Grand Tour of Ohio by Bicycle - Strasburg

Strasburg is a small German town in the Vorpommern-Greifswald district (like US county) of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern (like a US state), in the Northeast corner of Germany, near the Polish border.  It is situated in the historic Uckermark region.  It is only about 48 km (about 30 miles) from the Baltic Sea, and its population is about 4600 people.  Tripadvisor advises the best "thing to do" in Strasburg is a nature preserve and associated eco-farm about 3 km away from town, the Wildtierland Gut Klepelshagen.  On their website, the German Wildlife Foundation explains that this farm is a demonstration of how well a farm can work with nature.  A film, The Meadow, produced by Jan Halft, was filmed in the area.  The movie is available to Amazon Prime members.

 The city was part of East Germany during the World War II era.  The region is mountainous and is a mecca for German cyclists.  This page has a map showing a loop through Strasburg. 

Strasbourg, France, population approximately 281,000, is a much larger city.  It is the capital and largest city of the Grand Est region of France, and is the official seat of the European Parliament. It is located at the border with Germany in the historic region of Alsace.  Strasbourg is one of the de facto four main capitals of the European Union (alongside Brussels, Luxembourg and Frankfurt), as it is the seat of several European institutions, such as the European Parliament, the Eurocorps and the European Ombudsman of the European Union.  

In 1988, Strasbourg's historic city centre, the Grande Île (Grand Island), was classified a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.  This was the first time such an honour was placed on an entire city centre.  According to TripAdvisor, you can have your choice of gourmet eating establishments and accompany your meal with the best wine from France and the best beers from Germany. 

Strasbourg is immersed in Franco-German culture and although violently disputed throughout history, has been a cultural bridge between France and Germany for centuries, especially through the University of Strasbourg, currently the second-largest in France, and the coexistence of Catholic and Protestant culture. It is also home to the largest Islamic place of worship in France, the Strasbourg Grand Mosque. 

Economically, Strasbourg is an important manufacturing and engineering center.  It is also quite a busy hub of road, rail, and river transportation. The port of Strasbourg is the second-largest on the Rhine after Duisburg in Germany, and the second-largest river port in France after Paris. 

So, which city was the Ohio city of Strasburg named after? Strasburg or Strasbourg, which is spelled Straßburg in German?   I did some internet research, and although I found information about the early settlers and when the town was laid out, I did not find any information on which city it was named after.  I forwarded the question to Tom Neel of the  Ohio Genealogical Society in Bellville.  His research was inconclusive, but he found that one early settler, Peter Hartline, did have a death record in Strasburg, Germany.  The landscape I saw around the Ohio town of Strasburg certainly might have reminded early settlers of their homeland in the small town of Strasburg. 

It took me two days to complete my planned loop starting in Strasburg. I got a late start and didn't arrive until after 1 pm.   I parked my car at the branch library and police station.  Google told me to turn left, uphill,  out of the parking lot just AFTER I turned right, downhill.  So I ungracefully executed a U-turn and miscalculated my turning radius.  I ran into the curb and fell off my bike.  I should probably have taken this as an omen, but, alas, I did not.  I passed the high school, where the doorway to the old, demolished school was left in place as a memorial in front of the new high school.   

 

You can see the doors in this old photo from the document "Early History of Strasburg" which can be found online. 

I stopped for a photo in front of the post office. 

During my research on Strasburg, I learned that there was a historical site, Garver's,  that was billed as the :world's largest country store" in Strasburg, up until 2010 when it was a victim of arson. 

The town straddles the border between urban and rural.  On the south and east end, Taco Bell and McDonalds franchisees have taken advantage of the traffic at the Interstate 77 interchange.  

 On the  north and west side, the side I arrived on, US Route 250 has wide lanes on the right side of the road for Amish bicyclists and buggies. 

There are large urns with metal flower sculptures in front of several downtown buildings. 

