Biking from Akron to Independence!

Boarded the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railway train with our bikes at 9:00 am for a 1 1/2 hour train ride to North Akron station. A very pleasant ride with beautiful scenery on a gorgeous prefall day in the 70's. It was rather cool early on but quickly warmed up. By the time we got to Akron I stripped down to my sleeveless T-shirt and bike shorts. After getting our bikes off the train, pumping up George's tire a bit and taking a slight detour in trying to find the trail head we were on our way. What a gorgeous day and tow path trail! I'm so glad that some smart people had the foresight to preserve all this and convert it to this use. The conductor said they had a record day for ridership on the train yesterday, and since they started the "Train your bike" program (only $2.00 to ride to Akron with your bike!) ridership has tripled from last year.

We had never ridden most of the trail south of Penninsula. It was beautiful. I took pictures of the Heron, carp and beaver dam and lock's along the way. We stopped after ~ 14.5 miles in Penninsula to eat at Fischer's Cafe. The thought of Caravel's ice cream at the end of our trip kept us going the rest of the 29 miles we biked today! A nap in the hammock was a nice finish to a beautiful day once we got back. We'll sleep well tonight!