Car Less Ohio

Should you ride your bike to the mountain bike trailhead?

The short answer is, yes.

Of course, as a driver and cyclist who promotes using your “car less,” I think you should pedal to the mountain bike trail whenever it’s possible and practical. Obvious situations where it’s not practical include “destination” mountain bike trails that are dozens, or even hundreds, of miles away from home.

Deciding when to ride to your local trail can involve a complicated combination of factors. The first time I rode from home to the trail was in the summer of 2010. I had just built a new 29er mountain bike, and was eager to do some exploring in my neighborhood and on some local trails.

At this point in history, the only truly “local” mountain bike trail was in the Cleveland Metroparks Ohio & Erie Canal Reservation (OECR). There was West Branch State Park, a 45-minute drive away; Vulture’s Knob and Mohican State Park, both over an hour drive away; or Reagan Park, local if you happened to live in Medina.

I  saddled up and headed out from my then-home in Twinsburg, made my way up to Alexander Road, then west to where it meets the Towpath Trail, then headed north up to OECR. It was about 16 miles before I reached the mountain bike trailhead. Maybe it was the mid-summer heat and humidity bearing down, maybe it was pushing my knobby tires on pavement most of the way, but by then, I wasn’t much in the mood the tackle singletrack. I did one obligatory lap of the 2.5-mile trail, then made the slog back home, resigning myself to not doing that kind of adventure again any time soon.

Fast forward to 2017, and the local singletrack options have exploded. The singletrack in the Cleveland Metroparks Bedford Reservation is a short 3.5-mile ride from my current home. The East Rim Trail in the Cuyahoga Valley National Park is literally on my way to work. The Hampton Hills Mountain Bike Area in the Summit Metro Parks is just south of work, and a short detour off of both the Towpath Trail and the Bike & Hike Trail. The Royalview Trail in the Cleveland Metroparks Mill Stream Run Reservation is a short 30-minute drive away.

There’s a group of local riders who, for the past couple of years, planned a day-long ride of over 100 miles that connects all of these local trails. They call it the “Solstice Ride,” since they plan it on or near the longest day of the year to maximize available daylight. On my bucket list for one of these years…

When I was looking to do some exploring and trail-riding on a cold fall day last Wednesday, most of the local mountain bike trails were closed. However, old reliable OECR is almost always open, so I hopped on the Surly Ogre to make my way up there. Sagamore Road is a nice low-traffic back road that takes you from the eastern side of the Cuyahoga Valley down to the Towpath Trail, near the Frazee House Trailhead.

Ohio & Erie Canal Towpath Trail near Alexander Road

Towpath Trail at the border of the Cuyahoga Valley National Park and the Cleveland Metroparks Ohio & Erie Canal Reservation, near Rockside Road in Independence

Towpath Trail parking lot under Interstate 480

Near the path up the to Canalway Center

The OECR mountain bike trailhead

It ended up being 13 miles from home to the trailhead. The trail was in perfect shape. After my first lap, I still felt I had some trail legs left in me, so I did a second lap, which meant that would push me up over the 30-mile total mark by the time I got back home. Not bad for a cold fall day. And sometimes, when you hit a brick wall on some activity, some day, some way, you come back to it to turn it into a positive experience.

Suspension bridge on the Towpath Trail in Valley View