Bike camping, bicycle touring, backpacking and camping. Videos to share experiences, conditions, locations and opportunities to explore.
Traveling by bicycle at the age of fifty+, I enjoy making videos of my journeys to share with family and friends, to preserve memories, but also to share with those who are thinking of making their own journeys in some of the same areas. I strive to include information about the trails, their conditions, tips and tricks, and some of the wonderful sights to see along the way.
Great video. I just finished a 3 day 2 night camping on the OTET. Rode from Cinci to London. Watching your video inspires me to do the same route except extend my distance over to Loraine, OH. Did you take the trail through Columbus on the east side of the city?
Thank you. I bet you had a good time. Through Columbus, I take the original Eastern version of the trail, going through Alum Creek. I have not tried the western version, but I really enjoy the Alum Creek.
I'm surprised that people need to find out how to pronounce Schenectady (and Albany). I guess I shouldn't be surprised that a cyclist doesn't know what gravel is and uses the term for surfaces that are NOT gravel, such as the stone-dust surface that is the bulk of the non-paved part of the EC Trail. [Gravel is coarse (thumb-sized) stones mixed with sand. There is absolutely NO gravel on the trail.]
@@briansadventures Seriously. I had been avoiding "gravel" trails for years until I found out that most cyclists misuse the term and none of those trails was actually gravel. [Gravel is impossible to ride on with normal bicycle tires. Motorcycle and auto tires, sure. And, gravel bikes with 4" wide tires. I suspect that bicycle manufacturers had something to do with convincing cyclists that they need gravel bikes by spreading the myth that all non-paved trails are gravel.
Today I finished riding the trail from Cincinnati to London. Next year I planning to ride the whole trail. As you rode through Columbus which route did you take. Route on east side or the west.
I took the east route north of Columbus, through the Alum Creek. I have not done the alternative West route, but I enjoy the Alum Creek so much, I wouldn't want to miss it.
@@briansadventures it’s construction season! Next time you ride through there ride on Fuhrman Blvd from the Coast Guard base and the lighthouse past Charlie’s Boat Yard. It’s the best riding in the city. Access off of Ohio Street.
Well, I did it! 72 years old with a titanium hip, and a cobalt chromium knee. I rode Columbus to Cincinatti and back 2 weeks ago. It was glorious. I caught a small window of cool weather in the middle of August, and most of the ride was in the high 70s and dry. I had planned to spend at least a night or two at a motel, but I went hardcore and slept out every night. It was 2 days there, and 2 days back, with 1 day of sightseeing. I'm already looking forward to doing the Cleveland run next summer, even though by then I will have yet another new knee! Your video was very helpful in giving great suggestions that proved to be very helpful. You're absolutely right that OTET is a great opportunity, and I hope that many more greybeards like myself will add it to their bucket list. Thank you so much, my biking brother, and HAPPY TRAILS to you!
Fantastic video and a well planned & exectuted trip as always Brian! You really hit it out of the park on this adventure! Hope your son caught some fish along the way too! I look forward to reviewing this one again! Do you think this was your best cycling adventure to date?
Thank you! It seems like just about every new trip is my best to date, and that does hold true for this one. I am making it a goal to circle all of the Great lakes over the next couple years. Thanks again!
Just watched the video it was awesome thank you , How many actual miles was is ? You seemed to come to a few road/ trail closures ? Wife & I are doing this next year 2025 or year after if we do Lake Ontario instead in 2025
@@briansadventures we did Lake Erie in 2023 , we were shocked at lack of gas stations & bathrooms & places to eat on the Canada side especially once we got out of like Wheatley till Port Colborne Carried a lot of water & food , but we use a shuttle driver & our Rv so we didn’t go hungry
Nice! I did it last summer and am dreaming of returning. My favorite part is the stretch between Ohiopyle and Connelsville. What exact time of the year was it?
Very cool trip, Brian. I've been putting together a Lake Huron circle route over the last few weeks that I might try and do in 2025, and our routes are very similar. I had to laugh when you camped at Wagener County Park as I grew up about 4 miles straight west of there on a farm. Mom still lives there so when I get downstate to visit, we always go to WIlliams Inn on Friday night for the fish fry. Keep on riding, and thanks for documenting your trips!
Brian, I enjoy watching your cycling adventures. You inspired me to ride OTET twice and also C&O and GAP which I’m planning on riding again this fall. I’ve already done the Empire State Trail from Buffalo to Manhattan a few times and have ridden a good chunk of the Katy Trail also. I find your videos interesting and very informative. Sometimes I listen to your videos while riding. I have stayed at places you suggested and avoided ones you didn’t like. This week two of my buddies and I are riding a Loop of Lake Erie starting in Fort Erie Ontario heading counterclockwise. A Lake Huron loop is something I have had my eye on for a while. Thanks for sharing this video as once again it will provide me with inspiration and lots of information. Looks like this was your longest adventure. Wishing you many more miles of smiles and safe travels. Thanks for doing what you do.
Thank you, and that's great! I'm doing Lake Erie in the middle of September. I did it last year, but my memory card failed, so I wasn't able to make a video. I think your going to enjoy it - I did. Thanks again for the kind words!
