gearhead82

I'm new in town and somewhat new to cycling. I live just outside of the SE corner of HWY 270 and have been doing a lot of riding on the empty country roads. I found one stretch of about 3-4 miles with some decent hills but I'm hungry for longer and steeper ascents. Any suggestions? Thanks.

nocondorfx

colorado?

baron von trail 

Keep going SE or run down US 23 past Circleville towards Chilcoth...You will start to get into some real foothills in that area.

But, I suggest watching out for dogs. The rednecks tend to leave them to run loose in the front yard and they just love chasing after bikes.

enine

Even those hills are not that big. I don't think OH has any big hills, but I'm originally from WV so I'm used to real hills, the hills in OH are smaller then the bumps in the roads in WV

baron von trail 

So, you suggest that he should continue going SE, like really far, until he runs into a river, like.

I wonder which dogs are going to be worse, those in OH or those in WVa?

rm -rf

Use Google Maps set to Terrain View to find hills. Example: Chillicothe OH. Zoom in all the way when you find a good location. Each contour line is 40 feet of elevation, and there are darker lines every 200 feet. In Ohio, you'll either have steep hills or long climbs, but not both at once.

gearhead82

Thanks for the replies. Yeah, I moved here from the foothills of Northern CA. Ironically, I never rode when I lived there.

dewaday

Head down into Athens and Meigs counties, plenty of climbing and nice scenery.
https://www.athensbicycleclub.org/

You might find this useful as well.
https://www.ohiocycling.info/obec.html

enine

How hilly is the olentangy trail? I haven't went on it buy looked at some of the maps online. I'm thinking you could come up the alum creek trail then across the westerville area and down the olentangy, the only place without bike trails is lewis center in between.

but yes, if you want real hills go down across the river and into a state that actually has them.

Jawn P

I was in Loudonville today to ride Mohican and it seemed pretty intense.

baron von trail 

Most sections of the Rails to Trails paths are not hilly at all. The North Columbus area you ask about is pretty flat in and of itself, too, I might add.

However, I still tend to think that Eastern Ohio is quite hilly, especially out towards Marietta -- or anywhere along the river, for that matter. Ohio is definitely not like Kansas.

phoran

last year's GOBA route in East-southeastern ohio had more hills than i thought that state could offer. you should be able to look up the route on www.goba.com

thunderphill

If you are up for a drive look at the Tour da Cure route in the Akron/Cleveland area there are a couple nice ones that were part of the 100k last year. Boston Mills was a beast to a lot of riders. There are quite a few nice climbs from US 33 to Old Man's Cave and from US 33 to Cantrell Cliffs wich should be about 35 min drive for ya.

Jawn P

To go along with what he said, and if you feel like driving:

https://www.bikely.com/maps/bike-path/82611

6100 feet of climbing in the Cuyahoga Valley.

Allegheny Jet

That ride looks like the route from "Eric's Challenge" from last summer.

baron von trail 

Having lived in Oh for about a decade, and remembering all the negative talk I heard about the place from others while I lived elsewhere, I find that the state is one of the best kept secrets in the USA. I think the bad rap comes from what people see while riding up I-75, an admittedly bleak trek. But, the rest of the state sort of ROCKS!

Just say'n.

Jawn P

I'm on Spring Break this week, so that's on my to-do list before I get back to school

nocondorfx

the 'death ride' i believe its been coined. i think it orginated with the cleveland touring club. I will be doing it this summer with my team as a middle of the season wake those legs up type ride

Terex

It's the Cleveland Touring Club's "Death Ride" route. Having ridden all of those roads, I have a hard time believing that total ascent is over 6000'. If so great. I may ride the route and see what my Garmin says next time I'm in Ohio.

martikal

like newaday suggested, try Athens and Hocking Hills. 45 minutes to 1 hour drive for really awesome scenery. finding out about hocking hills is what changed my mind about ohio. and now I explore more!

Olentangy trail is the flattest trail you can find around here. But there are a lot of others that you should search for. There is an effort to turn old railroads into trails. I rode the one in Mt. Vernon and it was quite pleasant. not hilly, but pleasant and peaceful (which is not what olentangy is on the weekends)

Terex

I believe the one you're referring to in Mt. Vernon is the Kokosing Gap Trail. It is a pleasant, flat, rail-trail.

Road cycling in the Mt. Vernon-Gambier area is pretty nice. Lots of rolling hills. Also, most of the dogs are too lazy to chase you.

scoatw

I live in N. Columbus. I used to drive to Canal Winchester and head out to Fairfield County toward Sugar Grove. You'll find some steep stuff down and around Lancaster. Coming out of Rising Park in Lancaster, you have a nice climb up Stringtown Rd. And if your tough enough. Try Chicken Coop Rd north of Sugar Grove. One of the steepest roads in the state. In the fall they have the Columbus Fall Challenge. Sponsored by Columbus Outdoor Pursuits. Lancaster to Marietta. 210 miles across some of the toughest terrain in the East.

ftsoft

Steeper is not a problem. Longer IS a problem. Try doing the route of the Top of Ohio Century to Bellefontaine. A lot of good climbs around West Liberty also. Climb the road to the top of the Ski hill out side West Liberty. We train for the hilly hundred in this area quite a lot.

scoatw

So what road exactly are you talking about ? You go down to SE Ohio and you'll find that steeper IS a problem. You might be walking up some of those roads. Champaign County is tough, but I doubt that it compares to anything that Morgan or Washington County has to offer. Do CFC and see if it compares, I doubt it. CFC is the toughest ride in the state. The Top of Ohio is a training ride for CFC. I was out in Montana, and those boys were teasing me about riding in Ohio. I'll tell you what. Those logging roads in Montana were'nt nothing compared to the stuff we have here in Ohio.

baron von trail 

I think ftsoft means that steeper hills are a plenty in Oh, but longer ones are not available. At least, that was how I understood it.