|
|
|
|
Home
Locations and
Trailheads
Canal Terminology
My Canal Journal
Links
Resources and Recom-mendations
|
Our third annual Towpath Expedition is scheduled for Saturday, June 9 and Sunday, June 10. Instead of raising money for a worthy cause like we did the last two times (Cascade Locks Park Association and Organization for Autism Research), we're going to just encourage everyone to come out and join us for various legs of the journey. So stay tuned to this page to see the itinerary for the trip.
Core team: Dave Hayslip, Jeremy Varner, Vince Morber, Paul Waltz, Joe Nosse Starting point: Heritage Park in Cleveland, Ohio Time: 8:00 a.m. First stop: Thornburg Station Time: 9:30 Distance: approx. 10.7 miles Second Stop: Canal Visitor Center Time: 10:30 Distance: 1.9 miles Lunch: Winking Lizard at Lock 29 in Peninsula Time: 12:00 Distance: 11.3 miles First stop: Botzum/Indian Mound Time: 2:00 Distance: 6.7 miles Second stop: Mustill Store Time: 3:00 Distance: 6.7 miles Third stop: Manchester Road Time: 4:30 Distance: 5.9 miles Fourth stop: Vanderhoof Road Time: 5:30 Distance: approx. 6.3 miles Ending point: Canal Fulton Community Park Time: 7:00 Distance: 7.7 miles Total mileage for Day 1: 57.1 miles
Join us for a relaxing end to the day in Canal Fulton. We will be camping overnight at Canal Fulton Canoe Livery. It's bring your own everything.
Core team: Dave Hayslip, Jeremy Varner, Vince Morber, Joe Nosse Starting point: Canal Fulton Community Park Time: 10:00 a.m. First stop: Lake Avenue Time: 11:00 Distance: 7.9 miles Second stop: John Glenn Grove Time: 12:00 Distance: 5.0 miles Lunch: Yesterdays on the Canal in Bolivar Time: 1:30 Distance: 11.0 miles First stop: Zoarville Time: 3:30 Distance: 6.6 miles Second stop: New Philadelphia Town Square Time: 4:30 Distance: 9.4 miles Third stop: Upper Trenton Lock Park Time: 5:30 Distance: 7.7 miles Ending point: The Mill at Lock 17 on US 36 Time: 6:30 Distance: 4.4 miles Total mileage for Day 2: 52 miles Total mileage for entire trip: 109.1 miles
The weekend of the big ride is fast approaching. Am I ready for it? Hard to say - I still haven't been out on the bike yet this year. It always seems that something comes up that prevents me from getting to it. For example, this past weekend on Sunday, I had an opportunity to go out riding but the forecast called for an 80% chance of thunderstorms. So I didn't go. And it never rained. That's the luck I've had. Speaking of forecasts, here's the current one for the weekend of the ride:
I'm thinking that will likely change by then. Even so, I'll take a 40% chance of scattered rain any day over the crap we dealt with last year. We're still getting the specifics nailed down for the ride, but the route is set. So are the riders. Joe will get into town on Thursday so he can be ready to go by Saturday. Where he's going to stay is another story. Vince and I both have to work on Thursday and Friday so he might be a little bored those days. I'd like to get off work on Friday so we can go back to D-town together and travel the roads of our youth. I'll tell you, it sure has changed out there. But that's another story for another time. The bike is ready to go. The hydration pack is ready for action. Now if I can only find those bike shorts I got so I can protect the boys down there during the ride, I'll be set. More will come. I guar-an-tee!
I'll be ready. Right now work schedule is jacked up with vacations and injuries. I'm definitely off the weekend. Was off Thurs/Fri then cancelled then back off then cancelled. If someone comes back from sick leave then I'm off. Will see. Been out a few times riding, primarily home to Snyder to Manchester to Snyder and back. Dave you just got yourself a new nickname "Big Nuts". Dom can pick three of us up on Sunday. He no can do Saturday. I have a two bike carrier that can get a couple there. I can find a driver. Will we have an ozone alert on the ride? Will we find the O-Zone? I'm getting Iorgasmic just thinking about it.
