The Little Miami Scenic Trail is a jewel in the crown of Ohio rail-trails and it is listed as a ‘Hall of Fame’ trail. We were able to bike 35 miles on it today, although in total it spans 78 miles from Cincinnati to Springfield.
We drove into Lebanon, Ohio on May 11, and quickly found out that the city name is pronounced with the accent on the first syllable – “Leb’anun”. It’s a small town of 20,000, and also the county seat, and named because it has red cedar trees just like in the middle east Lebanon. Neil Armstrong lived here for 23 years after walking on the moon.
For our bike ride the next day, we parked where Highway 350 crosses the Little Miami River, and we rode north through state parks, small towns, and stunning natural habitats. The path also took us under a colossal twin-deck arch truss bridge, towering 235 feet above us, carrying traffic on I-71. We passed through the towns of Oregonia, the park at Caesar Creek, Corwin, and into Spring Valley.
For us, it’s just fun to talk with people. Our first conversation was with a couple taking a break on a bridge around our 5-mile point. After hearing that we were from California, the gentleman’s second question to Ted was “Are you a fan of Nancy Pelosi?” followed up quickly with a derogatory comment about our current President. We had a friendly and civil conversation. Ted countered with his own views, and not giving in, saying that he liked Biden a lot more than the previous guy. Then he told the couple “Life is like a magnet. It takes two opposites poles to work properly. Life is like that. If everyone was just like me, this world wouldn’t be a good place, and if the world was like everyone else on the other side, well, that wouldn’t be a good place either. We need each other, just as a magnetic field needs positive and negative poles to work properly.” Sue added, “We have a lifetime of voting for people that didn’t win so we know how you feel,” and “Perhaps we should just agree to disagree on the politics and agree that Ohio is a beautiful place.” Our departure was friendly and as we biked away, we heard the man tell his wife, “Wow, that was a beautiful conversation.”
We met another couple, Donna and Bob, at a rest stop, and we enjoyed our conversation. They recommended a dive bar further up the trail for lunch. We were traveling in the same direction, and when we stopped there to eat lunch, they stopped also, and the four of us ate together on the outside patio. We had a wonderful conversation, even discussing a few complex topics. As we went into the bar to pay our lunch bill, the waitress used another door to go outside, and Bob and Donna paid our check – now that’s genuine hospitality! We treasure these kind of moments on the trail.
Here’s a gallery of our pictures of this ‘Little Miami Scenic Trail‘ which is our 22nd trail in 22 days on the road, and below is a link to Sue’s video.
Please enjoy Sue’s ReLive video of this ride:
- Ted: “The Little Miami Scenic trail is my favorite so far on this entire trip. It follows a big beautiful river with few ups and downs, but lots of shade trees where we rode.”
- Sue: This trail is such a gem: Green, lush, running along the Little Miami River and passing farmlands and quaint villages and mercifully flat, shaded, and wind-free! It’s my new favorite trail of the trip thus far.