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Car Less Ohio
Promoting the bicycling lifestyle in The Buckeye State
Bike to the ‘Burgh
Posted by on July 4, 2005
During the Independence Day weekend of 2005, my friend Ray and I bicycled from my place east of Cleveland to Pittsburgh and back. The trip down was 151 miles; by eliminating a few wrong turns, the return trip was 143 miles.
Our trip mostly followed the route known as the Cleveland-Pittsburgh Connector, which joins the Adventure Cycling Association’s Northern Tier Route with the Great Allegheny Passage.
Thanks to my friends Henry and Emma for putting us up (and putting up with us) for the couple of days of our stay.
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- Mile 1 – the Bainbridge Diner
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- The Headwaters Trail, Portage County, Ohio
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- Newton Falls, Ohio
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- National Shrine of Our Lady of Lebanon, North Jackson, Ohio
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- National Shrine of Our Lady of Lebanon, North Jackson, Ohio
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- National Shrine of Our Lady of Lebanon, North Jackson, Ohio
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- Mill Creek MetroParks Bikeway, Canfield, Ohio
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- North Lima, Ohio
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- Entering Pennsylvania
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- Washington’s Landing, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
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- Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania from Mt. Washington
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- Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania from Mt. Washington
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- Henry and Olivia
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- Back into Ohio
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- Ray at the state line
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- Ray at mile 143
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- Home at last
Tour de Bubba – Day 3
Posted by on December 5, 2004
Bruce and I headed to the Appalachian Mountains of Northern Georgia to ride the “Three Gap Fifty,” which is half of a local club ride known as the Six Gap Century. Our ride was only 38 miles, but included over 5,000 vertical feet of climbing over the three gaps. The vintage Cannondale touring bike that I borrowed from Bruce made the climbs a little tougher than usual for me, but the miles of fast, twisty descents were worth the effort. Two of the gaps had been part of this year’s Tour of Georgia, which was won by Lance Armstrong not long before his record-setting sixth Tour de France victory. There were still many signs spray-painted on the asphalt by fans.
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- At the summit of Neel Gap
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- Near the start of the Wolf Pen Gap climb
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- At the summit of Woody Gap
Tour de Bubba – Day 2
Posted by on December 4, 2004
The return trip from Newnan to Alpharetta, Georgia.
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- Kevin, Bruce, and Robert
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- Roscoe Deer Processing
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- Bruce on the MARTA train
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- Kevin on the MARTA train
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- Stephanie, Kevin, Robert, Katherine, Gary, and Bruce at Murphy’s in the Viriginia Highlands neighborhood of Atlanta
Tour de Bubba – Day 1
Posted by on December 3, 2004
I flew down to Atlanta, Georgia to visit with Bruce and Robert, two of my friends from my coast-to-coast cycling trip. Bruce and I rode from his house in Alpharetta down to Robert’s house in Newnan (with a segment on the MARTA train to get through downtown Atlanta more easily). The trip was about 51 miles.
I borrowed Bruce’s old Cannondale touring bike, which had downtube shifters and was a bit too large for me, but worked well enough.
The weather was beautiful all weekend, with unseasonably warm temperatures in the mid-to-high 50’s, and clear, sunny skies.
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- Bruce
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- Me with Bruce’s Cannondale touring bike
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- Arriving at Robert’s house in Newnan, GA
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- Bruce and Robert
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- Me and Robert
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- Enjoying a home-cooked dinner, courtesy of Robert and his wife Stephanie
Iceman Cometh Challenge
Posted by on November 6, 2004
The Iceman Cometh Challenge is a mountain bike race traditionally held the first Saturday in November. The 27-mile course covers a combination of twisty singletrack, fast doubletrack, dirt and gravel roads, and cross-country ski trails between Kalkaska and Traverse City, Michigan.
This year’s race was my third time in the event, and usually marks the end of my racing season. This time, it was my first race since coming back from a broken collar bone.
During the drive up to Michigan the day before the race, I made a pit stop at the brewery in Frankenmuth, one of the towns we stayed in during my coast-to-coast bicycle tour, to relive a few not-so-old memories.
In Traverse City, I met my friends Stacy and Brad from Portland, Maine. Brad’s parents were kind enough to let me stay at their house in Traverse City, where we also visited with Brad’s brother Ross, his wife Lynn, and their sons Cameron and Joey.
I finished the race with a time of 2 hours, 10 minutes, and 30 seconds, about 15 minutes faster than last year’s race. I placed 64th out of 163 entrants in my class (Sport Men Age 35-39). Click here to see the complete results.
After the race, we took a drive out on the beautiful peninsula that extends out into Grand Traverse Bay, and watched the sunset. That evening, we enjoyed dinner at the North Peak Brewing Company.
Bike MS Escape to the Lake
Posted by on June 13, 2004
The MS 150 Escape to the Lake is a two-day, 150-mile bicycle tour from Cranberry Township, PA (just north of Pittsburgh) to Conneaut, OH. Proceeds from this annual event benefit the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. The tour of 2004 was held on June 12-13.
Tour of the Scioto River Valley
Posted by on May 9, 2004
The Tour of the Scioto River Valley (TOSRV) is an annual bike ride from Columbus to Portsmouth, Ohio and back. This route covers 100 (or more) miles each way over the flat and gently rolling terrain of Southern Ohio.
The 2004 TOSRV was on May 8-9, with over 3,000 cyclists participating. This was my first time participating in TOSRV, and with warm temperatures and clear blue skies, I was told that it was the best weather for the event in ten years.
Peace Ride for Tibet’s Independence
Posted by on April 20, 2004
Today I joined up for the day with the Peace Ride for Tibet’s Independence. This ride was from Washington, DC to Toronto, Ontario, Canada, from April 10 through April 24.
On this day, my friend Mariann and I met the group at Frankferd Farms in Valencia, PA, whose owners had been kind enough to house the Tibetan cyclists and their support staff for two nights. We biked from Butler, PA, almost 80 miles to the village of West Hickory, PA.
If you would like to learn more about the ride, and about the Tibetan Independence cause, please visit their web site at www.rangzen.org.
World Road Cycling Championships ’03 – Day 4
Posted by on October 12, 2003
Photos and video of the Men’s Road Race at the World Road Cycling Championships 2003 in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.
World Road Cycling Championships ’03 – Day 3
Posted by on October 11, 2003
Photos of the Women’s Road Race at the 2003 World Road Cycling Championships in Hamilton, Ontario, Cananda.
