Category: Biking

Biking Team: Dave Miller, Rosie Miller

Date: Sunday, September 10, 2023

This fun bike tour began downtown at the Urbana Depot, a former Pennsylvania Train Station. We biked south on this rails-to-trails bike path that gave some shade but mainly had trees on one side and wildflowers on the other. The Simon Kenton Trail was an enjoyable flat path and we averaged 10 to 12 mph. I was taking an antibiotic and thought I might only be able to bike 3 or 4 miles, but my breathing settled down and I ended up biking 18 miles. We were both signed up to bike the 31-mile route, so I rested back at the depot and Rosie continued biking and finished at 30.5 miles. I enjoyed a hot veggie bowl with potatoes from a food truck while waiting for her. Nearby was a 1913 wooded box car used as a caboose during WWII.

Along the trail was a state historical marker signifying that President Abe Lincoln’s Funeral Train carrying his body back to Illinois stopped at that location in Urbana back in 1865. We met a family that had a bicycle built not for two but for five! Dad, mom and the three children all pedaled.

Biking Team: Dave Miller, Rosie Miller

Date: August 27, 2023

It was a beautiful day as we jumped onto the bike trail at Yellow Springs across from HaHa Pizza and bicycled north to Springfield. The first five or six miles the trail was shady thanks to the growth of trees on both sides and overhead. We passed corn fields and cow pastures while dodging many chipmunks that darted across the path. As we approached town, Rosie posed by a beautiful mural of the bike path heading into Springfield. Downtown we biked past Clark State University, old churches, historic buildings, and a large mural of the Gish Sisters who performed there back in the 1930’s. We turned around at 10 miles.  On the way back south, I stopped at Beatty Station Park and sat in a small replica railroad. Biking through Yellow Springs the streets were crowded with a few food trucks, vendors selling tie die t-shirts, and other local hippie clothing. Overall, we bicycled about 22 miles and had a fun day.

Biking Team: Dave Miller, Rosie Miller

Date: August 15, 2023

We enjoyed a ten-mile bike ride along the trail that dipped, ascended, or curved along the Olentangy River. Many places had tight, dangerous blind curves and Rosie was concerned about homeless people jumping out from under the overpasses. Due to trail construction we once detoured to the Harrison West Rail Trail. Biking north past the James Cancer Hospital, my second home, we passed the OSU Ohio Football Stadium, university dorms and education buildings. An approaching storm stopped us from pedaling another 5 miles north.

Biking Team: Dave Miller, Rosie Miller

Date: August 15, 2023

We biked south into downtown Columbus exiting the Olentangy Trail onto the Greenway Trail.  Here the Olentangy River joins the Scioto River to become wider and faster. Two white egrets were standing on rocks on the riverbank. We biked past Battelle Riverfront Park where we saw a unique Roadside Attraction – sculptures of mythical creatures such as a griffin and a unicorn. Across the river were the scenic COSI museum and the National Veterans Memorial and Museum. East of us is the Ohio Statehouse, the Ohio Supreme Court building and skyscrapers.  We continued to bike south as the greenway curved and followed the river. 

Biking Team: Dave Miller, Rosie Miller

Date: July 2, 2023

We began biking on the trail at Cedarville Community Park and headed east. This trail is 326 miles long from Cincinnati to Cleveland. This section of the trail was very flat with farmland on both sides. We saw many groundhogs which sat on the trail and were scurrying off when we approached. Ten miles later we arrived at the small town of South Charleston where I viewed a circa 1870 log cabin, the old train depot, and posed beside two old railroad cabooses. After biking two more miles east towards London, we turned around and biked back 12 miles to the truck. We bicycled 24 total miles on this hot summer day, but it was fun. 

Bike Team: Dave Miller, Rosie Miller, Jennifer Clark, Mike Clark

Date: August 29, 2023

We biked from the coast inland a bit on the Cross City Trail and across the intercoastal waterway bridge. We could see small boats beached at a sand bar partying.  On the sand bar was an artificial palm tree and a parking meter. We turned right and biked 1.1 mile on the Summer Rest Trail. Incredible long boat docks stretched across the low tide marshland to the waterway. The bike path then veered west into a winding, shady trail much needed on this very hot, humid day. Later we stopped at Motts Channel Seafood to admire the fresh fish taken right off the fishing boats.

Bike Team: Dave Miller, Rosie Miller, Jennifer Clark, Mike Clark

Date: August 29, 2023

Mike & Jennifer led us on a 12-mile bicycle trip around WB island. We biked north past Johnny Mercer Beach where we saw a sand sculpture honoring Jesus. Mike said that Jim Cantore from the weather channel always gives his weather reports from the end of this concrete bridge when a hurricane is about to hit. Father north we passed a beach house where Michael Jordan once lived. Lumina Avenue ended at the north end of WB where the scenery was beautiful – marsh land, sand, and a bird habitat.

We then biked back south eventually passing St. Therese Catholic Church (where we attended mass later) and came to Crystal Pier. At the pier we had lunch at the Oceanic, a seafood restaurant. I enjoyed watching the surfers and the men fishing. After lunch, we biked to the south end of WB where we saw the boats at the Coast Guard Station and a sandy, fenced off bird sanctuary. It was a fun bike ride. WB also has outstanding sunsets.

Biking Team: Dave Miller, Rosie Miller

Date: July 16, 2023

We tackled the section of the GMRRT from Tipp City north to Troy and back. After departing from Canal Lock Park in Tipp, a half mile later the trees on both sides of the trail created a canopy overhead providing cooling shade and blocked off the direct sun for about 5 miles. This was wonderful since it was 84 degrees. On the left side of the trail were railroad tracks and the remains of the Miami & Erie Canal.  On the right side for most of the way was the Great Miami River. A few miles north on the trail we came upon Canal Lock 14 and remnants of the canal tender’s house. Farther along the tree cover opened, and we eventually crossed a bridge over the Miami River and biked three more miles to downtown Troy. The county courthouse and Troy historical district were to our left across the river. We saw a small replica lighthouse in the distance. The lighthouse was next to The Boathouse, a restaurant located on the riverbank where we ate crab cakes and walleye for lunch. On the way back from Troy about four miles south we biked past the Waco Museum and flying field. Back at Tipp City in Canal Lock Park, I took photos of the remains of Canal Lock 15 (built between 1833-1837), the old mill where the canal tender’s office was located, and an old canal boat. It was a fun day as we biked 19.5 miles overall.

Biking Team: Dave Miller, Rosie Miller

Date: July 16, 2023

An interesting find off the Great Miami River Recreational Trail just north of Tipp. At the trailhead was a kiosk with information about this unique man plus a garden with flowers and crops. Beyond that, the one-mile trail was hard dirt only, wide enough for one bike or one hiker single file. It felt like a fun mountain bike trail. It snaked parallel to the Miami River with 15 stops with scenic overlooks. As for Roger Pressley, he had a love for nature and the outdoors. In his later years, he took three years to painstakingly make the trail all by hand for the benefit of the community.

Biking Team: Dave Miller, Rosie Miller

Date: May 7, 2023

After lunch at the famous The Spot restaurant in downtown Sidney, we needed another bike ride to work off our food. The trail wound through the park, mostly shaded with some open areas. The trail took us over two bridges with picturesque creeks, through a covered bridge, past ballfields, shelters, a community swimming pool, and many separate playgrounds. This was a very impressive large community park. The west end of the trail crossed another bridge, this time over the Great Miami River.