How do the aero bars feel? I'm considering adding them to rest my hands on long flats, but they also mean I can't use a big front bag. edit: answered around 17:00
They are nice - different hand positions, pressure off the wrists, and a bit helpful in a headwind. But as I mentioned in the video, I just don't feel like I used them enough. I could still get into my front bag, but it was more difficult with them installed. Also, I found many times I was choosing not to use them simply because it did bring me into a more downward looking view.
Glad to see you're still at it and rode it again. I really need to get out there and ride more than just the alumni creak trail. Finding a week off of work and my wife willing to take me to trail heads will be the most difficult part of that type of journey.
It isn't easy. It involves exporting the route, using Google Earth Studio to import the route and essentially virtually filming the route, and then importing that result into Adobe Premiere, adding my bike, and having the bike follow the route. Lots of steps - and probably an easier way to do this.
Hoping to do this ride next summer. Enjoying your video so far and will finish watching when I have more time. Can I ask a question? Do you use some sort of GPS to help you figure out the route to travel during your ride? Seems like there are a lot of pathway changes along the way. Great job and thanks!!
I use a Garmin Edge. I like having a device separate from my phone so I don't have to worry about it draining my battery. It also connects to my Garmin watch, which allows it to monitor my heart rate. But mainly, it alleviates the need to watch for signs along the trails.
My girlfriend and I did this route almost exactly only riding from cinci to Columbus first day. I was near Clinton and I fell of bike breaking my ribs and knee (tibial spine) and had to stop the ride. We will do it again. It’s truly amazing and we prepped for this trip watching this here video!❤
Wow! It sounds like you have or are healing, which is good news. It is a great trail - every day is different and new. Hope you are able to get back to it soon.
Amazing all around. Vacationing/ biking with your dad, planning out all the logistics, taking the whole experience in, making sure you had battery to document it all, then taking the footage and editing it so nicely accompanied by commentary. Kudos!
I did this trail going the opposite direction back in the early 2000's. The mud was a major factor. You made it look a lot easier than I remember it being! I did it in 4.5 days, but my termination point was Harper's Ferry, not DC.
I did the trail N to S in June 2023 and planned no lodging in advance. I just rough camped anywhere that I found convenient and out of the way or got a motel if one is available. I did it in 8 days and finished at my home in Cincinnati (near Lunken Airport) rather than go all the way downtown (which I have cycled many dozens of times). Once I got south of Columbus I felt in my home turf as I have cycled those sections countless times in recent decades. I plan to do it S to N next year using my same strategy. Basically I keep a full load of water so i can camp virtually anywhere that there is a place where I can set up my tent and have a bench or picnic table to sit on. My advice would be to just remain flexible and take it day to day.
@@briansadventures I find it more demanding and stressful to commit to a fixed schedule of daily destinations regardless of weather conditions. I base my camping/lodging considerations on weather factors and I guess having many thousands of bicycle touring miles experience it just comes naturally to me. I do sometimes reserve a room a day or so in advance as I get updates on weather conditions. I guess sometimes I may be a bit wimpy, but I just don't enjoy riding all day in the rain. Also, I'm a retired guy so I don't need to meet a schedule!
My GF and I rode the Pittsburgh to DC trail in the early 2000's, and this brought back some memories of that trip. I was amazed at how much logistical planning was required to pull off such an unsupported trip. East of Cumberland, MD, much of that trail was single- and doubletrack, with lots of roots and rocks. The weather played a major factor, as any rain turned the trail into a quagmire of mud that stuck to our fenders and created friction with the tires. Due to the shaded nature of much of the trail, this condition would prevail for days after any precipitation. We opted to hotel and B&B due to the difficulty in carrying camping gear on an off-road trail, but this created its own issues, as most of the accommodations along that trail have to be booked at least a year in advance and do not allow cancellations. This locks you to a schedule, which puts you at the mercy of the weather. Camping would have prevented this, but it would've been impossible to navigate the muddy parts with the extra weight and bulk of camping gear. My GF's dentist attempted to ride the same route a couple weeks after our trip, with his teenaged son. They employed single wheel trailers to carry camping gear, but were defeated by the mud and had to give up halfway. Our trip was quite an epic odyssey, one of the hardest things I've ever done, but I'm glad we did it. The OTET looks considerably easier and may lure me to do it at some point. It's been a while since I've done mileage like that, but I just retired and have lots more time now. Thanks for all the effort you put into documenting your ride! PS: And yes, Cuyahoga Valley towpath users are some of the most clueless you're likely to come across in any ride. We live in Cleveland and try to avoid that trail as much as possible.
Thank you David. Yes, the C&O trail between DC and Cumberland can get rough and muddy for sure, though it is still one of my favorites. The surface of the OTET is almost entirely paved and avoids the mud issue. There are gravel sections between Mansfield and Cleveland along the towpath trail, and puddles can definitely collect during rain, but there isn't the problem of sinking in the mud that can happen on the C&O. I always try to think to myself that its the difficult challenges that create the stories and memories.