I turned left on Wooster Avenue and took a right on Zeltner at the Sunoco station.  I continued on Zeltner over a bridge where the name of the road changed to Strasburg-Bolivar Road.  When Strasburg-Bolivar angled off to the right, I continued right on Shetler Road.  I was about four miles into the trip and tired of (slowly) climbing hills when I decided it was getting awfully late in the short days of November, and that I would never make it all the way around my planned route of 32 miles before dark.  So I turned around and went back.  It took a little less time on the way back, being mostly downhill.  I returned home, and it was dark when I arrived. Ed and I made a homemade pizza for dinner, and after dinner I looked at my route to see if I could shortcut anything to allow for my slow riding and the limited hours of daylight available this time of year. 

The next day, I started much earlier.  I was up, dressed, and ate breakfast before 7:00 am.  The sun was just coming up.  I finalized the route changes, now down to 27 miles in google, and sent the directions as a text message to my phone.  It was  almost 10:00 before I left home.  Where does the time go?  I arrived in Strasburg a little after 11:00 and parked in the library again.  This time I turned the correct direction, and did not stop for pictures at the high school.  

I went the same way, but to my surprise, Google directed me to turn right on Zutavern Church Road.  It was very scenic, with the final fall colors still on the trees.  The weather was exceedingly warm for November. There were hills.  I rode for a while, and then ended up walking my bike for a while.

  I looked down and realized that my tracker, MapMyRide, had paused way back on Wooster Avenue and did not automatically "resume" as it usually does.   So my map shows "as the crow flies" for the first part of my trip.  

After cresting the top of the hill, I felt like I was flying downhill.  I was gratified when the app announced "Split speed- 17.5 miles per hour."  And I was braking for much of that!  

In short order I arrived in Bolivar at the Fort Laurens State park and  museum.  The bike path was on the far side of the  museum grounds.  I noticed a zigzag fence such as early settlers built on the museum grounds.  

The museum itself was very modern architecture, it was constructed between 1968-1972. I learned the park was the site of a Revolutionary War fort that was badly conceived and executed, and many men lost their lives there. 

Heading onto the trail, I quickly came upon a bridge over I-77, which afforded a view over the highway. I was only five miles from Strasburg!  It seemed like I had travelled further. 

The trail is the Zoar Valley Trail, it runs along the remains of the Ohio-Erie Canal.  There were several park benches in front of the locks along this trail.  The trail itself is not very wide, perhaps three feet in most places.  The trail surface is crushed limestone, but also there are many places where it is mostly clay and the leaves at this time of the year are providing deep mulch. 

The narrow trail meant that I really had to gauge the speed of other bikers coming my way and passing walkers and slow down accordingly.  The walkers on this trail seemed accustomed to getting off the trail to let cyclists pass. 

This concrete abutment had a wooden deck around it, which allowed me to avoid a short climb.   It was so narrow that I could not turn my bike around without lifting it above the railings, and as other bikers came through in the other direction we really had to squeeze past each other. 

At several places along the trail, there were scenic views of the Tuscarawus River.  The weather was so nice that at one spot there were barefoot kids splashing on the rocks in the river. In November! 

I followed the trail for approximately 6 miles.  The trail ended on highway 800, a busy road.  There were dedicated bike lanes leading across the highway bridge to an extension of the trail. I stopped to unwrap and eat an energy bar, a Simple Truth Date bar.  A couple passed me, then turned around when they saw the narrowness and gravel on the trail.  I forged ahead anyway, and soon came to the Zoar Station bridge.  A guy standing on the bridge with his kids told me that he was an ironworker, and had wanted the opportunity to work on this bridge. A couple of his friends actually did get to work on it.  This was a historic bridge that was rehabbed in 2007. 

I asked him if he knew anything about the trail.  He remarked that he had not ridden it, but had heard that it was pretty rough.   "Maybe" I could make it on the gravel of the trail, but remarked that I had the wrong tires.  I was getting worried at that point about being able to make it back to Strasburg before dark.  I went ahead, but with misgivings.  When I came to a fork in the trail and I saw a road surface above me, I checked google maps and found that there was a road, Boy Scout Road, that ran roughly parallel to the trail, although it would add a couple of miles.  I decided to abandon my original plan to take the trail, and take the paved road instead.

