I’m planning a bike ride on the Ohio to Erie Trail — got any tips?

I’m excited to bike the Ohio to Erie Trail in June …. or should I say Erie to Ohio?

Because unlike most people, my little group will be biking the 326 miles from Cleveland (Lake Erie) to Cincinnati (Ohio River). Various reasons. Hopefully no awful head winds. Or bad weather.

Our plan is to arrive in Cincinnati at midday and get shuttled to Cleveland that afternoon. Then we’re following the Ohio to Erie’s suggested 6-day itinerary in reverse, overnighting in Akron, Millersburg, Mount Vernon, Columbus, Waynesville and Cincinnati.

I’m excited to be biking primarily on trails through the state’s biggest cities and beyond. We’ll be on part of the Little Miami Scenic Trail, which also overlaps with Adventure Cycling’s Underground Railroad route, and I’ll want to get a look at Xenia, a trail town of about 25,000 people. There’s Cuyahoga Valley National Park. Amish country and its rolling hills. And that 3.5-mile climb by Glenmont — I’ll train!

Only 23 miles are on roads and another 12 on streets. Only 48 of the trail miles aren’t paved.

Yes, we’ll be carrying our gear but staying in hotels and AirBnBs. Credit-card touring. No SAG wagon. Sure, we’ll ride in the rain if needed. And it will be light late, so hopefully we can wait out any bad weather.

We’ll spend the better part of a day at the end in Cincinnati. I’ve got a few things on my list: the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center; the William Howard Taft National Historic Site (I like presidential sites); a tour of the rotunda at the Art Deco-style Cincinnati Union Station. I’ll have to try Cincinnati-style chili — three-way? four-way? five-way? Is there more than that?

Unfortunately we won’t catch the Reds in action, so I’ll stop for statues of a few of the Great Eight instead. Ah the Big Red Machine….

Any sights we should stop for along the way? Or tips on where to eat in Columbus’ Short North neighborhood? We’ve got a dinner suggestion for our overnight in Waynesville: Roscoe’s Pizza in neighboring Corwin. Definitely some unusual options there.

At the start, I’m told we should look for Russian Tea Biscuits, which are a Cleveland thing. They sound like large rugelach (yeah, with a few other differences). Should we detour to West Side Market for some? Compare with those from Goldie’s Bakery, which isn’t that far away?

Thanks for these other tips that are off the Ohio to Erie Trail but may be part of our post-ride sightseeing: The Wescott House, designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, in Springfield; Young’s Jersey Dairy in Xenia (maybe the cheese and dairy tours will be more frequent in the summer and not just at 10:30 am?). For those whose schedules are more flexible than ours, perhaps a layover day in Xenia? It’s 20 miles on trail to Springfield, going through eclectic Yellow Springs.

UPDATE: We did the ride! Loved it! Even if I didn’t do everything on the list. My trip report starts here.