Seville bike trip - Cycling Grand Tour of Ohio

 I joined a great group of women cyclists this year, when they asked me to serve as a Women's Cycling Ambassador.  Due to the pandemic, I haven't met most of them in person, but I have met a few of them.  

Last night I had the pleasure of meeting another one.  Melanie Fry was visiting Ohio from Tennesee.  She invited a couple of us, Lori Lynn and myself, to ride with her in her childhood neighborhood near Seville, Ohio.  Of course I jumped on this opportunity to add another city to my Grand Tour of Ohio.  Also riding with us was one of her childhood friends, actually a friend of her brother's.  

Seville, Spain

When I was 19, I had the opportunity to study abroad in Segovia, Spain.  During that year, I fell in love with all things Spanish.  There are so many regions in Spain and each province is a little different.  Segovia is the city where Ferdinand and Isabelle reigned in 1492, and where Columbus petitioned them for money.  It is austere, and it is the spiritual heart of the "Castilian" language, the most pure Spanish.  Extremadura, meaning "extremely hard" is the home of Cervantes' Don Quixote.  Asturias is all about the sea, and the Basque country and Catalonia are almost like another country, as most signs are posted in both Spanish and Catalan.  This northeast part of Spain is very modern and industrial.  During my year in Spain, a fellow student and I spent Easter break travelling through the south of Spain from Segovia through Toledo, onward to Valencia, Seville and Granada.  

Andalusia is the southern region of Spain, where these three cities are located.  It is probably the most "typical" version of Spain that schoolchildren learn about and most tourists know.  The flamenco dancers, bull fighting, wrought iron balconies, Morrocan tiles set in whitewashed buildings with cascading flowers are all typical of Andalusia. 

According to a current article in Huffington Post, Seville is the #1 city you should visit this year, as designated by The Lonely Planet tour guides.  Some architectural attractions are the world's largest Gothic cathedral, built in the fifthteenth century; La Giralda, a  bell tower that was formerly a minaret for a mosque;

Photo credit: View from the Giralda as published on "Not Just a Tourist" web site. 

  and El Alcazar,  a royal palace built during the Reconquest of Spain by the Christians after the Moors were driven out of Spain. 

Photo credit: By Luckyz - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=5804768

Photo credit: Jose Luis Filpo Cabana, CC BY 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

Photo credit: Ajay Suresh from New York, NY, USA, CC BY 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

During Holy Week every year, or Semana Santa, the week my friend and I visited, the entire city was involved in the festivities.  There are many processions from (and to) the churches with icons of Saints being carried and penitents carrying crosses.  There are hundreds of thousands of celebrants and tourists there for the spectacle and pageantry.  Many of the participants wear robes and hoods, which were oddly reminiscient of the KKK to this American. 

Public domain image from Wikimedia Commons

Seville, Ohio

My primary purpose in visiting Seville, Ohio was to ride bikes with my fellow Women's Cycling Ambassadors on a friendly neighborhood ride.  We parked our cars and rode on country roads to the nearby County Line Bike Trail.  This trail follows the line of the former Erie Lackawanna Railroad.  We reached it near the middle.  The trail runs about 7 miles from Rittman to Creston.   We rode to Rittman first, then to Creston, and back to our starting point.  The trail surface was almost perfect.  There was a short stretch where we had to ride on the highway, evidently the right-of-way was not available for trail development.    Our total ride was just about 20 miles.   The bike trail was flat.  The roads were rolling.  I am still working on my hill climbing abilities, and had to walk up one or two of them.  

It was that "golden hour" of the day when the sun was shining nearly horizontally and reflecting on everything with a golden glow.  The towering grain silos at a distance were shining above the farm fields.  The temperature was in the 50's and the sky was blue, and the grass was green.  The trees were blossoming with spring's warmer temperatures.  The gnats were swarming in clouds at a few points along the trail.  I think I swallowed one!   There were some amazing views along the way, but I was busy pedaling and did not stop to take a lot of pictures.  I did get a few! 

I crossed the railroad tracks just as the crossing gates came down and bells started ringing.  A super fast freight train passed by while we took a rest break. 

Former Baltimore & Ohio freight station located just west of the trailhead in Sterling at Kauffman Avenue, which will be refurbished and repurposed as a museum. 

After our ride, I said goodbye to my friends.  I drove my car to the actual town of Seville while twilight was falling.  I parked my car in one of the DIAGONAL parking spaces downtown.  (I thought these all disappeared in Ohio during urban renewal in the 60's and 70's!!!) 

I was pleased to see a bike shop.  Even if it was for e-bikes.  Electric Pete's E-Bikes is what the sign said. 

Mix of old and new, the church spire juxtaposed with the bank ATM counterpoint. 

Sun was just setting and the streetlights were charming in front of the cafe. 

My car was parked in front of a florist. 

The Seville library was another contrast in old and new, the classic architecture with the electronic sign in front. 

The town was like many rural towns in Ohio, along a railroad line with a large grain elevator in the background behind the Rusty Bucket.  Look at that DIAGONAL parking! 

I think I saw a Tree City USA sign on my way into town.  The many ornamental  crabapple trees were in full flower.  

The town reminded me of my hometown, the way it used to be during my childhood. Of course, there was no e-bike store then! 

