This was our toughest day yet on the Ohio to Erie Trail.
Fifth straight day in the saddle. Most miles in a day at 75.5 miles. My legs are feeling it. Plus it’s hot and sunny, with long stretches of no shade on the trail. And whoever put in the railroad back in the day made it super super straight.
I miss curves. And shade.
Instead, lots of corn. Lots of soybeans.
Still, it’s stunning that once again we barely mix with cars. And once again, it’s almost all paved. Maybe we’ve just been spoiled this week?
Here we are in Waynesville, a town of fewer than 3,000 people that we discover is a town full of antique shops. And therefore a good selection of places to eat.
Time to fuel up for our final, 54-mile day.
Rested up after our ride into Columbus the day before, we start with an easy one-mile ride straight south from our street in Short North to pick up the Ohio to Erie Trail.
And once again we stayed on trail to get out of the city. Hats off to those who got bike-ped bridges over rivers and main roads to make our route so smooth.
First stop of the day: Amy’s Donuts, thanks to a recommendation from a local.
Crazy range of donuts:
I paid for it later. Too much sugar.
We took a break in London, at the southern end of the Roberts Pass Trail (which we in turn picked up at the end of the Camp Chase Trail near the edge of Coilumbus). It boasts that it is on five major trails/bike routes: OTET; Great American Rail Trail; U.S. Bicycle Route 50 that will one day go from Washington D.C. to San Francisco; Adventure Cycling’s Underground Railroad route; and Adventure Cycling’s Chicago-to-New-York route.
So cool that the town has set up a free campsite for cyclists (with a shelter, water, restroom and Wi-Fi — and they call it primitive!) along the 20-year-old Prairie Grass Trail. Stealth campers, make your life easy!
For the rest of us, there’s this right there too, made a decade ago by local vo-tech students:
We’re thankful for other amenities that towns along the straight and sunny rail-trails have established: real bathrooms and water to refill our bottles. The Cedarville library right on the trail has air conditioning, of course, but even snacks for locals that also cyclists can enjoy.
We’ve got A/C in Waynesville too, in our super-affordable motel rooms.
Hard to believe that we’ll be in Cincinnati in less than 24 hours.
More sights along this stretch of OTET:
Exploring by bicycle 
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