Discovering America by Bicycle | PART 25: THROUGH THE CUYAHOGA VALLEY (Ohio to Erie Trail Part 4)

[@pewpewpew84]

Can’t wait to start watching more of you’re videos!

[@juliannahenley4921]

Gonna take you on an adventure someday. Heard you got a new set of wheels!

[@TheBicycleTourists]

Yup! thanks Miles! Let's ride!

[@amylipkin2116]

You two are friggin amazing!! I am enjoying watching your adventures!! I don't want it to ever end!!

[@TheBicycleTourists]

Aah thank you Amy! You made my day!

[@dennispiciullo8060]

Another awesome video, love it!

[@TheBicycleTourists]

Thanks!

[@NickRoth85]

As a resident of Northeast Ohio, I'm glad to hear you enjoyed the trail! Interesting fact about the swampy area where you filmed the crane and the turtles - that used to be a junkyard until they put in a bunch of effort cleaning up the old car parts and stuff and then flooded it to make a home for all the wildlife you saw!

[@TheBicycleTourists]

Yes, loved Ohio, absolutely amazing cycling all the way. Love the background info. It's inspiring to see humans correcting their own problems. Thanks for that!

[@tracyklensch3259]

This was a gorgeous ride! I especially loved the historic canals, interesting bridges and the beautiful Cleveland lakefront area! Grateful Julianna was able to get treatment along the way. : ) I laughed out loud at the comments about your loaded bikes. You two continue to amaze and inspire!

[@TheBicycleTourists]

Awww thank you Tracy! This really is a beautiful stretch. Lots to see, great history, and although Cleveland gets a bad rap, we found it very lovely.

[@Biking360]

We have a lot of great canals and towpaths in the UK too/Great paces for cycling and this looked like a brilliant ride.

[@TheBicycleTourists]

Yes, Britain is high on the list for us. Been there a few times, I walked the Cotswolds Way many years ago, and fell in love with the place.

[@MikeMitchell-m6c]

I've been watching your trek across The United States. I can't believe you made it to the Towpath. You are just minutes from my mother's home. You where in Peninusula, OH where the river crosses the path/bridge. Loved seeing your take of the area. Thanks for all that you do, very inspiring. I'm glad you didn't give up there in the end.....crazy turn of events in Vermont.

[@TheBicycleTourists]

Yes, that was a crazy summer. A lot can go wrong on a bike tour, a lot can go right. Loved the Peninsula area. Just lovely.

[@RonEmser]

Loved It! Starting our adventure from Kent to CLE .

[@TheBicycleTourists]

You're gonna have a great time no doubt.

[@FollowThomas]

Your intro itself was awesome so that I got hooked already 👍🙂 I been bike touring here in Florida in every county but now starting to explore out of state. I just found your channel. Very cool. This trail looks amazing. I would love to ride it someday. Have a good day 👍

[@TheBicycleTourists]

I hope you get a chance. It really is a lovely part of the country.

[@simpletruth5224]

Nice mirror lol The videography was top notch, especially 9:00-10:00 minute mark

[@TheBicycleTourists]

Thank you! Yes, I especially liked that section. Apparently, before the National Park, that area was a landfill, or something similar.

[@timjeffries3182]

I can't believe we missed you by less than a week - we left Cincinnati (home) on Sept. 7 and headed north on the OTET, arriving in Cleveland on Sept. 12. Sorry we just missed you and riding with you. Glad to see you really enjoyed our trail.

[@TheBicycleTourists]

Yeah, I love the OTET. Ohio ha done amazing things with cycling infrastructure.

[@RichardWright3450]

Gotta love those canals! We rode a few in and around London, England but we don't so many here in the mountains. I envy the more or less flat land you have reached - but you earned it.

[@TheBicycleTourists]

I've hiked along canals in Britain and would love to do more. Someday we will do a tour of Britain, definitely on the bucket list.

[@stevebailey7633]

Clevland is actually a wonderful town, went to the R&R Hall of Fame last April, it was terrific. Had a nice stay there. Cold as sin in winter though, being on the lake.

[@TheBicycleTourists]

Yeah, all those cities on the lake are frigid in the winter. Glad to hear you enjoyed it.

[@cherylbigoness7441]

Loved it! Just found out you’re a couple years older than me and a couple years younger than my husband! I hope Julianna’s thumb felt better and the injection helped! Can’t wait for Chapter 26 👏

[@TheBicycleTourists]

Julianna and I were just discussing that. She thought it would be a good idea to keep our ages a secret. I didn't even know that I'd mentioned my age!

[@juliannahenley4921]

Hey Cheryl. My thumb is much better. When i returned from this trip I had the much needed surgery to remove the arthritic bone and replace it with a rolled up tendon. Like new!!!

[@cherylbigoness7441]

@@juliannahenley4921 So happy to hear that, you have many more years to hold those handlebars and bike ahead of you!

[@tomc8730]

What a beautiful ride! The canal trail reminds us of our trip last fall on the C&O canal. We laughed at your comments about some people thinking that bike touring is cool, but that many more folks look at your loaded down bikes and just wonder why. We plan to ride the OTET next May from south to north and wondered if you have any recommendation concerning where to finish our route and if an extra day on lake Erie would be good before flying back home. Also, we have never really needed maps on our other adventures. Would the google map app on the bicycle setting get us from start to finish through Ohio? We really look forward to your tour segments each week..