Seville, Spain - population 690,000 as of  2016

Seville, Ohio -  population 2,296 as of 2010

If you call ahead to schedule it, you can visit the Seville, Ohio historical society museum, which holds life-size mannequins of  Captain and Mrs. Martin Van Buren Bates, who were 8-foot tall giants! 

According to the Village of Seville's web site, "The Captain & Mrs. Bates toured Europe and the United States giving lectures and having "teas." They were presented at the Court of England on at least 2 occasions. Many of their friends included the royal families of Europe."  So, they also did "the Grand Tour!" 

Seville, Ohio is located in Medina County, just north of Ohio's Amish country.  

Wooster Bike Trail

 Yesterday I had an appointment for physical therapy (more about that later) in Wooster, Ohio.  So I popped my bike onto the carrier, locked it up with a cable, and took off for my 7:30 am appointment. 

My plan was to find a trail near Wooster to cure my geographic boredom.  I've been doing some training rides on the Richland B&O trail near me.  It is a wonderful, 18.5 mile trail that is really well-maintained that runs from Mansfield to Butler, running through Ontario, Lexington, Bellville .  You can park your car at any of the trail lots and ride to the end, double back, and ride to the other end, return to your car for a 37-mile ride. It connects to the Mansfield city loop, and there are plans in the works for the park system to be connected.  But repeating it over and over does get stale after a while.

So, I took my bike to Wooster.  After my PT appointment, I stopped in at Panera Bread to collect my coffee-club brew, while I considered my options.

There was a group of old men (retirees?) at the next table, having coffee and discussing world events from their view in Wooster, Ohio.  I almost jumped up to provide an alternate point of view a couple of times, but I managed to restrain myself and dedicated myself to looking up a rail-trail near Wooster.  I didn't find any.  So I turned on the bicycling layer in Google maps and saw a defined bike path a block away from where I was sitting.  It led to a park and a big circular route.

I parked between the Children's services building and the soccer complex.

  I asked a soccer mom if there was a restroom nearby, and she pointed out the field house at the other end of the complex.  She offered that if the water is turned on, maybe I could fill my empty water bottles at the drinking fountain.  I rode off to check it out. Turned out the restrooms were open, but drinking fountain was shut off.  Probably due to Covid-19.

I noticed a bike repair station next to the trail.  It looked new.  

I kept riding along the paved trail.  Someone had painted directional arrows on the path. So, since I wasn't really sure where I was going, I followed them.  They led to a path that ran along the street.  Then to a area that was under construction, and I could see that the path went on across the street.

So I hopped off my bike, crossed the boardwalk, and kept going.  A rider in Spandex whizzed past me, so I guessed I was on the right path.

The path led to another park.  This was the 

Oak Hill park.  The pavilion near the entrance had a map.  My photo is poor, you can see my reflection in the glass.

A plaque on the building gave the names of several donors.  I recognized the name of a local grocery store chain. The water fountains were turned off.

As soon as I entered the park, I noticed a "King of the hill" feature with a couple of benches on top.  I tried to ride up, but had to dismount.  The view was incredible.  I felt like I could see all the way to Mansfield.  

I had to dismount to go down, as I was afraid I could not make those right-angle turns at the end.

The Park was situated on a slope, so as I entered the loop, I was mostly going downhill.   I knew I would pay the price on the return leg, and I was correct.  I am working on my hill-climbing ability, but I am not there yet.   

I saw a couple ahead of me.  I called out "on your left", preparing to pass them.   The girl moved to the right and the guy moved to the left.   I had slowed a little, so I was able to pass between them safely.  You can never depend on people knowing trail etiquette.  When someone indicates they are passing, don't jump into their lane!  Just keep doing whatever you are doing, move to the right a little if it is safe.  I called out "ooooh-kay?" as I went past to let him know that his action had been unexpected.  He yelled "Just take the whole road!" I wasn't sure if it was friendly or not!  

A few minutes later I was climbing a hill and ran out of air in my lungs.  So I stopped at a convenient bench to rest.  The couple passed me and made a friendly remark, so I guess all was forgiven.  

I returned to the park entrance and back to my car by a slightly different route.   I accidently bumped my phone and ended the tracking prematurely, so there are two maps for this ride.

The total mileage was not very much, but it satisfied my need to get out of town.

So, why am I getting physical therapy?  It seems that I have not been stretching properly before or after my rides and am suffering from a common cyclists' overuse injury.  My quads and hamstrings have shortened in the leg with the knee replacement, which irritates the tendons and is causing tendonitis. So the physical therapist is teaching me techniques to stretch the muscles.  I regret to say that if I had kept up with my yoga during the pandemic, I might have avoided this.

One other way I am branching out is that I have accepted the invitation to lead a local chapter of Women's Cycling group.  There are a couple of local women I have ridden with during the last week and we have agreed to ride on Tuesdays during the day.  We'll meet at the Richland B&O parking lot north of Lexington at 10:00 on Tuesdays.  

Club kit is available now at https://teamstore.pactimo.com/stores/women-s-cycling/show.

Last thing.  This morning I got a chance to get a few more les in before the rain.  Spring is coming, trees are starting to leaf out.  

Thanks for following!