Did you ever have one of those half century rides that didn’t feel like a half century ride? We did today.
Maybe it was because of the clear, cool crisp weather. Maybe it was the high quality of Ohio’s trail system.
Not to mention our excellent urban adventure. But more on that later.
This is us leaving Mt. Vernon for Columbus. Notice the steely-eyed resolve on my face. Or you would if I weren’t wearing sunglasses.
This is a reminder of what we were leaving behind us in Mt. Vernon. Listen, they don’t call it the Florence of Ohio for nothing.
This is our cast of characters. Top left: Joe. Bottom left: Bruce. Center: Walt. Far right: me.
Left: Rosie, the brains of our operation. Right: Bruce and Joe, not the brains of our operation.
Oh, I wanted to mention this.
On our way out of Mt. Vernon we saw maybe the most amazing repurposing project ever.
They took an old abandoned glassmaking factory and turned it into a 250-acre park complete with a convention center (top left) a smokestack turned observation platform (right) and whatever the hell those things are on the bottom left. Very cool.
Somewhere along the way we reached the high point of the Heart of Ohio Trail. The elevation and thin air made this Floridian positively dizzy.
Listen, I wish I could tell you that we really did create our own path. But the truth is that Ohio was way ahead of us. The extent and quality of the trails we have ridden thus far (and we’re only about halfway across the state) have been superb.
Columbus alone has more than 62 miles of trail.
Adventures in cycling:
Top right: Walt stops halfway up an uphill climb and realizes that doing so was a tactical error.
Bottom right: We discovered a bridge was out of commission and were forced to, well, portage around it. This is Bruce and Joe pushing Joe’s e-bike (which weighs as much as one of those Budweiser horses) up the final hill.
I would have helped but I had to take the photo.
Left: In which we flirt with death by boldly riding alongside I-70 with only a flimsy chain link fence between us and a horde of lead-footed morons.
This is the Alum Creek Trail. Which is a sweet, heavily wooded corridor that runs into the heart of Columbus. Very often we could hear the roar of traffic while seeing nothing but trees and gently flowing water.
Which brings us to our excellent urban adventure.
While we often were obliged to cross busy intersections, there was almost always a handy trail waiting just on the other side to take us away from the constant flow of traffic.
For the most part, Columbus has made cycling, walking or running through the heart of a city a piece of cake. And for a while threading the needle through this urban jungle was exhilarating.
Alas, things began to break down as we neared the city center. At one point a cycleway that was supposed to take us closer to the river had been torn up for more than a mile (since March as a matter of fact) forcing us to share the road with altogether too many cars for comfort.
The good news is that we rode right by Ohio State’s medical center. So if something bad had happened….
Bottom line: We decided to end our long day’s journey into urbanity three miles short and call for the SAGs when we got to the Columbus Convention Center.
Such is life.
But listen! Tomorrow’s another day. Xenia or bust.
FreeGNV 