@@briansadventures SuperfastMatt does a great job of explaining the three kinds of fun in his "Let's Go To Vegas The Dumbest Possible Way" video: Type 1: It's fun in the moment, you enjoy doing it. Type 2: It's fun, but not really in the moment. At the time, you're working hard, you're frustrated. But when you look back on it a day later or maybe even the next week, you think, "You know what? That was a lot of fun." Type 3: Just not fun. It's miserable. It's basically torture. I will never do this again. And I say this knowing full well that just a few years from now, someone I know will say, "Hey, remember that thing we did back in the day? Wouldn't it be fun to do it again?" And just enough time will have passed for me to have forgotten all the Type 3 fun. And I will do it again. I'm thinking that the C&O was almost entirely Type 3 fun for me. If I ever do it again, I wanna do it like the hordes of cub scouts we saw; totally supported by a herd of minivans that carried all their camping gear, Smores, fresh water and food from campground to campground, arriving before the riders and setting everything up for their arrival. That might kick it up from Type 3 to Type 2 for me!
Including breaks, I generally ride between 5 and 7 hours a day. Every hour I like to stop for just a little bit to stretch. Sometimes I will stop for a little bit either to sit by a river or for lunch. With those breakes, I typically expect to ride about 10 to 12 miles every hour. Actual riding speed depends on so many conditions, no typically between 12 and 16 mph. The OTET rides quicker than several other comparable trips. It's primarily paved and generally fairly flat. The gravel of the GAP, KATY trail, and Erie Canal Trail in New York can slow things down a bit there. I generally plan between 50 and 70 miles a day.
@@briansadventures thanks. your videos make it a little less daunting I am a bit out of shape but I do ride a couple times a week. I'm trying to judge if it's stretched out to 7 days to make it easier if needed or possibly push on through in 6, of course after getting in better shape. I'm setting this as a goal for next summer after carpel tunnel surgery this winter I just can't decide if I want to go from Cinci to Lyndhurst or Lyndhurst to Cinci
I just moved near the Katy trail and am shopping for a bike. I used to have an old nishiki road bike and I remember my hands got numb riding it on gravel. Maybe it was that old steel frame? Seems like you didnt have any problems with a road bike on the Katy trail.
If I were to guess, the numbness in the hands is probably more due to bike fit issues than the material the bike is made of. In fact, steel is a great material for bikes, especially for longer rides, because it helps to smooth the ride. Its a bit heavier than aluminum and carbon, but its still the material of choice to many who tour for a variety of reasons. Also, each has their own preference, but mine is for drop bars as it allows me to reposition my hands on the bars to alleviate numbness. I find that each year I deal with a different bike fit issue. I am going to share a link to some wonderful bike fit videos at the bottom of this comment. One year it might be be numbness in the hands, another issues with the posterior, and this year I had a little issue with numbness in the feet. There is a triangle between those points of contact that requires careful balancing for a comfortable fit. For example, I believe the issue I had with my feet this year was because I installed slightly shorter cranks, which in turn called for an adjustment in the saddle height and its its fore and aft position. In terms of handle bars, I heard (in the videos I'm about to share), that the goal is to get the positioning correct so that your hands are on the bars like a piano - very little pressure. I hope you get it sorted out. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-vMmbXAWcgh4.html
@@briansadventures this is super helpful, thank you so much! I’m going to take my time and try to find the best fit. My old bike was way too tall for me, fit was definitely an issue. It gave me knee pain that I’ll have forever. I’m too old to be accumulating more injuries. lol
It is an Aventon Level 2. Yes, he did carry an extra battery. He could have done 50 or so with one battery, but not more than 60 without recharging during the ride. We probably could have managed that - charging it during lunch on longer days. But carrying an extra made it easier.
Beautiful scenery! I truly enjoyed watching your video. Inspirational, and informative. I am closer to the west coast, but will definitely put this on my short list of future adventures. Thanks!
What a ride, that's so great to see. Glad you had a safe trip! I'm from Vermilion, so, howdy neighbor. I should bike more, I mostly just hike local trails. The N Coast Inland trail would be fun to ride sometime. Also, I just wanna say, I hate how much crap Ohio gets sometimes. I know we have some pretty rough cities but I love the scenic side. The fields, lake, more wooded hilly parts south west. I'll take this over sand/dirt.
I enjoyed your video immensely! I've ridden many rides in the past including the C&O and GAP trails (the whole trip as well as sections), Vermont (five day ride with Adventure Cycling when it was a reasonable price back in the day), RAGBRAI and bike packing with friends in Michigan, New York and Pennsylvania. I really want to ride the OTET and only have to work out getting to and from the start/finish. Hope to perhaps take a shuttle from Cleveland where my buddies live to Cincinnati, ride back to Cleveland and then drive back to my home near Toledo. We would tent camp although those hotels look pretty temping too. I'd bet your father is a bit older than me so if he can do it I suppose I can too. Keep making those videos and I'll be watching. You've inspired me! P.S. Thanks for the great links in the description.
What a kind comment Andy! I hope you work out the OTET, it sounds like you have a great start on that. In the past, I've camped as much of the way that I could - always ended up at a hotel in Columbus though. There are some great spots to camp.
