Crestline Ohio ride

 For my birthday ride, I started by giving my drive chain a good once-over.  I used my new Ecosheep cleaning kit and brushed some grunge off the derailleur and chain, then lubed the chain.  I used some purple nail polish to cover a couple of light scratches.  It's not a perfect match, but it helps. 

 I started in Lexington and rode north on the Richland B&O trail, stopping to take a photo at the mural where the trail crosses under West Fourth Street.  This mural is approximately five years old.  It's been treated with a graffiti-resistant surface coat.  The morning light was dappled and gives it a completely different appearance than on a winter afternoon. 

I continued on to North Lake Park.  There were a few other people in the park, but it was uncrowded. Except for the geese.  They honk, but they aren't seemingly aggressive.  

From there,  I left the trail and ventured out across Fourth Street to Middle Park.  I understand that there is a plan called "Mansfield Rising" and that joining the city parks with a mixed-use path is part of that plan.  Right now, Middle Park between Park Avenue and Fourth Street is closed to car traffic.  I rode through and noticed the reason why - a bridge over a culvert has significant erosion.  There was still plenty of room to get by on my bike, but I stayed away from the edge. I continued to cross Park Avenue into South Park.  This park has a number of historical markers, a community garden, a log cabin, restrooms, and the Parks office.  

I rode through the park and over into the neighborhood south of Maple Street.  I wanted to go to the bakery "Share ‘N Dipity" on Taylor Road, but found it was closed on Sundays.   The Mansfield bike loop runs through that area on Arlington Ave.  I followed this route back north on Linden past Kingwood Center and the Mansfield High school.  I turned left on Fourth Street.  I had some trepidation, knowing it is a busy road, but on Sunday morning traffic was relatively light and drivers were courteous. I continued into Ontario, and ate lunch at Rooster's. I chained my bike to the fencing at the outdoor seating area, but went inside to eat.  I made sure to get a table where I could keep my bike in sight.   I'd never been to this restaurant before, and was pleasantly surprised by the menu.  

 I kept going past the site of the former GM stamping plant, where the shoulder became fairly wide, as wide as the bike trail.  I continued on to Crestline, about six miles away. The shoulder narrowed a little as I came into town, but I still had plenty of room. I turned left on County Line Road and right on South Street.   I love the brick-lined streets.  It is amazing to me that they are still intact, and haven't all been paved over. 

I meandered through Crestline a bit, crossing the underpass on Scott Street and the overpass on Thoman.  Crestline was a railroad town in the 1800's and railroads crisscross it from it seems like every direction. I crossed the railroad and travelled over to Wiley Street, where I headed north.    I stopped at 7-11 and got a drink and used the restroom, then continued out of town on County Line Road.  In old times, you could go straight from Crestline to Blooming Grove on the unsurprisingly named "Crestline-Blooming Grove Road".  But, the Galion airport runway was extended and the road was routed around it and it became "Galion Airport Road".  I noted that now that US Route 30 bypass was built (20 years ago?) the road is now named "Ulmer Road" for the farmstead that is the only destination on this now-dead-end road.  I continued east on "County Line Road", which is also named State Route 181, to Horning Road.  I know there are a few families named Horning that lived on this road.  I headed south, then crossed over SR 309 and turned right on Lime Road.  This short road is about a mile and a half in length.  At the end I continued south on Blooming Grove Road, which takes a little jog as it crosses Harding Way East, also known as Millsboro Road.  The weather was beautiful, it was a perfect sunny day, if a bit windy.  I was heading south into a southwest breeze.  

I continued into Blooming Grove and turned on SR 97, passing the birthplace of President Harding, which is marked with a historical marker. 

 At this point, I was regretting eating lunch inside the restaurant and stopping at the 7-11 in Crestline, because the time was getting late, and I needed to be home in time to collect a birthday dinner from my husband.  Due to the headwind, my speed was not great.  As I approached Lexington on SR97, traffic got a little heavier, and I decided to take a country road approach into Lexington.  I checked the map and found that Steam Corners Road went straight east-west, crossing SR 314, and going right into town.  It was a little over a mile south of where I was on SR97. 

There were a few hills on Steam Corners, but not too terrible, I was able to ride all of them, past the Mid-Ohio Race Way,  without walking the bike up.  The overall route had been somewhat downhill since Crestline.  This is not surprising, since Crestline was named after the "crest line" that runs through Ohio.  North of Crestline, water runs to Lake Erie, and south of Crestline, water runs to the Olentangy through Columbus, then on to the Ohio River.   My uphill climbs were rewarded with longer downhills.  As I approached Lexington, I was starting to worry about whether my brakes would hold as I approached SR97.  They did.  I was able to cross and wend my way through a development back to the spot on the B&O trailhead where I parked my car. 

My original plan had been to ride south to Butler on the trail, and return, to complete my 65-mile ride on my 65th birthday.  But, I didn't want to miss dinner, so I resolved to ride the remaining 25 miles in the morning, still within 24 hours of the start of my ride. 

Happy birthday to me!