January 15th. Happy New Year. Been pretty cold here in NE Ohio. I have been relegated to my trainer in the basement for the most part, the past 6-8 weeks. Forecast was for temps to get to almost 50 so I made the decision to get outside and go for a substantial ride. I really wanted to see how my training is translating to the road, though I am not that fond of riding in sub 50’s.
I decided to head back to one of my favorite spots, the Ohio-to Erie Canal trail, a true gem of Ohio trails.
My launch point was at the Rockside Rd (in Valley View) trail head. I start my ride heading north towards the city. The trail is paved and spotted with several walkers, even though it is only 40 degrees at 11:00 AM. The Northern section takes you thru Cleveland’s industrial underbelly, past the steel yards and into the city.
North of the Tremont neighborhood (about the 4-5 mile marker), you have to make some choices on routes. I have never gone this far north, off trail before. The trail gets pretty “urban” at this point as you cross many bridges as I zig-zag thru the “Flats” in Cleveland.
I got to less than 1 miles from Lake Erie, but navigating was getting a little dicey and I still wanted to ride south as well so I made the flip, having rode about 10 miles, and headed south. As I make it back to my start point at the 11 mile marker, the trail turns to crushed limestone, canal on the left and the Cuyahoga River on the right. The trail is wet and “squishy.”
I am keeping a steady pace and cruise to the 27 mile marker just south of Boston Mills.
Based on the time of day and wanting to beat rush hour traffic, as well as limited daylight, I made the turn for home. The views of the locks along the trail never gets old.
Temperature never quite got to 50, but was an awesome day on the trail. Such diversity from urban city trail to a trip back in time along the canal. 55 miles in under 4 hours.
Looking forward to the spring. Keep on, keeping on….BikeOhio1000.
BikeOhio1000 