Woke up with the sun and did my morning routine. Ate a big breakfast and then packed my gear. Saw my four cyclist friends from the night before on my way out and was able to chat with them again and show them my bike setup. I also chatted with the lady at the front desk and she was very interested in my adventure. It was 7:45 before I started biking.
I spent the first two and a half hours just getting through the city of Columbus. I started on the Alum Creek Trail. It was a beautiful trail and you would never know you were in the middle of a city.
My route took me right through downtown Columbus. Lots of turns along the way. I’m glad I had spent some time the night before ensuring my Komoot navigation was 100% correct. I never had a problem with going the wrong way.
It is a very nice downtown. Lots of sports stadiums. I had to share the road with the cars, but no issues.
The southwest part of Columbus was more industrial and I saw quite a few homeless people, which was sad. The trail followed the train tracks for quite a while without much in the way of scenery.
Eventually I was out in the country again. The hills that I had in eastern Ohio were gone now. Just flat plains and lots of farmland.
I had lunch at a local restaurant in the town of London, and replenished my supply of snacks.
I met some cyclists today who chatted with me as they passed me on the trail. One was training for a 200 mile gravel race. He was riding 150 miles today. Three women were riding the entire Ohio to Erie Trail from Cincinnati to Cleveland. We were able to help each other with trail conditions.
More of the same scenery into the town of Xenia. I had originally planned on stopping in Xenia for the day, but didn’t hear back from the B&B that I wanted to stay at. That B&B was close to the trail and in the downtown area. Would have given me 72 miles.
Since I still felt good, I pushed on to downtown Dayton, which was another 18 miles. This was a prettier trail with lots of Cottonwood seeds in the air.
I arrived at my hotel at 5:15. It is right in downtown Dayton across from the minor league baseball stadium. Unfortunately, they aren’t playing tonight. There are lots of restaurants around and I chose an Indian restaurant – haven’t been able to get Indian food all trip.
For the day, I biked 90 miles and climbed 1,217 feet. The whole day was on paved trails, which made it nice. God willing, I’ll cross into Indiana tomorrow.
After two weeks, I’ve gone 800 miles!! I’m way ahead of my schedule., which was 40 miles a day.
Thank you for all the blog comments, texts and phone calls. They mean a lot to me and help me to keep my spirits high.
Great day here Jim. I’m glad you had great and safe day. Not much today, its 10:40 here and I’m headed for the treadmill. Love Dad.
We’ve been following your daily travels using our wall U.S. map. It’s fun to look at the daily stops but reading today of the distance of 800 miles, it’s mind blowing. Congratulations!
Enjoyed your report. You have certainly made very good time. Eight hundred miles is quite a lot to have traveled on your bike!
Hi Jim,
Nance and I are back from NC after a good visit with Elizabeth and with Nance’s high school friends, so I’m just catching up with your blog. It’s interesting to follow your daily adventure—and, wow, what an adventure it is! It reminds me of my backpacking days, which ended in my early 70s and I was never on the trail more than two nights. Also, I was always in the woods, whereas you pass through towns and even cities. I didn’t realize there were so many good bike trails throughout the country.
Hang in there and enjoy the rest of your trip.
Chuck