I can't say it was the wrong choice, but it was a HUGE hill.  There was a "party barn" called Rivercrest Farm along the road.  Here is a hint.  Anything with "crest" in the name, probably involves a hill.  It was very pretty, as I pushed my bike up the hill I had plenty of time to admire it.  I heard a tapping on my left, and looked up to see some longhorn cattle in the woods tapping their horns on the tree trunks.  As I walked, I saw long shimmering strands of spider web glinting in the sunlight and catching on my handlebar bag, and I couldn't help but think of Charlotte's Web and her daughters flying off to freedom. I loosened each one and set it free.  My calves were feeling really tight as I walked uphill in the bike shoes with the cleats rocking my heels back.  I finally reached the top of the hill.  I got back on the bike and coasted down a short hill, only to find that there was another hill the other side.  I am not sure I trust the elevation maps that MapMyRide provides, because it seems like there were a lot more hills than this! 

I noticed a lot of people with mountain bikes going in and out of the Tuscazoar park.  I learned that there are quite a few mountain bike trails in this park, which was a former Boy Scout camp.  

I noticed a lavender "she-shed" along the road as I biked up one of these hills.  A disembodied voice called out "You're better than me!" I laughed and shouted hello.  A quarter mile later, I had dismounted and walking again, when a shirtless, white-haired and pony-tailed man stepped out from behind a shrub in his yard, and asked if I was OK. I guess I must have been breathing heavily, so he heard me coming.  He said I only had a few small uphills to go before the BIG downhill.  So, encouraged, I continued on.  I ended up going downhill as I approached a stop sign at Route 800, and I got to test my brakes again.  I turned right and headed into Dover. 

I stopped to take this photo at this sign.  There was a  confederate flag and a "don't tread on me" flag flying on the front of this house.  There was an older man working on the red and white pickup truck.  He approached me, and I was afraid he was going to yell at me for trespassing, but it turns out that he was being nice enough to ask if I was OK.  He seemed to have a hard time breathing and speaking, as if he had had some surgery on his neck, so it was really exceptionally nice that he walked over to ask about me.  

 I ate a sandwich at Subway on Wooster and 10th Street and headed on back to Strasburg.  The crossing where Routes 250 and 77 converged was a little scary due to heavy traffic, but everyone was polite and I had no actual trouble getting through the intersection. 

Soon I was back at the library with plenty of time to spare before dark.  In fact, as I headed out of town, I saw several Amish buggies and kids on e-bikes riding alongside the road in the gathering twilight. I had a real sense of satisfaction that I completed this ride despite the hills. 

Grand Tour by bicycle- Paris!

 Ah, Paris!  The city of lights! The Eiffel Tower,

 the Left Bank of the Seine, the Champs-Élysées, the Arc de Triomphe de l'Étoile. 

The museums! The cafes! and pastries! The fashion!  The shopping!  The cathedrals! 

I visited Paris yesterday. Paris, Ohio.  I've been looking forward to the trip for a couple of weeks, and I was really glad to get good weather in November.  I planned a loop approximately 30 miles from Louisville to Paris, north to Alliance, and then southwest back to Louisville.  The planned route incorporated road riding, plus parts of two bike/hike trails, the Nickelplate trail in Louisville and the Iron Horse trail in Alliance. 

Yesterday was November 4th, the day after the 2020 Election.  Paris is about an hour and 20 minutes, by car, east of my home.  I was able to take State Route 30 most of the way.  It was quite ironic that I had to exit on Trump Avenue.  I wondered if the Avenue was named after our current President, but researching it, I found the CantonRep.com website that stated "Trump Avenue was named for George J. Trump, who owned a sawmill on Nimishillen Creek in the 1800s, according to Repository archives. Early area settlers rest behind Valley Chapel, some in graves older than the 1866 church."  

The town of Louisville was very picturesque, and seemed quite patriotic, with flags every few feet waving in the stiff breeze, contrasting with the gold-green, orange and russet leaves of the trees lining Main Street. The flags continued as I turned south onto Nickel Plate Street. I wondered if the city always flies these flags or if it is a special occasion due to Election Day.  I parked at the Metzger Playground.  A paved trail runs through the Mary C. Metzger Park, which also includes a fabulous playground and a couple of pavilions, as well as an oil (natural gas?) derrick that was operating when I pulled up. 

