chivespa1

Hello. I'm trying to figure out some extended weekend loaded tours leaving from Columbus. Obviously Hocking Hills is one but I'm looking for some other ideas. I would like things that I could do over like a 4 to 5 day weekend. Any central ohioans out here that have any suggestions? I pack extremely light (tarp, change of clothes, food) so when I say "loaded" I don't mean to imply that I carry much. Probably looking at 80 or so miles a day. Thanks!

VonAlt

Columbus Outdoor Pursuits has maps available for marked routes across the state. Routes go between major cities in Ohio. Example Cincinnati to Cleveland, Cleveland to Marietta, Cincinnati to Toledo. The longest probably the best known one is the Cardinal Trail goes from Richmond Indiana (State Line) to just outside of Youngstown. Depending on what you are looking for the routes offer everything from flatlands to rolling hills. Maps show routes on back roads, distances and camping, motels and food sources.

chivespa1

Thanks for the tip, you don't happen to know if they have a website do you? Thanks again!

Cyclist0094

https://www.outdoor-pursuits.org

https://www.outdoor-pursuits.org/main...le/forsale.htm (for maps)

tgbikes

I'm sorey but I have to do this. I'v riden from cost to cost and the golf to the Canadian border. Mount Sterling Ohio was the low point of it all. I had riden from Athans and been chased off the 4 lane by Logan , this was the only cross word from the law while on a bike in my life. I walked in to the police station in Mt. Sterling and asked if camping was permited in the city park, A young officer swelled up with athority and told me that it was certinly NOT permited that I should ride to Deer creek state park. In the mean time a very heavy reception lady was on the phone, She chimed in that she had called her paster and the church would have a colection for me so I could stay in the Motel. I had my limit of humiliation for the day the motel was happy to take my plastic and I hid for the night. After this Monroeville IN. in a couple days was the friendlyest. While in Columbus on business a year or so later I drove to Mt Sterling and droped some Bike touring info at the cop house but the town gave me a creapy feling even In the rented car. Actualy Misjudgment on my part and misunderstanding on anothers . you have a great state Injoy the ride

cyclintom

I designed some medical instruments and they were in use at a hospital in Youngstown. They were having trouble with them and required me to come and look at them.

When I arrived I discovered that Youngstown was an old steel mill town and although the mills had closed 20 years before, they still had something like 18% unemployment.

Strangely enough the motels and taxis were all run by East Indians.

While I was in the hospital discovering that they had an X-Ray machine on the same power line as my Respiratory Gas Analyzer (the kickback of the X-Ray was blowing up the power supply on my instrument) I noted that the doctors weren't just arbitrary (as they usually are everywhere in the world) but thought of themselves as the Dictators In Charge of The World.

In California, if a Doctor addressed a nurse or a workman like they did in Youngstown they would have a broken jaw and require plastic surgery themselves. Nowhere else in the United States did I ever see such disrespect for other people as I did in Youngstown. I suppose that's because there were so many people standing in line for so few jobs.

But aside from "The Ruling Class" the people there were pretty nice, the food was rather a great deal more fatty (and delicious) than a Californian was used to, and the bread was better than most places on the east coast.

You have to remember that Ohio and Pennsylvania were mining and steel mill towns and that unemployment has never completely recovered from its high of almost 100% employment.

You weren't being humiliated but in fact people were trying to be as good to you as they could. It's just that they're used to "poor" and try to avoid making it obvious where it might further degrade public morale.

Luckily, in the 21st century, I'm sure that things are still improving, but old habits are sometimes hard to break.

Hopefully after I retire I'll be able to tour the mid-west and east coast myself. There's a lot of country out there that has people you won't meet anywhere else in the world.

tekman

How about The Great Ohio Bicycle Adventure at https://www.goba.com/?