Just an update on the weather since weather.com decided to add Sunday to the 10 day forecast:
Dammit! What's with the 60% chance of rain? The only thing good about that is that the ladies are going to love seeing our wet glistening bods as we pull into each scheduled stop. I've got a new three bike carrier but the wife is unavailable for transportation. The bike rack can go on anyone's vehicle. Trails are cool.
La télévision me rend triste.
Just a quick note before I head off to work for the day. I finally got out for some preliminary riding yesterday. I felt good. If I can get one or two more in before the ride, I'll be good. Here's the latest on the weather:
Now that's more like it! Also, enjoy our riding music selections playing on the page.
Alright, so now it looks like we'll have a reason to finish the ride on Sunday as soon as possible. What, you say? Well, the Cleveland Cavaliers won the Eastern Conference Championship last night and they'll be playing Game 2 of the NBA Finals on Sunday night. I think I want to see that. I'm not sure why the other slackers I'm riding with aren't blogging on here! Where is the ever loquacious Jeremy? Does the military have a gag order on Joe? And the TV makes Paul sad. Got a new update on the weather:
It's getting hot in here! Thank God for Partly Cloudy. Then again, this blog is proving just how much the weather forecast changes. Keep those fingers crossed. So I think I rode about 20 miles on Friday. I'm rather impressed with myself. No ill effects either. Gentlemen? Chatter.
No gag order, just been busy trying to get in shape for the ride. Went out last weekend riding the hills of Eastern Connecticut. Great scenery, lots of old farms and graveyards from the Revolutionary War which was pretty cool considering it was Memorial Day weekend. Hope to get out for few hours today. Would hate to be the weak sister of the group. Great site. Anyway you can play the soundtrack for us for the duration of the ride? Nothing like kicking it in the hizzy with my peeps listening to a little Dr. Dre.
Congrats Paul and Becky on the new addition. We need the name of Baby Boy Waltz. Not knowing the name makes me SAD. How's about a pre-ride logistics meeting on Thursday with Joe somewhere where they have something like the Cavs game and beer going on? Did you know that LeBron James likes riding bikes too? He's following in our footsteps in multiple ways. Back to you Dave "Big Nuts" Hayslip...
Alright, now we got some chatter going on here. In case you don't know what Vince is talking about above, Paul and Becky's new baby was born very early this morning. Everyone is doing great. I went up to see them while I was at work today. The baby has two names currently, one that Paul likes and one that Becky likes. So it's still up in the air. Paul did confirm that he's in on Saturday but most likely not on Sunday. Paul will not start the ride with us in Cleveland but will pick us up along the way. Glad to hear everyone is getting tuned up for the ride. I'm hoping to go out tomorrow for another run but if it rains, I'll wait until Wednesday. Oh, and Joe, I am planning on providing tunage for the ride this year, if it doesn't rain. Speaking of which, here is the latest forecast:
Hmm, it's getting crappy again. What's the point of 10 day forecasts if they're going to change this much and this often? I'm working on Thursday so no prelogistics or Cavs game for me. However, a party will commence at the Barley House on Sunday night for Game 2 of the NBA Finals. Many of my friends from the ER will be there and they know how to have a good time - the perfect way to wrap up an awesome weekend. All are invited.
Got out today for about 2 hours and 20 miles. Lots of hills so a pretty good workout. Also nearly had a nasty spill. At first I was skeptical of all the stops on the itinerary but I will definitely need the occasional break. I forgot how uncomfortable those bike seats can be. Looks like the weather should be good for the ride, keep your fingers crossed.
I don't even know why I keep posting these - they change constantly!
I'm not going riding today. I'm embroiled in housework. Yep, barefoot in the kitchen. So I'll have to make an effort to go out on Wednesday. Vince, you have to work Thursday and Friday?
I'll be in on Thursday. Vince's idea about catching game I of the CAVS/SPURS is an awesome idea! Crappy weather in Connecticut today due to the remnants of the Tropical Storm but I did get a 2 mile jog on the track this morning. Looking forward to the ride.