I got my bike out and outfitted it with a RosWheel handlebar bag from my back seat, a frame bag, and the seat-post bag for my tools.  I added a bottle of water to my Nike fanny pack, one in the "bat-cage" on the frame, and one in the handlebar bag.  I made sure I had a snack in my handlebar bag.  For yesterday's ride, I chose a lemon EPIC performance bar.  I redistributed the hand sanitizer and first aid kit to the frame bag, in order to fit the water in the handlebar bag. I put on my gloves and my helmet, and adjusted the mirror. I turned on my headlight and taillight.   Finally, I was ready to go off into unknown territory. 

The first mile of the trail was downhill, which boded well.  The bike felt like it was flying. It is so lightweight, and after the adjustments from my fitting, it felt really good. At first, I wasn't sure if I was perhaps rocking a little in the saddle, which would mean the seat was a millimeter too high, but after a half mile or so that vanished.  At the end of the park, I reached the Nickelback trail, which was a crushed limestone trail.  It was firmly packed and gave my road bike no trouble.  I reached the end of the trail at a cross street without a street sign.  Wanting to confirm my position, I consulted the hardcopy map I had printed before leaving home.  I was supposed to turn on Georgetown Street.  A jogger ran up behind me, and I asked her to confirm that it was Georgetown.  She said she didn't know, sorry!  I get this reaction sometimes from young people.  I think they have been trained not to talk to strangers and that adults are not supposed to ask kids for directions.  She was hardly a kid, but whatever!  I pulled out my phone and loaded up google maps to confirm I was in the right place.   

If you are thinking of following in my footsteps, unless you are an experienced and fearless road cyclist, I do not recommend the route I took today.   Many of the roads had medium to heavy traffic, and the shoulder varied from narrow to non-existent.  The route could be described as "rolling" but I described it as "hilly."  I am not a strong hill-climber.  However, I noticed that the electronic shifters made it much easier to time my shifting as I rode uphill, and I was able to smoothly ride over the crest of several hills in a row.  

The weather was beautiful, just a crisp November day.  I was wearing a light jacket over my jersey and bolero.  I wasn't too cold or too hot.  I could have done with a little less wind, but so far it was mostly at my back. 

As I approached Paris, at the five-mile mark, I turned onto Paris Avenue.  

So exciting to finally be close to the destination!  I continued past a few more hills and stopped to take a photo (and catch my breath.)  Another oil (or is it gas?) derrick was working on the hillside. 

I had changed my originally planned route, which went past an orchard on Route 172, to follow a lesser-traveled road.  I used the Ohio DOT bike transportation maps from 1986 that I had found when clearing out some paperwork.  These maps were created before the existence of many rail-trails in Ohio and marked lesser-travelled roads that are safer for bicyclists.  As you can see, these roads went around Paris but not through it. 

I finally reached my destination. 

The center of Paris downtown is very quiet.  

 

On my right, there was an abandoned building.  I wondered if there are any kids around that avoid it near Halloween. 

 

The Lions club has built a community pavilion.  There is a cannon in front with a plaque commemorating Ohio's bicentennial from 1976. 

There is what appears to be a working pitcher pump/ water fountain in front of the pavilion.  

 

The Methodist church appears to be well-maintained. 

The abandoned building has a hand-lettered sign "Maggie's gift shop".  

 

I walked through the cemetery behind the Lutheran church.  I could read the dates on these old stones, they were from the 1800's.  There were many stones that appeared to be older, the wind and rain and moss had eroded the lettering and I could not make out the names or the dates.  

 

All these souls who are resting in peace in the Paris Cemetery have a magnificent view of the hills of Northeast Ohio across a valley.  

I headed back north, with the southwest wind pushing me along through Freeburg.  I arrived in Alliance shortly, and almost missed the Iron Horse Trail. Looking at the map, I realized I had missed the turn on Cenfield Street that I had planned, which would have allowed me to ride most of the trail.  It is also a crushed limestone trail with a firm surface, but I shortly ran out of trail and passed the trailhead at the First Christian Church.  I headed East on Beech, and then North on Rockhill, turning left following a marked bike "Share the Road" street.  I continued north on Parkway Boulevard and it was a long downhill all the way to Main Street.  I turned right on Main and went past the Troll Museum.  

