Ohio to Erie Day 5 and 6

 Sorry for the delay… Thursday biking ran somewhat late and life got pretty hectic after I got home late Friday night. 

The last two days on the trail basically we biked on the towpath along what used to be the an active canal bringing  goods to Cleveland from southern Ohio. 

We left Millersburg early Thursday morning worried a bit about what the day would be like. Unfortunately it was not an easy start. For the most part we bike on old rail bed or the towpath both of which are nice and flat and easy cycling. Thursday we hit a stretch of trail that was on roads and through rolling hills. The hills definitely slowed us down a fair amount. A few rest breaks at the top of hills was greatly appreciated. When we finished the hill climb I was worried as we were coming up to a stretch that was mostly gravel. Surprisingly the gravel was smoother than the paved portions of the road. 

In Canal Fulton(the town name) we started seeing locks on the canal that reminded us of our ride on the C&O trail last year. The picture above is of a replica canal boat that they give rides on. 

They use horses here to pull the boat.(thus the sign warning) In times past they preferred mules. There was even a statue to commemorate the mules.

As we neared Akron we stopped for a break along Summit lake at a Nature Center that was having an event and graciously gave us some Chips and Salsa. Unfortunately the last two miles were up a fairly nasty hill which is not what you want at mile 68 and 69! 

Friday morning came and we started out biking through an area of Akron with lavish large old homes. Then enjoyably screaming downhill to the trail. Most of biking was through the Cuyahoga National Park.

The area seemed remote from the urban/suburban communities surrounding it. 

As we got to Cleveland there were several displays that honored the Manufacturing history of the town. The most interesting was a train car that could be filled with molten Iron that would keep the iron molten as the train car brought the iron to a new factory for processing. Supposedly still in use today.

We made great time along the way until we got to Cleveland and had to leave the trail. Who knew Cleveland was so hilly? I sure didn’t. Every time we thought we had climbed the last hill we seemed to start climbing again. At last we made it to the water shoreline for the front tire dip.

Paul’s Picture is coming

So for the trip we did the following mileage:

Sunday 32.5

Monday 61.3

Tuesday 66.5

Wednesday 75

Thursday 69.8

Friday 42.6

Total for the week 347.7

Final thoughts… The route is really a great ride. Overall easy cycling with a few exceptions. Very pretty ride. Adding one more day and cutting the mileage per day might have made life easier. Definitely a ride worth doing…possibly doing again.