...More specifically, commuting to Wright-Patterson AFB Area B...

I've been offered a job near AFIT on WPAFB Area B. I'm seriously considering it, but I am concerned about my ability to commute by bike. I currently live in Albuquerque and I commute year round (heat, rain, snow, whatever). Looking at Google Maps in the Dayton area makes a little apprehensious and perhaps I am just spoiled in ABQ. My current commute is mostly bike lanes with little bit of neighborhood streets. The city in general has a good network of bike lanes and trails that supports both commuting and car-free/light living.

My first impression looking at Dayton is that they have put a lot of focus on recreational cycling (rails-to-trails) but not much for practical use. Is this true? Are there a lot of streets with slow traffic, wide shoulders, etc that just don't show up on the maps? It doesn't look like Dayton gets a ton of snow, but do they plow the trails?

Thoughts? Suggestions on neighborhoods to live in? I'd also like to find a neighborhood that is walkable (groceries, parks, library, etc - no counting the commute), but it looks like that is only closer to downtown (like Oakwood).

Thanks in advance!

SW Ohio has and connects to hundreds of miles of paved bike paths. My commute takes me right past WPAFB on what I call a commuter trail. I'm not sure which gate is Area B, but I suggest looking at Greene County, anywhere from Beaver Creek to Xenia, south down to Spring Valley or north up to Yellow Springs.

I just looked it up. Area B is right on the bike path connecting Dayton to Fairborn, Ohio, which is my "commuter trail." It is not shown on the map above. This is a trail that connects the Greene County trail system with that of the Miami Valley (Dayton).

I don't live in Dayton but my wife's family does and I have cycled the area quite a bit. Ohio in general seems to be more trail oriented than what I am used to. It seems that the traffic engineers have deliberately tried to keep cyclists off the roadways and drivers often seem mystified as to what they should do when they encounter a cyclist in the street. With that being said, I haven't had any extraordinarily bad experiences in Dayton and I wouldn't hesitate to commute there. It may just take a little time to get used to the local customs.

Yep, This region has so many bike paths that most commuters can ride to one of them pretty quickly and make use it for the bulk of the commute. As for access to this Area B, see map below.



There is a bike path running parallel to Springfield street, the road on which is Gate 1B. This path connects to the Greene County trail system to the East and the Dayton system to the West. Nice areas to live exist along both trail systems, but I prefer Greene County for a number of reasons.

AstroEng ;

I have did a lot of commuting around the Dayton area. Try this web site, it has lots of info to help you.
There are pictures of most of the trail,so you can see how they are lay out. Miami Valley Bike Trails | 330 Miles of Trails To Explore!
is the website. Hope this helps a little. Peace>out>Bikehead

I live in Yellow Springs, OH. From my house, I can ride a century in all four directions, 100% of them all on paved trail (well, there is a 1 mile stretch heading north that requires riding on a shared road). It's amazing.

Couple things surprise me in this thread.

1. The op disappeared

2. No other Dayton commuters on this forum.

I like in Oakwood and commute to Area A sometimes. It's about 13 miles each way for me, all but about 4 miles on trail and the street riding is residential.

The paths are not plowed in the winter, and while we don't typically get lots of snow, unplowed snow does not melt quickly. Residential side streets can also be a mess in the winter, also unplowed (I'm looking at you Kettering).

We chose Oakwood because it's a very walkable community. Our child is in elementary school and there are no school buses because all the children walk; and the city plows the sidewalks in the winter to make up for it. Most of the community wide events are so close that we can either walk or bike.

I'd like to see them plow the paths in winter. Is there any effective way to bring this to the attention of the various park districts?

The upside is the snow here usually only sticks to pavement from Christmas through the end of February.

After the initial snowfall, people will ski on the paths, so I don't think they would plow right away. Unfortunately, the skis leave ruts which typically ice over and make any other use of the trail impossible.

Many of the paths are also in flood control zones. This year we had so much rain that some were flooded for a while, but this is the first year in five that I've experienced that.

I'm lucky in that most of my riding is above the Valley. Coming in from Greene County, I see no flooding on the paths. Snow, however, is a different story. The path from Yellow Springs to Xenia gets very little direct sunlight. So, snow will hang around for quite a while. I pretty much don't ride that stretch at all from Winter Break until early March.

Sorry, I've been out of town the past 2 weeks. I appreciate the feedback so far.

anielsen - I've been looking at Oakwood as well. I punched some preferences into WalkScore.com and that neighborhood looked great.

I also saw a bus to downtown that connects to an Wright-Patt Express - so looks like a good backup plan there.

Too bad about the trails not being paved, but again I expect that is because they are primarily seen as a recreation facility - not a transportation one. Here snow isn't an issue because 1) we don't get much, 2) the streets are usually warm enough to melt it, and 3) it is usually gone by noon.

Do most of you guys drive/take the bus/etc in the Christmas-February time period?

