More Ohio & Erie Canal Towpath Adventures

We started our ride today at the Boston Store Visitor Center, which is the northern point we reached on our last ride. We had hoped to bike north and take the Scenic Railroad back south, but it only had two trips today, so we were too late for that.  We biked to Lock 39 at the northern end of the Cuyahoga Valley National Park and returned for a round trip of about 22 miles.

We learned a lot about life on the canal. One interesting exhibit discussed the lives of children who lived and worked on the boats. One game they played was "Clear the Decks"--the designated player tried to knock as many kids off the boat as possible!

At the end of the ride we stopped at the Trail Mix shop across from the Boston Store Visitor Center. The big attraction was that they advertised Mitchell's Ice Cream, which they sold in cups from a freezer case. We both had double chocolate chunk--yummy! Read more!

Cuyahoga Valley National Park

We went for a bike ride today along part of the Ohio & Erie Canal Towpath Trail. We parked at Botzum trailhead just north of Akron and rode north.

Most of the trail is crushed limestone, similar to the Katy Trail.

We stopped along the way to view the historical markers.

We rode under two freeways, I-80 and I-277. Even though the roadway is high overhead, the roar of traffic drowns out the peaceful sounds of birds and occasional frogs we enjoyed on the more remote parts of the trail.

We stopped at Boston Store Visitor Center, where we learned about the construction of canal boats.

After a picnic lunch, we headed back to our starting point. Any day except Monday we could have planned to bike further north and take the scenic railroad back to our trailhead. The train does not run on Mondays, but we might get a chance later in the week to explore more of the trail and ride the train. Read more!

Natural Beauty

We biked over to Lexington today. Along the way Ken spotted this Great Blue Heron fishing in the Clear Fork. Success! It caught a fish, and we got to watch it shaking its head around coaxing the meal down its throat.

We also spotted a couple of woodchucks scurrying into the woods, but they didn't pose for a photo! We did see another unusual sight--this one not exactly a natural beauty. As we approached a spot of dayglo orange ahead on the path, we realized that it was a man doing pushups crosswise on the path. He stood up when we got near, and we stopped to chat with him. He said that he runs the trail and does 500 pushups as part of his run. That boggles the mind. He is 44 and was hospitalized with pneumonia in January. He decided to work on getting healthier, and he went from 260 lbs. to 210 lbs. I guess running and pushups are good for your health!

After the bike ride we decided to visit the Wade Botanical Gardens. We went there in 2015 on our last trip to this area. The gardens are a part of the Wade & Gatton Nurseries, and they are a real labor of love--love for daylillies and hostas, that is. The owners have developed many varieties of hostas themselves. The gardens include over 2,300 varieties of Hostas and over 1,500 varieties of Daylilies along with other perennials, conifers, shade and ornamental trees, etc.

Here's an excerpt from the Ohio Magazine May 2012 issue (http://tinyurl.com/ybgwe9dw)

At Wade & Gatton, hostas rule. Van and Shirley Wade grow 2,500 varieties at their 84-year-old nursery, and busloads of hosta fans from around the world travel to what they call “hosta heaven.” They’re drawn to the Wades’ amazing collection of these easy-to-grow, shade-loving perennials known for their beautiful foliage in varying sizes, shapes and colors. You’ll find mini hostas with quarter-sized blue leaves, larger ones with ruffled chartreuse leaves and even giant varieties with 6-foot spans and bold variegated leaves. In fact, Van has introduced 100 hosta hybrids, including “Van Wade,” “Van Wade Blue” and 80 others.
Begin your tour outside the Wades’ 1880s Victorian home, then wander through the hillside and woodland gardens filled with this diverse species. Grab a clipboard and take notes of your favorites, then visit the hoop houses to purchase ones to take home. With so many options, it’s best to make selections as you go or you’ll lose track of where you’ve spotted something. Look for hosta “Liberty” — the 2012 Hosta of the Year. Besides hostas, you’ll find 1,500 varieties of daylilies along with other perennials, conifers and trees. Before you go, make sure you have a chance to meet Van to shake his hand or pose for a picture. (He’s known to include a free hosta with new visitors’ purchases.)
“They’re the friendship plant,” he says about hostas, which are easy to divide and share. “And there’s nothing more fun than giving somebody one unexpectedly with hopes they’ll reciprocate one day.”  

