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The total distance advertised on the website is a little more than 68 miles. I started in Strongsville (bottom left) at 8 AM and traveled counter clockwise around the loop. I've never ridden more than 35 miles in a single day and have never ridden outside of the parks, which I know inside and out. This ride was going to educate me on how it feels to go on longer rides (which I plan on doing daily for more than two months starting in the middle of May) and how it feels riding on streets I've never been on and having to navigate while doing so. It was going to be as much of a mental workout as a physical one.
The ride began familiarly enough through the parks until they ended in Brecksville. Here is where I began heading north and onto roads previously unridden by myself. The route on the map suggests you ride on the Towpath trail which is a wonderful biking/riding trail that goes right along the Ohio and Erie Canal. Having been on the trail before, I knew that my road bike with no shocks and 23mm wide, rock hard, tires would make this roughly paved trail unpleasant to ride on. Planning ahead, I added some directions that would lead me to Canal Road so I would not have to be jarred around on the trail.
Those directions were useless. I came to the Towpath and it was a complete dead end except for the trail. I would have to endure the trail. So bumping along at 11 mph I was rather frustrated. Were it not for the flowing river by my side giving me some serenity, I might have become agitated. Sure enough, within a mile or two there was a bridge connecting the trail to Canal Road. It felt good to get back on the smooth pavement.
The rest of the ride up through the east side of Cleveland and then into the downtown area was rather uneventful. I must've been riding through Shaker Heights as Easter mass was ending. The church bells were ringing and people were walking around in their "Sunday Best." Upon leaving downtown I was more than halfway finished with the ride and had gone about 42 miles. I took a break to eat some lunch and refill my water bottles.
I left the downtown area via the Flats. I was now heading towards Edgewater Park. My directions to get into Edgewater park were not very exact. They simply said "Find Edgewater Park." I just figured it is a park and there must be a big sign and an obvious entrance.
Either of those would have been nice. I could see the park, but I had no clue how to get there. I rode around for a bit, now looking more for a person than the entrance to the park. I finally found one. I ran into her at an intersection and she told me to go right and go through a tunnel and that would take me onto Edgewater Beach where there is a bike path which, she astutely assumed, was what I was looking for. Fantastic! I turned right.
As I turned right I could see the end of the street. It simply dead ended about 500 feet ahead of me. I could not see a tunnel. I kept riding slowly looking left and right for a tunnel. It was not until I was 50 feet in front of it did I notice the tunnel. It was the most ominous looking tunnel I have ever seen. Right in the middle of the road was this black hole. I sat on my bike at the entrance to this pit of darkness and looked around in disbelief. I laughed, "You've got to be kidding me." I didn't have many other options. I picked up my feet and rolled in.
After about 20 feet I had to stop to let my eyes adjust to the darkness. There was garbage everywhere. It was dark and dank and disgusting. After seeing a broken bottle I decided that this would be the absolute worst place to get a flat tire and carried my bike the rest of the way. It felt as if I was in a sewer. I kept going down and down until finally it flattened out and I could see the water and the beach. It was a nice view but between the beach and I was a 200 foot stretch of nastiness. The water was dripping from the ceiling and the garbage and broken glass lined the tunnel. I did not think to take a picture but, if I go back I'll be sure to so you all can appreciate this little slice of heaven.
Anyways, I walked down the beach a few feet still carrying my bike and got on the path. Again, the next step in my directions were rather unclear. They simply said, "Find Cliff Dr." Before I was going to worry about that, I rode the path for a little and picked out a bench that overlooked the lake and decided to have a quick rest. It was a beautiful day.
I wouldn't have rather been anywhere else.
I was not too concerned with finding my way out of the park because, if needed, there were plenty of friendly people walking about to ask for directions. I actually never found Cliff Drive and didn't have to ask for directions either. I simply ended up on the street that was after Cliff, Lake Avenue.
I was on Lake Avenue for a while. Lake Avenue will get me back into the parks. Once back in the park, it is just the same road all the way back to my starting point in Strongsville. However, finding the park was going to involve a bit of risk management.
After riding on Lake Avenue for quite some time I suddenly realized that I was now on Clifton. It is funny how roads just become other roads. Not only was I going the wrong way but, I was going the wrong way down a hill! I had to climb back up it to get the point where Lake turned into Clifton. I stopped there looking around for an option. I noticed a street to my right that had no sign, went down a steep hill, and had a speed limit of 15 mph. What were the chances that this was the right way for me to go? From the first impression, the odds certainly seemed small which is probably why when I rode by it the first time, I didn't look twice at it.
The second time, however, it was more appealing. I think it was because it was my only option. I'm not sure if this is good risk management but, I went with my gut and down the mysterious road. The road went down and back up to get under some railroad tracks. I was afraid to look at the street sign as I climbed up this no-name road. When I did look, I was amazingly back on Lake Avenue! What luck!
The rest of the ride was in the parks and I eventually completed the Emerald Necklace. The ride was 71 miles and took me 5 hours and 45 minutes! The navigating was a bit of a nuisance. However, in such an urban setting, complicated directions are to be expected. Fortunately, on the route across the country, the setting will be much more rural and, hopefully, the directions much less involved. I can certainly see myself attempting this ride again for another training day. It would be even more enjoyable a second time without me being so worried about the directions. I also noticed that this route would be much more challenging, because of the hills, if I were to travel the other way, clockwise, around the loop.
This was a great experience. My first long ride. Just in time, too. This weekend I am going to visit my sister, Sam, and George, her boyfriend, in New York. George and I plan to do a long ride on Saturday. I can't wait.
life = good
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