I was very conscious of the sun, which seemed to be travelling westward toward sunset pretty quickly.  Even though it looked like a fun place, I decided not to visit the Troll Museum on this trip.  There are a few other tourist destinations in downtown Alliance, including an Underground Railroad house, the Glamorgan Castle, and the Feline Museum.  Instead of searching out a restaurant for a late lunch, I decided to just eat my EPIC bar and call it lunch, to save time.  My headlight was still flashing, but my taillight had died, and I did not want to be on the road after dusk.   

I had completely missed my planned route, so I headed south on Arch Street.  I thought I would go west on Glamorgan, but somehow I missed my turn on Rosenberry.  Finally I hit Beech Street again, and I checked the map.  I realized I could go a bit further west on Beech and end up on my original route.  I had planned to go through Maximo, because I learned it was a named for being the high point on the railroad line.  There was an old depot building along the railroad there.  Like others in Ohio, it is a reminder of a different economy, when local small farmers took their grain to the rail depot to be shipped by rail to processing centers.  

It was 4:30 when I arrived back at my car.  The sun was just above the horizon, and I was starting to get chilled.  I may revisit this trip at some time in the future when the days are longer, now that I have a little familiarity with the route.  

It was a long ride home. I listened to the news in the car, and realized that the election returns were not final yet.  I realized that while riding my bike, I did not stress about the election much, my thoughts were focused on navigation, getting up and down the hills, and how I felt on my bike.  Kind of like a moving meditation. 

 Ed took me out to dinner.  Yay, Ed! He is a good husband. We masked up and went out.  

I had joined a Facebook group that is interested in the history of Paris and Palmyra.  I found out that the Paris they are talking about is Paris Township, which is 30 miles away in Portage County.  When they pointed this out, I looked at photos in the Stark county history Facebook group, and I found photos of Paris (Stark County) in a different era.  

 These photos shared by Lee Bishop. 

In 1910, a dogsled team came through Paris and were photographed in front of the bandstand. I don't see any snow on the ground, so that is an interesting photo.  I learned the current post office is possibly in the location of the former bandstand.  The abandoned building I photographed appears to be the one in the photo below. But if that's the case, then the bandstand was not in the Post Office location. 

On the same Facebook page, I found a photo of a train depot posted by Mark Howell.  

I did not notice any vestige of a railroad while in Paris. So it could be possible that this train station was actually in Paris Township in Portage County?  

Wikipedia says "Paris was laid out in 1813 on a stagecoach turnpike. A share of the early settlers being natives of France most likely caused the name Paris to be selected. A post office called Paris has been in operation since 1822."

Professional Bike Fit Session

I bought a new used bike from Trek Travel.  It is a bike that they took out of service after three years. It is a purple 2017 Trek Silque.  I was looking for a new bike, because I knew the 2010 Madone was not the right bike for me.  The Madone is a better fit than the 520 I bought back in the 1990's.  Both the Silque and the Madone are WSD (Women's Specific Design), in contrast to the 520.    They are both 47 cm frames.  The Silque has built-in suspension, for a cushy ride, while the Madone is a racing bike.  I think I am really going to like the Silque. I am not a racer.  I will be putting the Madone up for sale in the spring, after giving it an overhaul and thorough checkout. 

I took my new bike out for a spin on part of the Richland B&O trail a week or so ago.  I rode about 20 miles, from Route 97 trailhead to North Lake Park and return.  I knew right away the seat was too low.  I adjusted it up some.  The bike is lightweight, and I feel like I am flying! The electronic shifting works so dependably to change gears.  It didn't take any time to get used to it, it is so much better than the mechanical shifting. 

 Since that ride, I have been having knee pain.  At first it was muscle pain too, but that has mostly faded, and the knee pain is somewhat lessening, but it is still sore. 

I suspected it would take me a long time to get the bike adjusted on my own.  So I scheduled an appointment with Tom Wiseman in Akron for a professional bike fitting.   Tom has background in bike mechanical repair, as well as bike racing and coaching.  He's certified by a couple of different organizations for bike fitting.  