I'm off Thursday and Friday. Thanks for Riders on the Storm. Talked to Joe tonight. He's psyched. Big Nuts barefoot in the kitchen? You pregnant too? Sheesh...
Just a quick note here. Paul and Becky have decided on a name for the new addition to their family: Andreas Bertolini Varner-Waltz (or Waltz-Varner, I'm not sure). Connor is sick so it doesn't look like I'm going to get anymore riding in this week. Also, we need to get the logistics of getting camping gear to the site and setting up our rides. The Dominator is going to pick us up on Sunday but we still need to get to Cleveland on Saturday morning. Any ideas? I'm officially putting out an A.P.B on Jeremy. Where the hell are you?
It was between Joshua bar Paul and Andreas Bertolini. We went with the latter.
Names are cool. Now Vince doesn't have to be sad. Here's the latest forecast:
Man, how great is that? Please don't change! Even weather.com suggests that Saturday is a great day to "explore the great outdoors." So no biking for me today. Connor is still under the weather (like the segue?). I'm hoping to be available on Friday to get things ready for the trip. I'm hoping Joe is interested in heading out to the old D-town for some reminiscing. Also, to incorporate the canal theme into the weekend, Equals 4 (my friend Rob's band) is playing at Lock 3 on Friday at 7:00. I say we go. The Irish Festival is also going on in the Falls. Options rock.
Still looks good. But still no sign of Jeremy.
Word. Hey all, sorry for the black hole I fell in, but this was the last week with kids, and so I had three days of nothing but issues surrounding 13-year olds 24/7. But I'm done now; WHEEEEEE! I'm pumped like a bike tire, and I checked the weather before I got on so I would know what we're facing, but I see you've already go that covered. It appears that this weather is god making up for last time (ahem). Like I should have doubted. At any rate, three updates of note (of note to me, at least; you do what you want with them): 1. I will be coming up tomorrow, leaving here around 1 and arriving around 5. I'll call when I get in, but the getting together thing sounds good. 2. I'm coming up prepared to camp out, but I'm reserving my final decision on that for the moment that we get done. My allergies have been hell this week (what the hell happened to me? I never used to have allergies. I'm hoping this is a SW Ohio-only thing). Anyway, I'll be doing everything with the cadre right up until packing it in for the night, and then we'll see then. 3. There is no occasion, no situation, no clever double-entendre, that can justify Christopher Cross. Thank god we're not going to be in America's Cup this weekend; I'd have to hurt something. Anyway, I'm going to go out and get some miles in before it gets godawful hot, so piece. Y no olvida: las palabra por el fin de semana es 'bicecleta'. El Duh.
You're too funny...you mean sailing doesn't take you away to where you've always wanted to be??? whooooaaa-whoooaaaa-whooooaaa. hmmm-hmmm huh..... If you get caught between the Ohio River and Lake Erie...the best that you can do..the best that you can do...is ride bikes with your friends... I think that's tapped 'em all out now. Have a safe trip. See you soon.
Due to my lack of technological skills, the blog does not post automatically. I have to manually enter your comments. So all of these will be posted but I'm at work now and I don't have time to be doing frivolous things like trying to update the web page or emailing you guys... Just kidding. I called the canoe livery and there are plenty of spots available for Saturday. Thing is, we probably need to go down there on Friday to reserve the spots because there will likely not be anyone there when we arrive (unless someone decides to start a canoe ride at 6pm). I figure we can leave someone's car there with the gear in it. I can leave mine but then I'll need a ride on Saturday morning. I can still donate my bike rack. Who wants to take my butt to Cleveland? Remember, we want to start the ride at 8am, so get a good night's sleep and get ready to go so Saturday morning will be easier. There can be only one tent per site, so we should probably get two. We also need to decide what we will be dining on that evening so we know if we need to rent a grill or just use the fire. No skinny dipping in the river - I don't care if it is for old time's sake. Incidentally, good to hear from you, J. Remember - "Hydrate or die"
My car is available to help, and I say we grill Power Bars in keeping with the theme. Either that, or dogs and corn.