Thanks!

baron - I also heard that there is a bike gate by the Wright Bros monument onto Area B (I hear there are bike gates on Areas A and C as well). I guess it is somewhere between Gate 1B and 19B on the map you posted - it must be close to the trail.

There is a newish paved path from Oakwood (enter on Shroyer Rd across from the beer drive-in and beside Carmel's restaurant) to downtown. See image below:



You can ride paved all the way thru to Eastwood park and leave the path directly across the entrance to WP area B (not far from AFIT). Right at the Springfield St entrance. https://www.google.com/maps/@39.7908...2!8i6656?hl=en

Or you can save some miles and cut thru Dayton and catch the paved paths along Woodman Ave.... thru the park.. then WP.

The "short cut" though Dayton would be residential and is a "marked bicycle route"... which means nothing except it is low traffic and the area residents do expect bicycles on their streets. I ride it all the time.

There is also a new bicycle/walking path bridge just finishing... that crosses 675 near Wright State (also near area B entrance at the top of the hill). That makes Beavercreek a new decent bike commune option.

^^^

Suddenly I want a Hot Fudge Sundae.

These "marked bicycle routes" are just roads with wide shoulders, or do you mean neighborhood streets as in no lane markers, etc, or neither? I use a couple of "bicycle routes" in our area and they are 2/3 lane roads, 25-35 mph, limited stop signs, and the more recently re-paved ones have sharrows.

Just residential streets.... with a little green bicycle sign.

https://www.google.com/maps/@39.7195...2!8i6656?hl=en

Try looking at the roads yourself... with google maps. Turn right after the drive-thru, before the Dairy Queen. Worm your way though the residential area crossing Patterson Ave (on your left). Then cut across Wilmington Ave and look for Revere Ave, then right to Woodbine Ave. At the old railroad crossing... you'll see the path.

I used to stop for an ice cream. But anymore.... if I do stop it's at a starbucks for a coffee.

I don't want to bad-mouth the area.... or discourage cycling in the area. But Wright-Patt may be the largest employer in the state of Ohio. With roughly 28,000 combined service personal, military and federal employees primarily working a 8-5 five day shift... traffic is not light. One more bicycle commuter might actually double the number of bicycle commuters.

I see many bike commuters roll into the base as I commute past it.

Yes, it is accessible from the trail.


Management of Bike Gate Program changes

I commute most days by bike from Bellbrook to Area B via Gate 19B, all on roads ~26 mi. RT to my job in AFRL/RX. I vary my way home and usually ride the Creekside Trail for a couple of miles to avoid some traffic. Depending on how comfortable you are riding the roads, the area east of I-675 is very easy to navigate by bike. Easy commuting to the base and great riding on country roads and the paved rail-trails on weekends. As others have mentioned if you want to stick mainly to trails you are better off living in Dayton and toward Oakwood so that you can ride the Great Miami River and Mad River Trails. If you are ok on the roads, Beavercreek, Kettering, and Bellbrook are all good options. I'm not familar with the roads in Fairborn so can't comment on commuting from there or out in Yellow Springs. There are only two convenient ways to get to Area B from the communities south of I-675, Grange Hall Rd. and the new bike bridge about a mile east of Grange Hall. I'm happy to help with specific questions on potential routes and communities.

I actually just got back from a business trip in Dayton. Having seen the streets (and a few people commuting down them), the marked bike routes were nicer than I thought. They were wide residential streets and (most importantly) had few stop signs. The Dayton area seems to have a lot less major streets (6 lanes or more) and more 2/3 lane roads with 30/35 mph speed limits. I did see a number of people commuting in the traffic lane on streets that would be vary dangerous to attempt something similar here. Perhaps the drivers are more accommodating?

In the little time I was in town, I got the feeling that downtown Kettering might be a good fit. It had enough services (rec centers, libraries, grocery stores) that it felt a little more walkable/bikeable/urban than Beavercreek. Oakwood was pretty, but other than very high end shopping, didn't look like as much of a walkable/bikeable community. I also found the bus route that goes up 48 and connects to an Area B express bus, so it'd be a nice backup.

Hibonite - How long does the 13 mile trip take you? My current ride is 8.5 miles through town and takes me about 35-40 min... Do you bike year round? I do it here, but obviously it's a bit easier in Albuquerque. We get just as cold, but far less snow.

Again, thanks to everyone for their feedback. I did get to use some of it and explore the bike gate, bike routes, and other parts of the city.

Living in Yellow Springs takes a certain mind-set. Not only is it a village far removed from the rest of Dayton, Springfield and Columbus, but it is also relatively expensive here. The cycling though is second to none, IMO.

The village itself is on the trail which runs North-South, either up to Bellefontaine or down to Xenia, where all trails meet, as it is the hub to go East into Dayton, West to Columbus, South to Cincinnati, or now Southeast toward Chillicothe. Also, one can easily ride the country road from YS to the next town over, Fairborn, and avoid Xenia altogether by hooking up directly to the Dayton trail system there, which takes me about a half an hour.