Grand Tour of Ohio -Dublin

I finally made it to Dublin, Ohio, for the first time in my life.  It's only an hour away.   

I found out on Saturday that it was the home of the Muirfield Memorial PGA golf tournament.   My husband and I had driven down to scope out the tour I had planned for the Mid Ohio Bikers Tuesday Social Ride.  We got involved in a lot of traffic congestion.    Today I rode the route and traffic was much lighter!

I planned the ride starting from Avery Park, heading north in a general direction, and looping around Jerome before turning to the south.

Here's the plan:

 You can access it on Ride with GPS at this link.  But be aware, I have some corrections to make. 

https://ridewithgps.com/routes/47056226 

When parking at Avery Park, I noticed this large soccer ball skeleton.  It is just one example of art in public places in Dublin.   

After parking the car and getting the bike off the car, I used the restroom and noticed this solar-powered recycling bin next to the building.   We don't have those in our little hometown.

I started out and first passed the high school.  I have an error in my planned route right about there where two control points are reversed, so my GPS was telling me to make a u-turn.  But I knew I was supposed to continue along the path, so I kept going.  

Next big landmark was a winery.   It looked like I had been transported the Mediterranean.  

RidwithGPS said this trail was unpaved, but it definitely has asphalt on it.

Beautiful lake and waterfall on the winery property.

I skirted  through the East side of Glacier Ridge Metropark on my way north towards Jerome.  I saw lots of wildlife including several deer, rabbits, and birds.   Lots of lakes and ponds, as well as grasslands and an area where elm trees are being reintroduced, according to the signage.

In Jerome, I looped through a couple of quiet residential streets before getting back on the paved trail.  On the way back through the  Metropark, I decided to loop into the challenge area (which I had not planned to ride) , and  noticed a lot of kids in blue shirts on a field trip. 

lot of 

There was also a very tame bunny, unperturbed by my passing.  I saw another deer in this area, but it quickly jumped into the woods before I could grab my camera.

I looped through the Honda wetlands Nature Center and admired more wildlife from a distance 

Then returned to the path.  More art along the trail. An mural decorating a pedestrian tunnel.

Boat in a field.  This is one of Dublin's newest installations, and it appears to only be reachable by the "walking" path.   

Everywhere were these dry-stacked stone walls, I guess trying to make us feel like we're in Dublin, Ireland.

At one point the path was edged by formal hedges, making it feel like a maze.

I was admiring the gardens at the Indian Run Meadows park as I passed through.   There was a woman with a dog coming towards me.  A faster cyclist was coming behind me.  I spied a picnic table and thought it would be an ideal place to stop for a snack.   Well, with all this happening, as I slowed down and attempted to dismount, my foot got caught and I ended up falling.   I cracked my (helmeted) head  on the path.  The woman and the dog stopped to help me get up.  She weighed about a hundred pounds and she was trying to pull up on my arm at an awkward angle, so I reverted to downward dog position and crawled my way up.  It was nice of her to stop.  The other cyclist was long gone.   I sat and ate my snack and drank some water, then kept going 

I turned the wrong way and ran into a closed sidewalk.  A pedestrian stopped to chat with me and told me that the city of Dublin is really expanding, he thinks they will reach all the way to Plain City within a few years.  This street project is taking a year.  My GPS had routed me around it, but I guess I didn't believe it.  I turned around and continued through a few city streets before returning to the path 

I took a few more wrong turns on paths that crossed streets.  The cues were hard to understand as they would tell me to turn twice at one intersection, crossing two streets and getting on to a path, so I need to clean up the cue sheets.   

Including one wrong turn almost at the end of the ride, the cues said navigation was finished, but I had turned the wrong way.   

One thing I will say is that Dublin must have spent about a billion dollars in pavement.  There are paths everywhere!   

I rode most of the ride in Eco mode on my e-bike, and after riding over 20 miles I still have 76% battery left.   There were a few small hills but nothing very extreme.   Nothing like my ride yesterday from home to Malabar Farm!

Happy (New) Bike Day!

 Well it was really two days ago, on June 3.  For me it was happy NEW bike day yesterday.  An online friend asked me about my purchase and this was my reply.  

"I did a lot of research online first. I wanted a mid-drive (higher torque for hills and my excess weight, better balance) I wanted to try a variety of ebikes of various brands. I knew if I stepped foot in Y-not first I would feel obligated to buy there because Eric is in our club, and I wanted to find out what else was on the market. So I went to Columbus, went to Johnny Velo first. If they had had the bikes I wanted in stock things might have happened differently. The sales guy was super nice, low-key, friendly, helpful etc. I was looking for a Kona Dew-e, which they would be happy to order for me. He let me ride an Aventon Solera which was fun and fit well, the motor was peppy. But it was my very first ride on any e-bike! I was also looking for an Aventon Ramblas but again, not in stock. The Soltera was a hub-drive bike, not what I wanted. Then I went to REI in Dublin and rode a Tern GSD. It was different! I thought I wanted a cargo bike but found out I didn't. I wanted to ride one of their Co-op CTY bikes, but they didn't have it built yet, although it was in stock. So we were headed home when my husband spotted the Trek store in Dublin, we stopped in,  and they put me on a Verve 3. It was a lot like the Aventon but a little heavier. I wanted to ride some more bikes before deciding.  

The next day we went to Ashland and they let me ride a Giant Momentum. It felt like the bike geometry was similar to the bike I had as a kid. It was comfortable but the controls didn't have an LCD display. They also let me ride a Cannondale Montero which I did not like at all because my stomach bumped into the handlebar HARD as I was getting on. He pulled a third bike out, I don't remember what it was or what I didn't like. So, on to Ride On in Wooster. She pulled out three bikes for me to ride, I don't remember the first one but it obviously did not impress me. The second was a Specialized Turbo Como. It had a front suspension and seemed to go on its own even before I turned on the pedal assist. It was so smooth. The handlebars were higher for a more upright posture. The bike was so fun to ride! Then I rode a Liv Amiti, and while it was nice, compared to the Como it seemed like it was much harder to turn the pedals. I don't know, maybe it was in the wrong gear or something, but it just wasn't as much fun. I planned on going to Holmesville to the e-bikes of Holmes county store. But my husband and I decided to eat lunch first, and we talked. I had to get back home and change, then get to Lexington by six to host the fiberarts meeting. We really didn't have time to get to Holmesville, try out the Gazelles, and make my schedule, so I would have to wait until at least today. I still had another six or seven bikes on my list. But the Como was marked down substantially due to their downsizing their store, and it was so fun to ride I was giggling. I was afraid if I waited several days, it would be sold to someone else. So I went back and got it. I will probably have some buyer's regret because I saw several good reviews for the Gazelles and also for the Ride1up Prodigy. But there is no substituting for putting your butt on the seat and turning the pedals.  

There is nothing wrong with the Trek and all my other bikes are Treks. It is a solid brand. I wanted to try out the Trek Allante too. 

As to the bike I bought, I rode 10 very hilly miles this morning, avoiding a few raindrops. On my other bike, there are six spots where I had to get off and walk up the hill on this route. I made it around the circuit the whole way without getting off my bike once. On the two steepest hills, I had to turn it all the way up to turbo mode, and my heart was working. My Fitbit reported 25 minutes cardio and 35 minutes fat-burning. I still had 79% battery at the end of the ride. I'm very happy so far."