Build it and they will come...or ride it.

Yesterday I had the pleasure of riding with a couple that decided to use this website as a way to navigate around Cleveland on mostly rural roads and trails.  Rachel and Patrick are from Boise, Idaho, and are traveling from Washington to Maine on their own version of the Northern Tier Route.  They are incorporating trails as much as possible.  They entered our area from the west using the Valley Parkway Trail, Towpath to Pennisula, Rt 303, and the Summit Hike and Bike trail.

Happy to demonstrate the route, I met up with Rachel and Patrick on the Portage Hike and Bike Trail early on August 16th, near the North Water Brewing Company.  A light rain began almost immediately and continued throughout the day.  We followed the trail to its terminus at Peck Road, and continued north on Peck for seven miles.  This road is also part of the Buckeye Trail.  It intersects with the Headwaters Trail less than a mile from downtown Mantua, a potential stopping point for cycle tourists and a Buckeye Trail Town.   We continued east to Garrettsville and used the newly paved connector from the trail end at the city ballfields to reach Rt 82.  Stopping for a snack at the nearby IGA, we then scooted around the back of the building and continued east on quiet country lanes including Silica/Pierce, Silica Sand, and Eagle Creek Roads.  The only hiccup was a detour necessitated by a missing bridge where Silica Sand Rd crosses Eagle Creek.  A construction worker confirmed there was “nothing there but swimming snakes and rocks.”  11/10/21 Update: The bridge was back in service by November as planned.

We took a slightly more southerly route to the Western Reserve Greenway alignment than the connection I promote on this site, as they planned to stay in downtown Warren near the county courthouse.  They will head up the WRG next, and plan to travel the Erie Canalway before continuing north, then east.

You can read more about their travels at: www.cycleblaze.com/journals/racpatnortherntier2021/