Damn straight. Hydrate or Die. Doesn't say with what. Dave, how about you, me, Joe go down to Canal Fulton tomorrow and take care of business? plan final logistics? hell, just plan? I know you are work now doing angel of mercy stuff with all the hotties. Have fun. Call tomorrow. Call when you get off (work that is). Tee-hee...
First, here's the latest forecast:
So it's a bummer that the Cavs lost tonight. I was so bummed, I didn't even go out with any of the aforementioned "hotties" tonight. That's alright, I'm beat and I need a good night's sleep to be ready for the next three days. Getting things ready to go on Friday seems like a good idea. I will call and we'll include a trip through D-town while we're at it. Alright. Peace out.
Things are shaping up nicely for the trip. 'Bout time since we're just over 12 hours from the start of the ride as I write this. Joe made it into town last night and he, Vince, and I went and reserved the campsites today. We also tooled around Doylestown visiting some of the old haunts - man, much has changed! Jeremy is also in town so the gang's all here (be part of it). Vince's dad Ivan will be taking the bikes to the beginning of the ride while Jeremy transports the riders. We're still planning on an 8:00 start time. The weather is looking good:
That's hard to beat. The Dominator has graciously agreed to take the gear to Canal Fulton for camping and, get this, he's going to set it up for us too! The Morber clan coming through again. Anyone who would like to join us Saturday evening for some hanging out should do so. If we're not at the campsite, we'll be at the Canal Boat Lounge across the river and canal from the campsite. Should be quite the nice evening. Alright, that should be it for now. I've got to spend the rest of the evening getting my gear together and pleasing the wife (helping her with cleaning the house, not anything else more fun). Next update might very well be the recap of the trip.
5:30 came early today but I was up and ready to go. I arrived at Vince's by 6:45 and Jeremy was actually not too late this year. We loaded up the bikes and Vince's dad Ivan took 3 bikes and Joe and Vince up to Cleveland while Jeremy and I followed in his car with the other bike. We got to Settler's Landing without a problem and got started on the ride by 8:20 I think. We immediately agreed that the new way I chose to go was much better than trying to ride up out of the Flats immediately like last year. Also different this year was the weather. We really could not have asked for better weather. I'm not a particularly religious man, but I'm glad God decided to make it such a beautiful day. I think he may have been on vacation last year because we couldn't have asked for worse weather then. So we're riding down Canal Road, having a good time, and as we hit W. 3rd Street, we see a construction crew on the draw bridge we have to cross. This is the ensuing conversation I had with the worker: "Can we cross the bridge on the sidewalk?" "The bridge is going to go up." "Do we have time to cross before it goes up?" "Probably not." "How long will it be up for?" "Days." So that meant we had to find another route across the Cuyahoga River to get where we were going. There was nothing south of there so we chose a bridge back up the road a bit. When we got to it, it was also up (and seemingly had been for years). So ultimately we had to go almost all the way back to where we started to get to the other side of the river. We then had to find our way back to W. 3rd. A local police officer helped us out with that. We were wondering where he had been when we were approached by a foreign speaking prostitute in a car with a dog a bit earlier. We managed to get back on track, finding W. 3rd and making our way to Steelyard Commons. It was there that we road our first section of new Towpath for the ride. It's rather boring, but at least it's there and its existence allowed us to reach Harvard Avenue much easier than last year. We rode the paved trail to Thornburg Station for our first official stop and breakfast and beer at the Park City Diner. One problem though - it was closed since December. On a whim, we decided to see if we could get the beer at nearby Lockkeeper's Restaurant. The door said "Proper Attire Required" and we weren't in compliance. But we sent Vince in to see what the possibilities were. The waitress there was gracious enough to allow us in for a beer even though the place didn't open until 11:30 and it was 10:00. Her name was Ellen and she topped herself by offering to have someone in the kitchen whip us up some eggs and bacon. Sure, the bill for 5 beers (I had two) and four breakfasts of scrambled eggs with three slices of bacon was pretty