (28.1 mile mark). Here we shop for Ohio-to-Erie Trail merchandise before continuing to our final support stop for the day at Memorial Park (38.7 mile mark). After a quick snack, we proceed to Mt. Vernon via the Ariel Foundation Park. At the park, a short distance outside of town, we climbed the Rastin Observation Tower which is 240 rotating steps around an old Pittsburgh Plate Glass factory smokestack to a wonderful view of the surrounding 250 acre park and lakes. There are views of scalped terraces, a glass river, the clock room and museum, and a tree of life reflection area.
After returning to ground level, we ride the final mile to the town of Mt. Vernon and The Grand Hotel. We parked the bikes in a meeting room and, since it was somewhat early, we took the time to stroll around town visiting the candy shop, and the City Dog Fountain. For dinner, we walked to Bickerdyke Table & Tap located on the bottom floor of the old Woodward Opera House.
Day 4 Wednesday October 2
After a breakfast buffet at the hotel, we are set to ride north to Millersburg and travel into Amish Country. The route begins on the Kokosing trail with gently rolling hills, and then continues to the Mohican Valley Trail which crosses the Mohican River via the famous wooden “Bridge of Dreams.” At 370 feet, it is the second longest covered bridge in Ohio (after the Smolen-Gulf Bridge) and the third longest covered bridge in the United States. Our first support stop is at Rotary Park (10.4 mile mark) where we see deer snacking along the trail. This is followed by lunch at Glenmont Park (27.2 mile mark) and an ice cream treat at the Killbuck Sweet Shop (35.7mile mark). We then join the Holmes County Trail and travel some quiet country roads that take us into Millersburg (42.5 mile mark) where we check into the Millersburg Hotel whose hallway walls are covered with antique quilts.
We parked bikes in the hotel quilting retreat room for the night and then strolled around the quiet and little town, visiting the local bookstore. Dinner tonight was on our own and we drank beer and ate brisket at the Millersburg Brewing Company.
Day 5 Thursday October 3
After a quick continental breakfast in the hotel’s parlor, we began the longest daily ride of the trip – 60.7 miles traveling through Amish country to Akron. Our first support stop is in Fredericksburg (11.0 mile mark) and it is an uphill climb to get there. From there, we travel through Amish Country to Jake’s Amish Furniture shop (22.3 mile mark) riding up and down the rolling hills that has us speeding to the lunch stop at Helena’s park (39.9 mile mark) where we all pitched-in to help with preparations. From lunch, we travel roads and trails, including the Holmes County Trail, Sippo Valley Trail, the Congressman Ralph Regula Towpath Trail, and the Ohio & Erie Towpath Trail. We take a quick water at the 49.7 mile mark before passing the Akron Rubbernecks Stadium, and finish the day at the Akron Courtyard Marriott, again parking our bikes in a hotel conference room. The downhills of the last half of the day’s ride made the route fast and enjoyable.
For dinner tonight, we walked to Lock-15 Brewing for our choice of food and our last dinner together. The highlight for many of us there at the Brewery is the famous “leg lamp” from the movie “A Christmas Story”.
Day 6 Friday October 4
Our last day of the ride starts with a breakfast buffet in the hotel conference room before riding through a chain of Metro Parks and the Cuyahoga Valley National Park past old canal locks, lockhouses, and aqueducts. Today’s route is mostly downhill to flat and the ride is relatively easy. We make quick stops at the Hunt Farm (10.6 mile mark) and the Ohio Erie Trailhead (25.3 mile mark), and then ride through some beautiful old neighborhoods and past the house where “A Christmas Story” was filmed before winding our way through Edgewater Park to the famed script “Cleveland” located on the waterfront of Lake Erie (41.9 mile mark).
Once there, we celebrated our accomplishment with numerous pictures and lunch before loading all the bikes on top the van. We dropped some people off at the airport and at a downtown hotel before the rest of us rode in the van back to Cincinnati to pick up our cars and travel home.
