Cycling the Ohio & Erie Canal Towpath Trail

Our AirBnb in Peninsula is a block from Century Cycles, which is located right across the tracks from the Peninsula Depot.  This is a stop on the historic Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad, a nonprofit heritage railway operating in partnership with Cuyahoga Valley National Park.  We were very excited about the Bike Aboard program, which allows visitors to bring bikes on the train, ride any number of stops, then disembark and bike back.  I am a huge fan of train rides (of course) and this option would allow us to see a greater length of the Ohio & Erie Canal Towpath Trail then if we had to ride out and back.  We were planning to dedicate a full day to Bike Aboard fun, so it worked out really great when we discovered that several of the Junior Ranger activities Frankie needed to complete were right along the Towpath Trail.  Perfect!

NCT: Forestport to Booneville

This section of North Country Trail (NCT) follows the Black River Canal, so I knew the trail would be very flat and easy.  I also knew, from previously hiking the Erie Canal Trail sections of the NCT, that the towpaths aren't my favorite type of hiking, so when I saw that this section is also open to bikes, I immediately decided to drop a bike.  This would let me cover the miles on foot, but would save me from doing so twice, as I typically go both out and back on solo hikes.  Because I wanted to knock out 10 miles and this is quite a drive from home (plus the extra time required to load the bike on the car), I waited until a day when Frankie had an after school activity.  Then I drove to Boonville, locked my bike up at Erwin Park, then drove to Forestport, and parked at the dam.  I would hike to Booneville, then retrieve my bike and cycle back to my car.  Voila!  It worked like a charm. 

Tour the Towpath: Cycling Dewitt to Rome

Last fall, Frankie and I were out for a bike ride on the Erie Canal.  We stopped at a road crossing to wait for a break in traffic, and there we met another child.  This boy, who was several years older than Frankie, asked him are you riding Tour the Towpath, too?  Confused, Frankie looked at me; we didn't know what Tour the Towpath was.  The boy showed us his map and explained all about it: Tour the Towpath is a 36-mile ride between Rome and Dewitt, with overnight camping in Canastota.  He looked Frankie up and down, and checked out his bike.  I think you could do it, he said.  My little brother is doing it.  Of course he's pretty hardcore.  Are you hardcore?  Frankie had never heard that term before, but this boy's vote of confidence and the entire conversation made a big impression.  On subsequent rides, last fall and this summer, the Tour kept coming up in conversation: Frankie was very interested.