Ohio Erie Canal Towpath Ride

My sunday started early, I was out at 8:00am hammering the first five miles interval style. I would've probably gone out slightly sooner, but it was still a wee bit dark. (note to self: Need to get lights. Dang it, why didn't you get the Light & Motion set you saw on Chainlove) Anyway, Sunday started a bit cold, but it warmed up in no time. (not to self II: I am, however, glad that I brought the PI armwarmers) OK, I'll try to keep the side notes to a minimum.

So after the five mile ride we started out down to Peninsula, our ultimate destination, about another 13 miles out. The ride was great, and the camera was acting up. (note to self III: Camera before lights?) This proves to be a bad combination for several reasons. The first of which is, who the heck wants to stop when you are having a great time. The second is, there's really no reason to stop when your camera is in various stages of sucking. Back to the ride...

The leaves were starting to change, there was just a slight faint cool bite in the air, the perfect start to autumn.
Ahhhh, the joy of the change of seasons in the northeast. It really makes for a nice backdrop. THIS is thee reason I stayed in Ohio when I had chances to move over the years.

Getting back to my original point, we were on the 13 mile leg out to Peninsula where we would stop and get lunch. There's a great joint called Winking Lizard, which would be our choice for lunch. If you ever wind up in the Cleveland area, check one of their locations out. They have great food. It's bar food, but delicious bar food and the kicker? The kicker is they have, like, 150 beers either in bottles or on tap. (note to self IV: Next time you ride, either eat more than a Clif Bar for breakfast, or take it easy on the beer) So "a beer" turned into a 22 oz. Great Lakes Oktoberfest, turned into two Oktoberfests, and a great Blue Cheese Mushroom Burger.

After lunch part of the group was talking about taking the train back, others were talking about riding back, I figured the equivalent of four beers on an only recently full stomach, mostly with beer, would probably make riding fun. Thank God for bar food. It really took the edge off of what could've become a sketchy ride. Yeah, you see, the problem that presented itself was that the train was, like, three hours out, and there was no way we were going to wait.

So we hopped the path back. I dropped the camera at some point and, guess what? Yup, the camera started to work. This is one of the many great sights that you catch on the ride. It's the Route 82 Bridge. Much higher and bigger than it looks. OH! and by the way, if you can make out the sign in this picture... Yup, that's what you think it is. A deer crossing sign. Now I know deer jump, but c'mon! Santa and the reindeer must fly low through here?

Alright, I've rambled enough. The ride was great, but there is one thing left, and that's this... That's right, a side trail. Ohio Erie Canal is a 20+ mile ride one way. It also has an off shoot called the Buckeye Trail and the Valley Trail. It takes you out further east, apparently. Why do I mention this. I think we might need another ride before the snow falls. If you think you'd be interested let me know and I'll start a list.

Anyway, we all had a great time. Wish you could've been there.