[@TheBicycleTourists]

Thanks Tom! The C&O is a gorgeous ride. Did you also take the GAP? I'm not totally sure of where the trail ends in Cleveland, we were heading northeast from there and probably skipped the official endpoint. Also, didn't spend much time in Cleveland, although when we did spend a day in some of these rust-belt cities we were consistently amazed at what they had to offer. I love the Great Lakes, and always appreciate being there. And yes, Google Maps (or Komoot) would work well on the OTET, but the trail is super-well signed, so even when they route you on roads, it's kind of hard to get lost. So an app is not very necessary.

[@tomc8730]

@@TheBicycleTourists Yes, we did the GAP and C&O. It was our first time in Washington DC or Pittsburgh for that matter. We had a great ride on the trails and certainly enjoyed our stay in those two cities. It was interesting coming out of the wilds of the C&O and in a matter of miles, finding ourselves on the national mall. Incredible experience! We are doing the GAP again this fall out and back, staying in some different towns and adding a kayak experience on the Youghiogheny river during a rest day. We love riding the river trails in Pittsburgh too.

[@spaceghost8995]

I rode the Ohio To Erie Trail (Cincy to Cleve) in May 2023! Had a great ride! ❤❤😂😂

[@TheBicycleTourists]

I would love to do it again some day. I thought it was superb!

[@MKokruok1]

Binge watched from the beginning- great work! P.S. you broke the OTET tradition by not climbing the spiraling tower you passed by earlier in the ride 😉. You are forgiven, lol!

[@TheBicycleTourists]

Yes, we learned what the tower is in somebody's reply. We were mystified. It's a very cool tower, I wished we'd known!

[@TheBicycleTourists]

And seriously, thanks for binging! So appreciated!

[@alethearobinson8132]

Another lovely chapter of your ride. Curious. What brand is your bike

[@alethearobinson8132]

Mirror

[@TheBicycleTourists]

Thank you! I ride a Novarra Safari, Julianna rides a Salsa Journeyman.

[@TheBicycleTourists]

Oh, just got to the second part of your comment. Sorry, that knowledge has been long forgotten. I should remember, because i looked at a lot of mirrors before I found one that worked for me.

[@spaceghost8995]

Climbing OUT of the valley in Cleveland was a lot of uphill I recall!

[@TheBicycleTourists]

We deviated from the official path as we got into Cleveland, headed straight for the lake and missed downtown, so our memory would be different.

[@PumpkinVillage]

Another beautiful ride. 1959 was an outstanding year. What style /brand mirror was that? Looking for a different one myself. There's nothing wrong with carrying your house on your bike.😁😁 Just did three day rides in the Adirondacks. Thanks for another outstanding video. Take care, Al

[@TheBicycleTourists]

I would love to ride in the Adirondacks. Being born in '59 means I can claim an extra decade. Let's see, I've now got 8 decades under my belt. I have no idea on the mirror, sorry. I'm the worlds worst consumer. I will say it's the only one I found on the trip that worked for me. I wonder if anyone noticed that I'd gear-tied Juliannas mirror that she'd shattered in a minor mishap onto my bar early on in the trip until I could find one that worked. Lesson learned. It's a very good idea to tour with a rear view mirror.

[@PumpkinVillage]

@@TheBicycleTourists Yep. Mirror and lights. My two things. Never noticed the gear ties. Thanks Al

[@runningslowman]

Super videos. I'm just starting out on bike touring and am using your videos to help plan my trips. I am considering a bag setup like Julianna has with the Ortlieb yellow back-rollers in back and either the high-vis or the yellow sport-roller bags in the front. I'm curious why she went with the high-vis rather than the yellow sport-roller and if she is happy with that decision. I assume it was for safety reasons?

[@TheBicycleTourists]

This will be a boring answer but I think because that's what was available at the REI at that time. Visibility would've been a better answer.

[@spaceghost8995]

Have you shared exactly how many miles your route across the country totalled?

[@TheBicycleTourists]

I believe it was around 3000 miles, subtracting the portion we cheated on. Here are our Komoot links: Part 1-Rialto Beach, Washington to Great Falls Montana: www.komoot.com/tour/959040934 Part 2 - Kansas City, Kansas to Kittery, Maine: www.komoot.com/tour/959054672

[@eddyg1794]

Really enjoyed this episode until I found out Roland is a year younger than I am. Dang it! lol

[@TheBicycleTourists]

But getting older all the time.

[@Mdsonic77]

This is a great video however, your sequencing of when you arrived into Cleveland is way off the neighborhoods. You show were nowhere near the area after Canal Road. That path through Canal Road and through steelyard, and Tremont are very nice and safe, but otherwise great video.

[@TheBicycleTourists]

You're right, we left the OTET just south of Cleveland to head up the Erie coast.

[@lifeat10mph7]

The rest of Ohio apologizes for Cleveland

[@TheBicycleTourists]

Awww now. I kinda feel sorry for Cleveland. And truth is, we enjoyed our brief run through.