steep, but we succeeded in eating a good breakfast and having our celebratory beer (Great Lakes Dortmunder Gold, incidentally). Our next stop was the Canal Visitor Center where Joe purchased a Towpath Companion (apparently the three of us weren't companions enough for him). We soon encountered a park ranger near the bald eagle's nest at the southern end of the Pinery Narrows. She was very friendly and talked to us about the CVNP and CVSR's new $2 fares for transporting bike riders and their bikes between Akron and Brecksville. It wasn't long after that that we finally encountered Paul who was riding north to meet us. He had hopped on the Towpath near his house in Akron and rode to meet us to continue the ride south with us. We made a stop at the Boston Store and the garage next door where an art exhibit was going on. We arrived a the Winking Lizard in Peninsula for lunch just a bit short of our originally planned arrival time. We enjoyed another great lunch and more beer (again, I had two including the beer of the month which came in a glass that I could keep). We got back on the trail and the rest of the ride was uneventful until we came into the Merriman Valley where Vince began having trouble with one of his pedals. The bolt and nut that held the crank in place was becoming stripped and kept coming loose. But we were able to continue on and, after stopping briefly at the Portage Path Trailhead, made our way into Akron. We stopped at the Mustill Store where Paul and I enjoyed the rocking chairs on the porch while the other guys bought their Towpath Tags for 2007. Paul headed back north from there to go home while the rest of us made our way up the trail from Lock 14. Upon reaching the end of the trail, we crossed over the canal on the culvert that routes the water under the Innerbelt and downtown Akron. We walked the bikes through the brush to the Innerbelt and rode (illegally) across the bridge over Innerbelt to the new portion of the trail in downtown Akron. We also had to improvise getting to Lock 2 from State Street since the trail is not complete there (but in the process of being finished). We rode through Akron to Summit Lake and then hopped on Lakeshore Avenue. It was there that Vince's often "repaired" pedal gave out for good. Luckily, being in Kenmore at that point, we were a short distance from Barberton. So Vince called one of his fellow officers who came and picked Vince and his bike up, took them to his house, unloaded Vince's bike and gave Vince his own, and took them both to the Wolf Creek Trailhead to wait for Joe, Jeremy, and I to arrive. Meanwhile, we road down Manchester Road where a large amount of construction was going on. We had to assimilate into traffic and sat at a dead stop for awhile until we decided to ride in the new road bed that was being resurfaced to the Manchester Road Trailhead. We then followed the Towpath again to Wolf Creek where we met up with Vince. We rode up Snyder Avenue to Van Buren and then to Vanderhoof Road where we were able to get back on the Towpath again. We weren't far from Clinton when all of a sudden I hear a crash as Vince tells me that Jeremy went down. When I turned around to see what was up with Jeremy, I hear another crash ahead of me as Vince took a spill. But Jeremy was laying on the ground, not moving and I immediately realized I was now on the clock (because I'm a trauma nurse). But then Jeremy decided to move, saying that he was only lying still to assess whether or not he felt all of his body parts intact. Apparently, Vince had slightly cut Jeremy off and the chain of events began. Everyone was OK and we were able to move on. We arrived in Canal Fulton to find Dom and Monica busy setting up our campsite across the Tuscarawas River from the canal. We got the tents set up and took a refreshing beer break. Our fellow high school alum Jeff and his family joined us as did Jeremy's wife Tracy. We headed over to the Canal Boat Lounge for dinner (after I walked about a mile trying to find a local drug store so I could buy some sun block). Boone, one of my fellow canal enthusiasts, also joined us at the bar to hear about our first day's ride. We wrapped up our evening with Oser's Legendary Ice Cream in downtown Canal Fulton and then headed back to the campsite. After starting a fire and hanging out for a bit, everyone hit their tents for the night. I made sure to down some ibuprofen before I went to sleep so I'd be in decent shape in the morning. I slept amazingly well considering the overnight temperatures dropped considerably. All in all, a fantastic day. Because of the rerouting of our plans in Cleveland, the total mileage for the first day of the ride was 62 miles - the farthest I had ever ridden in one day.
