"Rich" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...
Quoted message said:Beverly said:I don't think you need to worry about the condition of the Little Miami
or the H-Connector that runs between Dayton and Xenia. These are
excellent trails
I'll answer your original post on getting from Vandalia to the Dayton
trail when I return home this evening.
Thanks Beverly! How wide are the trails? We plan on pulling a Burley
Solo trailer (with camping gear) behind our tandem as well.
Rich
They held the Midwest Tandem rally on these trails a couple years ago. I'm
not a good judge for measures but you can ride 2-3 abreast comfortably on
these trails. Here's a site that has some information on services along the
Little Miami. I have a Burly Solo for the granddaughters and have never
encountered problems with it on the trails.
http://www.trailsfromrails.com/miami_scenic_trail.htm
In case you haven't seen these - more trail info.
http://www.bikemiamivalley.org/home.htm
http://www.northcountrytrail.org/explore/guide/f05.htm
Now for some answers from your first post.....
The trail from Vandalia to Dayton has not been completed. Portions of the
existing trail will be closed this summer due to work on a bridge on
Interstate 70. The closed section is about midway and makes this trail a
little useless for getting into Dayton. I don't ride the roads around here
too much but here's a route you can take from Vandalia to the beginning of
the Great Miami River Trail in northern Dayton.
Route 40 west in Vandalia toward the airport (40 has nice berms)
Left on Peters Pike - stay on it for 4-5 miles (not heavily used - 2
lane - berms vary)
Left on Frederick Road - about 2-3 miles (2 lanes - 40mph limit - berms
vary)
There is one section along the river where berms are very narrow but
it's only about .5 mile.
If possible, avoid this during morning or evening rush hours as a
lot of locals use this road to
bypass using Main Street and Dixie Ave.
Right on Needmore Road (also called Wright Bros Parkway)
You'll be on this for less than a mile. It has no berms (cement
curb) and is heavily traveled
during morning/evening rush hour. The speed limit is 40 and I think
there might be a sidewalk on
one side of the road. No problem if you want to use it.
Once you're on Needmore Road it's less than a mile to the trail. The
trail begins at Shoup Mill and
Riverside Drive. (Needmore changes names to Shoup Mill in this area).
You'll see the trail running
along side Needmore on your left. You can jump on the trail and head
south as soon as you see it. If
you go to trail begin at Riverside you'll just have to backtrack a
little on the trail. This trail will
take you downtown Dayton where you can catch the Mad River Bikeway to
Xenia. The section of trail
to downtown winds through several parks and the trail will vary from
very wide to slightly narrow
(maximum two bikes). Once you hit downtown the trails are much better.
Your other alternative would be to take the bus from Vandalia to
downtown. Route 17 runs from Vandalia to downtown. You could
exit on Monument Ave near Riverscape where the Mad River Bikeway
begins. Most buses in the area have bike racks but I don't know if they
would accomodate a tandem.
Here's the RTA site if you want to check it out.
http://www.greaterdaytonrta.org/
If you want additional information feel free to email me. I grew up in
one of the towns along
the Little Miami. Of course it was still a railroad when I was a kid.
I'm also a volunteer bike
patrolman for the trails in Montgomery County so I might be able to
answer questions you have.
Beverly
bowens at woh.rr.com
