Back on the bikes to ride a second section of trail after a day's hiatus. The southernmost point of our first ride was the Wolf Creek Trailhead in Barberton. Today, we'll ride the 32.5 miles south of Wolf Creek to the Canal Bend Trailhead just outside Bolivar.
To avoid having to ride these miles twice, Tom dropped Jana off at Wolf Creek and drove to Canal Bend to begin his ride. Then Jana rode south, Tom rode north, and we met midway to exchange the car key. When Jana reached Canal Bend, she loaded up her bike and drove to Wolf Creek to pick up Tom. Easy peasy. The only extra mileage was a slight detour to a brewery in Massillon – a logical place to meet!
Southbound from Barberton
From Barberton south, the Ohio and Erie Canal Towpath Trail leaves urban Ohio for rural tranquility, passing through tunnels of trees and small canal-side communities. At times, I rode for an hour or more without seeing another soul.
Looking south from Lock 2
Lock 3
Downtown Clinton, Ohio
Canal Fulton is an exceptionally scenic trail-side village on the Tuscarawas River. From here, you can ride on a horse-drawn canal boat down a still-watered section of the Ohio and Erie Canal. You can also walk around on a second canal boat that's in permanent dry dock.
Canal Fulton, Ohio
St. Helena III
St. Helena II
Lock 4
Tom and I met to exchange the car key at Paradigm Shift Brewery in Massillon, the only city along today's trail. Since it would be rude to just meet and run, we were compelled to stay for a while and sample the beer. The Goat Roper is an American porter infused with peanut butter and coffee. So good!
Not quite trailside, Massillon, Ohio
Biker bar
We rode back together over the Highway 21 overpass to the Towpath Trail, where we again headed our separate ways. Not far south of Massillon, one passes through John Glenn Grove. The distinguished Marine Colonel / Astronaut / Senator John Glenn hails from Ohio, and they have chosen to honor him here with this silly statue. Sigh...
Ohio native John Glenn
Tuscarawas River
Hello there
Finally, I reached our car at the Canal Bend Trailhead, just northwest of Bolivar. After loading my bike, it took almost an hour to drive back to Wolf Creek to pick up Tom. We rode a long way!
Tunnel under some train tracks
Canal Bend Trailhead
Back at the Airbnb, we had enough leftovers from last night's dinner at Rockne's that we didn't need to go out. The apartment building has a coin-op laundry, so we refreshed our clothes in preparation for the next leg of our trip. This was our fourth and final night in Akron before moving on...