Grand Tour - Versailles

 If you draw a line from Cincinnati to Cleveland, you will be cutting Ohio in half diagonally.  The line will be close to the path of Interstate 71.  In general, the terrain to the north and west of I-71 is flat as a pancake.  And in general, the terrain to the south and east of I-71 is hilly, increasing in elevation as you approach the Appalachians.  If you ride a bike, paying attention to elevation is important. 

Yesterday I headed west, to the cities of New Bremen and Versailles.  New Bremen is a community with German heritage.  I noticed the markings for an Oktoberfest 10K run marked on the streets as I pedaled past.  I later learned that was part of the Minster Oktoberfest. 

Versailles, as you might guess from the name, is a village with some French heritage.  The town was originally named Jacksonville, but in 1837 the residents petitioned for a name change to Versailles.  The residents pronounce the name of the Ohio town "Ver-SALES" instead of the French "Ver-SIGH".  There is some local lore that the German residents of the town were not happy with the French pronunciation. 

I wondered what unpopularity with President Jackson led to the name change.  I found that during Jackson's second term, he dealt with the threatened secession of South Carolina over tariffs by threatening the use of military force.  He vetoed renewal of the charter of the Second Bank of the United States.  He implemented various reforms to eliminate waste and corruption in government, but at the same time, his presidency marked the beginning of the "spoils system" where the majority party takes advantage of cronyism and nepotism. He signed the Indian Removal Act to forcibly remove Native American tribes to Indian Territories, and opposed the abolitionist movement.  In 1835, he survived the first assassination attempt on a sitting President. 

The residents, in 1837, preferred to change the name from Jacksonville to Versailles.  Versailles, France is a suburb on the outskirts of Paris, only about 17 km from the city center. Versailles is remembered as the seat of the French Court during the reigns of Louis XIV through XVI, and for its fabulous palace and gardens, designated as a UNESCO world heritage site.  Known as a named city since at least the eleventh century, it was an important center of trade, being on the road from Paris to Normandy. Being known as the "cradle of the French Revolution," its population declined until recovering in the twentieth century.  Today it is an important center for government, administration, the military, and tourism.  Its population was approximately 85,000 in 2018.

Versailles, Ohio, is a village of 2,687 as of the 2010 census.  It is a farming community, the motto proudly displayed on the town's welcoming sign is "People-Pride-Progress" and views itself as a progressive community.  The village hosts an annual Poultry Festival on the second full weekend in June.  Weaver Brothers Eggs is an important local business. The village has also sponsored a stop on the Great Ohio Bicycle Adventure twice in the past, most recently in 2007, and was scheduled to host again in 2020, until COVID-19 forced the postponement of the ride until 2021. 

I started my trip in New Bremen, Ohio.  It is approximately two hours from my home.  I got up early and left home around 6:30, before the sun came up.  I arrived in New Bremen and parked at the "Crown" dome in the park just south of the bicycle museum. 

  Of course it was too early for a visit, but I hoped to be back before the museum closed.  I was glad the restrooms in the park were open after my long drive.  They appeared to be in a new building and were sparkling clean. I checked my map and had a moment of panic when I could not find my planned route.  After a few minutes I realized I had sent a google route map to my email, and I retrieved it. 

The sky was overcast when I arrived. It was a little bit chilly so I put on my bolero.  This is a very useful garment as it keeps you warm, but isn't bulky to store when it gets warmer.   I started south on the bike trail, the Miami and Erie Trail, along the parking lot. It was crushed limestone, but a good surface and my bike handled it easily. I remembered riding on gravel on my recent trip in Cincinnati, and the flat tires that resulted in my purchasing "touring" tires instead of the "racing" tires or "slicks" that I had before.  I realized before I got too far that I had forgotten to check my tire pressure, so I turned around and returned to my car.  I filled the tires to 85 pounds of pressure and started again. 

The trail ran next to a canal.  I saw a blue heron fishing in the canal.  I also noticed the floating deck some homeowners had installed in the canal. Looks like a nice place for a party. 

After a few short miles, the trail came to an end and I ventured onto the city streets.  Traffic was very light.  Of course, it was still early.  I didn't notice when I reached the end of New Bremen and arrived in Minster. I turned south onto State Highway 66.  In town, the traffic was heavy, and there wasn't much shoulder. But a few miles further out, it was better.  

It was quite pleasant, as the paved shoulder was at least 24 inches wide, and I did not feel in any danger from passing cars.  I reached Fort Laramie.  It seemed a very nice little town.

  I kept pedaling, and was well south of Fort Laramie when I realized I had overshot my planned turn (it was on another route map, not the one I retrieved) to go to the Fort Laramie state park.  I was too far past it to turn around and still return home by a reasonable time, so I resolved to drive past it in my car once my visit was complete. 

As the morning wore on, I realized I was riding into a headwind and crosswind.  Riding a bike has a lot to do with what you are thinking as well as your muscles.  I was mad because I didn't go to the park, and I was discouraged by the wind.  When I got to an intersection with Short Road, I looked at the map again and realized I had no reason to go farther south and east as on my route map, having missed the park, so I decided that taking Short road would be a shortcut.  

Remember that I started out this post saying how Ohio is generally flat north and west of I-71?  Well, Short road was an exception.  This road had a number of rolling hills, and I ended up walking up one of them.  I wondered if my camera was still rolling (It wasn't, the battery had died) to document my lack of hill-climbing ability.  

Eventually after a number of zigs and zags and railroad crossings

 and hills, I reached the Village of Russia. 

  I stopped at a grocery, the only place that I spotted that might have a restroom.  I then proceeded on to Versailles. 

 Boring CPAs? It sounds like a joke. 

The town square had several sculptures that were reminiscient of Paris. 

I ate lunch at the Sideliners Sports Bar and Grill.  I had to take my bike inside, because I realized that although I had my bike lock, I did not have the key for it. The owners were really nice about it. The hamburger was great. 

The trip back to New Bremen was much quicker.  I had a tailwind, and it was more of a gradual downhill.  I passed through the town of Willowdell and continued north.  I arrived in time to spend half an hour inside the Bicycle Museum of America.  It was amazing! I will need to return to spend more time.  There were Harley Davidson bikes, a Corvette, the first bicycle-like two-wheeled transport, many penny-farthing cycles, and many more.The museum has over 900 bikes in its collection, although all of them are not on display at once. 

After my visit to the bicycle museum, I did drive past the Fort Laramie  state park.  It was beautiful.  I saw a few bicyclists on State Route 362, and it had a wide shoulder.  The lake was only a few feet from the highway, and had many accessible parking lots.  There was a sign advertising an AirBnb right across the highway.  I'd like to come back and stay here sometime, too.