His office is in his home in a residential neighborhood.  I parked at the back of the house in front of the garage.  He has a trainer set up for the client's personal bike, as well as a setup to measure pressure points and power output on a bike-fitting frame.  He first spent some time listening to my stories about my riding experience, and took an overview of my health history to understand what body parts may have strengths and weaknesses.  Then he asked about my goals for the fitting.  I explained that I really want to be able to continue riding in multi-day events like PALM (Pedal Across Lower Michigan,) which I did two years ago, or my self-designed tour from Cincinnati to Toledo, or possibly other events, well into my 70's and possibly my 80's, without injuring myself.  Since I have a history with my other bikes of bursitis in the shoulders, and it is coming back now, after previously healing through a series of physical therapy treatments, this is a real concern. 

Since I've had a number of surgeries, including for bariatric gastric bypass, gall bladder removal, total hysterectomy (due to endometrial cancer a couple of years ago), hip replacement on both sides, and knee replacement on the left, and bunion surgery, my body has a lot of weaknesses!  I told him "I don't go too fast, but I go pretty far" like the songwriter Melanie in her record "Brand New Key." So I want to be able to ride long distances, but I'm not concerned about competing for speed.  Maybe in a few years I will feel confident enough to complete a "century" or a hundred-mile ride in a single day. 

He explained that he usually first adjusts for "macro" adjustments before moving to the minor adjustments for more power and speed. So what did he do to my bike?  He added pedal spacers to move my foot position out and better align my foot under my knee.  He replaced the seat, and moved it up another inch and a half (3 centimeters, to be exact.)  He replaced my handlebar stem with one that is higher, to allow me a more upright position that will put less strain on my shoulders. He discovered that the SPD cleats on my biking shoes had spacers in them.  He moved the cleat to a position further back toward the mid-foot, which is where I had been riding on the side with knee replacement.  We discussed how when your knee is replaced, the doctors and physical therapists are usually happy if you get most of your movement back.  The movement can be limited by scar tissue, and the reason physical therapy may hurt is because you are constantly breaking up that scar tissue as it forms.  When pedaling, you may need more movement to allow the foot to make it all the way around the circle.  We discussed the possibility of replacing the Shimano cranks on my bike, which are the shortest they make for that particular chainring, with some shorter third-party cranks, to make it easier for me to get that left knee up around the top of the circle.  I want to try out the other adjustments he's made first to see if I need to do this. 

He took a look at the electronic shifter firmware update history, which he found was missing a few updates.  So he updated them to the latest firmware, which should improve battery life.  (I wasn't even aware this was possible!)  He measured my feet for different shoes, as the Specialized shoes I am currently wearing are a little too narrow for my feet. I already knew that, but they were what was available at my local bike shop when I bought them.  Even with the narrowness, they are much better than wearing tennis shoes with a flexible sole.   He let me try on a pair of Lake shoes that fit my feet.  They were heavenly!  They were also a little bit spendy at $350.  So I will put that on my Christmas wish list.  Since he had made so many "macro" adjustments, doing the "micro" adjustments probably would not give much additional benefits, given my goals.  So I didn't try out the super-sensitive fitting fixture.  He wants me to follow up with him after I have had a chance to get some miles in. 

My session with him was on Friday.  Yesterday, I rode up and down the road a couple of times, outside my door. It was cold but sunny.  I overdressed for the cold, so going up the hills got me overheated quickly, and damp.  I only made a couple of attempts up the hill.  I didn't get any farther up the hill with this newly adjusted bike than I have with the old bikes.  But I really didn't give it a chance, because I did not warm up first.  It normally takes me a couple of miles on flat ground to fully warm up and get the endorphins flowing.  I'm hoping for an Indian spring in November to get a few more miles in.  He asked me for my mileage the last three years and I guestimated 600 last year, and 1000 this year.  Here's my actual stats for the last three years, since I started using MapMyRide to record my distances. I was surprised at how many miles I rode! 

All in all, I found the bike fitting experience with Tom to be very helpful.  I really appreciate his professional expertise in setting up my bike to fit my body and accomodate my strengths and weaknesses.  I also really appreciated the way he listened to me about my experience and my goals, instead of having a one-size-fits all method.  It was a very positive experience.