Wheeling Rides

I purchased the Garmin Etrex Vista Cx ($235) from PCntion.com. I was looking for a cheap turn by turn routing GPS. I originally was going to purchase a black and white model, but for $20 difference I went with the color model. The screen is visible and readable in daylight. It does have a backlight function, but I rarely need it. I already owned the Mapsource software ($100). I loaded most of Ohio, western PA, and a route down to MD into the stock 64MB memory card (upgradeable). The routes are turn by turn and if you plug in a destination the unit will auto route to your destination. One warning. If you purchase the handlebar mount ($15), the replacement back does not fit the Cx because of the memory card slot. Garmin tech told me to connect the clip to the existing back and clip it to the handlebar mount. I have taken it on about 5 rides without a problem.

On Saturday July 28 we rode the Ohio and Erie Canal Towpath Trail. We drove from Canal Fulton north to Brecksville Reservation. We rode south toward Akron for about 20 miles. The path is flat and is crushed limestone. It was wet from rain the night before so we were covered with the limestone dust. The ride is beautiful. It parallels the old canal and the Cuyahoga River for sections. The locks are still visible, but the canal itself is filled in for most of its' length. Canal Fulton does maintain a working section of the canal with mules and canal boat. Most of the path is protected by tree cover, but the path does cross cornfields and major roadways. It follows the river valley so the river is visible for most of the ride. It was fairly busy with foot and bicycle traffic. I would recommend a mountain or comfort bike with wider/knobby tires. We stopped at the Valley Cafe for lunch. We all had their gyro sandwiches which were delicious and quite reasonably priced.

On Sunday July 29 we headed up to the Sweet Corn Challenge in Richfield Ohio. I have ridden the Sweet Corn for the last three years. The first year I attempted the century and came up short at 88 miles. This year and last I rode the 50 mile option. They throw some hills into the ride and try to keep riders on their toes by changing the route each year. This year was no exception. The hills were loaded into the second half of the ride. I was averaging 16mph until the mid 30 mile range. I ended up with 14.4mph average over 50. Snowville Road was pretty tough and the organizers threw in a hill at the 49 mile mark. The ride starts and ends at the park in the center of town. They had massage tables setup and a live band. True to the name of the ride the corn this year was very sweet. The corn was part of a plate of food that is included in the admission.

7:00-9:00 AM. New Albany Elementary School, 87 N. High Street, New Albany OH. Ride the ridges on routes of 30/55/80/100 miles. Short route has three hills; longer routes have many more. Budget tour. Joanna Pallos 614/868-6875 jootbuck(at)aol.com Nancy Betz 614/847-0517 betz.3(at)osu.edu

COP 10th XOBA: Across Ohio Bicycle Adventure, Day 1 Date: Saturday July 21, 2007 Time: 7:00 am - 9:00 am Location: See Notes and XOBA Web Site Notes: FULL Light House Maritime Heritage Tour. Indiana to Pennsylvania with a happy combination of food, fun, friends, and frolic. Average daily mileage: 60. Rider limit: 200. Info at http://www.outdoor-pursuits.org/xoba/ or XOBA, 1525 Bethel Rd., Suite 100, Columbus, Ohio 43220-2054. Walt Williams 614/442-7901 xoba (AT) outdoor-pursuits.org

To all Nail City Bike riders, or any other riders in the Tri State area.....Taylor McCluskey, Doug Pettit and I [Marty Morrison] are on the Young Life committee, and we spoke to a number of the 'hard core' cyclists who went to the mountains in April about the YOUNG LIFE bike a thon to be held Saturday morning July 21 at the Warwood [Wheeling, Wva] park and shelter adjacent to the bike trail. The distances are 20 miles [on the bike trail, flat] 40 miles [up the bike trail to Short Creek, up to Mcgraws run down to 40, east on 40 to Atkinson crossing rd, and Atkinson crossing back down to Short Creek road and reverse the bike trail home. The 80 miler runs out the same start as the 40 mile, but on rt. 40 continues east on rt 40 to the OLD RT 40 that cuts up to West Alexander, following that back to 40 just below Claysville Pa., stay on 40 to Rt. 231 north out of Claysville 10 miles to Old Washington Pike [P.A. 644] left about 3 miles to Highland Springs G.C, left on 88 to Bethany,

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