Day 14:
- Milford: Little Miami State Park
- Milford to Cincinnati to Covington, Kentucky by car
We left Dayton after breakfast and Cincinnati was only an hour away by car so we stopped in Milford to do some riding on the Little Miami Scenic Trail (part of the OTET). Because we weren’t able to ride from Columbus to Cincinnati as we had originally planned, we are trying to ride some of the trail in different segments. We didn’t realize that Milford is a bit of a trail junction and is also at the southern end of Little Miami State Park. We’ve found that State Parks are usually really nice for riding – lots of tree cover, great scenery and rest areas – and they are often quite busy.
There were so many people on bikes on this stretch of trail and on a Wednesday morning of all times. We got the last parking spot which should have clued us in to how popular the trail is around here. Of course there were lots of lycra-road-racers, but there were all sorts of other riders too. Plus rollerbladers, walkers, dogs and horses too. We really had to pay attention to who was ahead of you and who was coming up from behind. There was a chorus of bike bells ringing and calls for ‘on the left’ – the official announcement for overtaking people on the trail.
We rode 10km south from Milford and then back. After a trail-side picnic we rode north for 10km and then back. During a break I hiked down to the river’s edge and was rewarded with a placid scene of stillness and green. Once we were back at the parking lot we readied the bikes on the rack, had a quick snack and then set off for Cincinnati.
We took Hwy 50 from Milford and it brought us into Cincinnati on the Columbia Parkway which follows along beside the Ohio River. It was a very scenic drive and then all of the sudden, we were downtown. We are staying in Covington, Kentucky – across the river from Cincinnati – which seems like an interesting spot. It is close to where we want to ride in downtown Cincinnati and it is a bit less expensive too. After we checked in, checked out the grocery store and settled in, we had dinner in our room. After that we went for a short walk to stretch our legs.
Our short walk got extended once we got going and we ended up over in Cincinnati. In the morning we’ll be riding across the John A. Roebling Suspension Bridge instead of walking, so we were actually doing some scouting too. I love cities with bridges and rivers so, like Dayton, I’m sure this will be an exciting few days.
eimajeyn 