I put my glasses on and looked at my watch at 8:10 in the morning feeling amazingly refreshed and ready to go. Unfortunately, the pipes in the campsite's shower had broken the day before and we were unable to take a shower in the morning. But we washed up, broke down the campsite, loaded Dom back up with our gear, and got ready for the second day of riding. I found that my muscles weren't sore, which was good, but that my "sit bones" as I guess they're called, felt mighty sore when I got back on the bike, which was bad. But we only had to ride a short distance into town for the traditional Sunday breakfast at the Canal Fulton V.F.W. Hall. For the third year in a row we encountered Mrs. Dunn who is the mother of another of our former classmates. We had a great breakfast, loaded up the hydration packs, and set off down the trail. Our first stop was at the Lake Avenue Trailhead in Massillon and to be more specific, Ernie's Bike Shop. We had the good fortune of having the employees there warn us of trail closings due to flooding last year. This year, Ernie himself gave us the best news we had heard all weekend - the bridge south of Bolivar to span I-77 was surfaced and able to be crossed (even though it's not complete or open yet). I also bought some riding gloves which were a great purchase because my hands were still feeling a bit sore from the day before. We set back off down the trail, riding along the Tuscarawas River Levee on both established Towpath and where the trail will one day be completed in Massillon. Our next stop was the John Glenn Grove where Joe admired the bust of Glenn for the first time. We set off through Navarre and made it to the end of the trail in Stark County. Following SR 212, we arrived in Bolivar for lunch at Yesterdays on the Canal. We met the new owner who told us that she planned to open up the back of her restaurant's deck to the new Towpath Trail and add bike racks and hitching posts. She said she wants to highlight the history of the canal in the restaurant and perhaps put a whole wall of old canal pictures up for display. She showed me some of the canal pictures she had found in the restaurant and there were pretty good. I hadn't seen a good number of them before. I gave her my webpage address and told her to contact me for more pictures. After eating lunch, we embarked on our modified route south of Bolivar. Since we planned to cross I-77 on the new bridge, we were able to skip the very rough terrain of the Buckeye Trail on the south side of I-77. Instead, we rode on the CanalWay Scenic Byway to Ft. Laurens. There, we picked up the Old Zoar Trail (I think) which led us to the bridge. Since it was Sunday, there was no work being done on the bridge and we were able to cross. We did have to pick the bikes up at one point to portage them around a large crane that sat right in the middle of the bridge. After crossing the bridge, we were able to pick up the established Towpath again and rode to the Old Zoar Bridge. Vince was disappointed to find that the portable toilet had been removed from the Canal Lands Trailhead, but after a quick break, we were back on the unfinished portion of the towpath that led us to its end at SR 800 near Zoarville. It was on this last section of the trail that Joe joined the list of riders who crashed on this year's ride. He came up too quickly on Vince as Vince crossed a small ditch and without the momentum to get across himself, crashed off to the side of the trail. I had a first hand view of that wreck (for the first time) and it was pretty impressive, as if in slow motion. Joe was fine and we were back on track in no time. The ride into Dover included a stop at the Dover Dam on SR 800. Although we were riding along SR 800, the future Towpath Trail will be on the other side of the river. Although it won't be the exact historical location of the towpath, it will be a safer and prettier way to continue the trail to New Philadelphia. We reached the town square in New Philadelphia without further incident. A street fair was going on and we decided to check it out. But before we did, we got some fresh squeezed lemonade and decided that after a total of 102 miles in two days, there wasn't a whole lot of need to finish the planned ride to Lock Seventeen. We found a local watering hole called the Broadway Brewhouse. It was very nice, with 21 beers on tap and an interesting menu and we decided to include it as a stop on future trips. Dom arrived soon and we loaded up the bikes and riders and headed home. The weekend was a complete success. We had amazing weather and got to ride on sections of the trail that none of us had been on yet. The camping turned out to be a great success as well. I'm already looking forward to next year's ride. The trail should be complete or near complete from Lock 10 to Lock 2 in Akron, under construction at and south of Summit Lake and outside of Barberton, and open from the current end of the trail in Stark County to Zoarville.
  
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
78°F