Read more!

20th Anniversary Ride

Today is our 20th anniversary. We used to celebrate by going back to the rose garden in Pasadena where we were married to share some champagne and wedding cake, which the bakery that made our original cake provided in a much smaller version for anniversaries.

We are nowhere near Pasadena, and we don't have any champagne, so to celebrate today we took a nice long bike ride on a lovely day for biking.

We rode to Bellville and to Lexington again, and then we continued on to the end of the trail in Mansfield at North Lake Park.

The Clear Fork River in Bellville

Lexington offers water for all--even the animals...

Mansfield students showing off their artistic abilities

Art beats out graffiti--at least here

In Mansfield we took surface streets to the Athens Greek Restaurant, where we enjoyed some interesting unfamiliar flavors. Everything was yummy, especially the baklava diamond for dessert!

At North Lake Park, the waterfowl seem to thrive.

Back at Bellville we stopped at the Dairy Belle for hot fudge sundaes.

Our total round trip was about 37 miles, very close to the length of the August ride on the Katy Trail. We are pleased to report that our legs held out fine (although we do have some saddle soreness....).

Along the way we saw lots of flowers and trees and several chipmunks dashing across the path. One nearly met an untimely end under my bike tire, but I braked and missed it by inches. Birds sang to us from all sides. We saw lots of robins and a couple of cardinals. Ken saw what was probably a woodchuck scurrying across the path. Yesterday we saw some deer.

Today was a wonderful day! Read more!

More Trail--on to Lexington

We were a bit more ambitious today. We rode to Lexington, for a round trip of about 21 miles.

Impressive farmhouse and barn

Another view of the Bellville bridge over Ohio 13

Bellville Railroad Depot

Bike Fix-It station at Bellville

Under a canopy of leaves

Lunch stop at the Lexington rest station Read more!

Our on the Trail

The Richland B & O Trail is part of the Rails to Trails project. It occupies part of the former B & O railbed from Butler, OH, to Mansfield, OH, a distance of about 18.5 miles. The trail runs right behind the campground, so it's easy to access.

Today we rode to Mile 0 in Butler and then rode to the restored depot in Bellville at about mile 5, so our round trip was only about ten miles (remember how tired we were from dancing....).

Bellville bridge across Ohio 13

Read more!

Back at River Trail Crossing

We left Fort Wayne this morning after four days of dancing with a great group of callers, some wonderful friends, and other friendly dancers. Great fun--but exhausting after 26 hours of dancing!

Now we're back at River Trail Crossing near Butler, OH. It's "Where the Clear Fork River and the B & O Bike Trail Cross." We were here in 2015, getting in shape for our bike and barge trip in France. This time we're planning to enjoy the trail and stay in shape for our 38-mile eclipse ride on the Katy Trail in August.

Site #19


Clear Fork of the Mohican River runs along the edge of the campground across the road from our site. Read more!

Summit Lake State Park

We are in the campground at Summit Lake State Park. It's northeast of Indianapolis. Some of the campsites are in the woods along the lakeshore, but we fit perfectly in this 100 foot pull through in an open area.

This trip we spent only two nights, but we'll be back in August for four nights on our way south. It's a very nice park and good for biking around. There's even a hard pack gravel trail you can bike. This will give us an opportunity to get our legs in condition for the 38-mile eclipse ride on the Katy Trail on August 21. Read more!

Dogwood Trail

We hiked today on the Dogwood Trail at Babler State Park. Like any hike around here, it has its ups and its downs--but nothing too steep. Mostly it winds for two miles through the woods. The plants change noticeably from the windward to the leeward side of the ridge it skirts.

A highlight of the trail was this year round spring and little waterfall.

Read more!

More Katy Trail

Today we headed east on the trail toward St. Charles. Our round trip was 29 miles, and we had the sore bottoms to prove it!

Greens Bottom Trailhead


A trail crosses this bridge over the Missouri south to Creve Coeur Lake Park

St. Charles Trailhead

First Capital of the State of Missouri

Model of a keelboat

Bike Stop Cafe

Frontier Park entrance

Lewis and Clark, and Lewis's dog Seaman, the only animal to complete the entire trip with the Corps of Discovery

MKT Caboose 109

Read more!