More photos from the Great Miami River Trail ride. There was an additional trail that did a loop around Piqua.
More photos from the north side of the Great Miami River Trail. Trail: Great Miami River Recreation Trail in Ohio Start: Taylorsville Metro Park Trailhead in Vandalia Route: Ride north to Piqua and back. Distance 62 miles round trip. Weather: Sunny. Temp: 50-70 degrees. Low Elev 775, Hi Elev 910. Feet Ascended: 960 Trail Material: Asphalt. Rating: TWO Thumbs Up. The wide variety of scenery is why I give this trail owned and maintained by Five Rivers MetroParks a TWO thumbs up. This is a trail that no doubt had to face many obstacles in order to connect it from one community to the next. Highlights of this trip: First noticeable thing about this trail was it did not appear to be a Rails-to-Trails route due to the curves and short hills. This trail is a patch work of paved paths through river bottom lands that have frequent flooding, next to roads, along farm fields, along power line easements, along sewer line easements, next to the historical Miami and Erie Canal, along a Golf Course, thru a prison propery and waste facility, across drainage streams, next to a retired Nuclear Power Plant, and more. There is plenty to see away from the trail in the nearby communities too. More photos from the Betsie Valley Trail ride. Rails to Trails: Betsie Valley Trail in Michigan Start: Beulah Trailhead & Visitors Center in Beulah. Route: Ride west to Frankfort and back. Distance 25 miles round trip. Weather: Sunny to Overcast. Temp: 60-70 degrees. Low Elev 580, Hi Elev 635. Feet Ascended: 300 Trail Material: Gravel/Sand/Limestone and Asphalt. Rating: TWO Thumbs Up. For some reason I thought the Betsie Valley Trail was all paved and was quickly disappointed to find a Limestone/Sand/Gravel type surface at the trailhead. Had even more apprehension about riding the trail when after a short distance on the trail the gravel got sandy and loose making it hard to ride on. Luckily there was a parallel road mere feet away. After about 3-4 miles when the trail turns away from Crystal Lake and headed southwest the trail surface becomes smooth asphalt. This is one flat trail on the portion I rode. The unpaved trail continues southeast from Beulah for many miles all the way to Mesick. Today was a short half day ride for I was planning to drive 450 miles to Ohio after the Betsie Trail ride. Highlights of this trip: For a short ride, there was plenty to see along this trail. The clear waters of Crystal Lake were beautiful. The swamps along Betsie River were interesting. Wildflowers were abundant all along the trail. The lakes and beaches were enticing. Bicycles were everywhere. There was a wide variety of scenery making this a TWO thumbs up type ride. More photos from the ride on the Petoskey area trails More photos taken along the LittleTraverse Wheelway trail Trails: Little Traverse Wheelway Trail, Charlevoix Township Bike Path and Petoskey to Mackinaw Trails in Michigan Start: Petoskey Bayfront Park Trailhead in Petoskey. Route: Ride west to Charlevoix and back, then East to Alanson and back, then northwest to Harbor Springs and back. Distance 82 miles round trip. Weather: Overcast to Sunny. Temp: 50-75 degrees. Low Elev 580, Hi Elev 730. Feet Ascended: 1800 Trail Material: Asphalt and some Concrete. Rating: TWO Thumbs Up. Note: Much of the ride was NOT on a true "Rails-to-Trail" route but rather on a paved bike trail with curves and a few hills. Hills can get steep if you get off the main trail to ride in some of the resort areas. I liked the trails because of the widely varying scenery, the beautiful views of Lake Michigan and some of the resort areas like Bay Harbor and Petoskey State Park. This was one bike ride I did not want to end. The day started off overcast but eventually cleared up to a bright sunny day. The Little Traverse Wheelway trail has a sign that says "NO TEAMING." In other words, Lycra Assholes that love to speed while drafting on the wheel of the rider in front of them are NOT welcome to ride on the trail. Remarkably, I saw none of those speeding bike Lycra Asshole groups. At the start of the ride I was pedaling into occasional clouds of flying insects. The insect clouds were so thick you dare not breath in through the mouth lest you inhale bugs and that did happen a couple of times. Luckily the bug clouds were localized to a small area along the trail and most of the trip was bug free. Trail wise, the asphalt on the trail was nice and smooth for the most part. The only issue was from East Petoskey to Harbor Springs when the trail became a narrow sidewalk along busy roads (Hwy 31 and 119) with lots of road crossings. Most of the road crossings had curb bumps that put a world of hurt on the ass. Highlights of this trip: Clear waters of Lake Michigan, wildflowers, garden flower plantings, resorts, lighthouses, animals, number of bikes, friendly people and much more. Awesome area to ride. Trails: North Western Trail (aka Petoskey to Mackinaw Trail) and the North Central State Trail in Michigan Start: From a Motel in Mackinaw. Route: Ride around Mackinaw then ride some of the North Western Trail south and back and then ride some of the North Central Trail east and back. Distance: 28 miles round trip. Weather: Mostly Sunny. Temp: 50-70 degrees. Low Elev 600, Hi Elev 730. Feet Ascended: 330 Trail Material: Mostly Crushed Limestone except for asphalt on the trail in the City of Mackinaw. Rating: Thumbs Down on both trails. The thumbs down rating is because the North Western Trail was "Closed." Despite the closure I rode about 2-3 miles on it and found the straight trail boring due to lack of trail scenery. Not much to see. The North Central Trail was like riding in a tunnel of tree cover. Despite the appearance on the map that the North Central Trail runs along Lake Huron, the lake could not be seen from the trail at all on the 6 or so miles I rode on it. Really dense overhead canopy trails with very little change in scenery bore me. I was really disappointed with these two trails after high expectations. Highlights of this trip: Riding around the City of Mackinaw (Tourist Trap). The blue waters of Lake Huron / Lake Michigan were beautiful. The presence of vibrant Christmas Tree smell on the North Central Trail. It was interesting to see so many tourists carrying bicycles with them. Mobile certainly overlooks the value of bicycles when it comes to tourism. Because I cut the ride short on the Fox River Trail due to burning ammonia smell, it allowed time to ride over to Lambeau Field. Here are some photos taken off the trails. |
BicycleMode of transportation 25x more efficient than a car. Law SuitsCities are liable for citizen injuries when it comes to road grates, pot holes, and substandard roads.
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