werestillrolling

  TUESDAY, JULY 22--LAKE SHORE--CHICAGO Dennis loves this trail!!!  It takes him back in time and he's constantly amazed at all the new buildings.  It is a great trail.  There are lanes for pedestrians separate from the bike lanes which makes it somewhat safer.  However, no one warns you when they want to pass and I almost got clipped by a biker in a hurry.  It's also fairly crowded especially for a week day. After riding along the shore we made our way to Pequod's pizza in Lincoln Park, frequently rated to be the best pizza in Chicago.  We like Uno's better, but we did find the place and then we made our way to the 606 which is like the Hi-line in NYC, a raised converted RR bed completely landscaped for 2.7 miles.  Amazing.  Good signs telling us how to get back to the Lakeshore trail, as well.   Sculpture on the Lakeshore Trail The 606 raised trail Artwork on the 606 Pizza at Pequod's Just some crazy sculpture in Chicago Chicago h...

  SUNDAY--JULY 20-- RAINOUT We had planned to ride The Old Plank Trail (a hall of fame trail) to Frankfort but it rained all day.  So we drove to Frankfort where there was a farmer's market in spite of the rain.  We're definitely going to ride this trail next time we're in the Chicago area.  It really looked scenic.  I did take a few photos. We're staying with Dennis's sister, Ramona and brother in law, Jerry at  Fox Lake for two nights.  It's supposed to be good weather next few days so Tuesday we'll ride in Chicago.  This pair of sandhill cranes was hanging out in front of Ramona and Jerry's. Old Plank Trail entrance. Sidewalk in Frankfort, a beautiful little town. Frankfort sidewalk.

JULY 19, MONON TRAIL TO BROAD RIPPLE Yes, there is a town called "Broad Ripple". It actually had quite a few restaurants.  There aren't many photos today but not because we didn't see worthy sights.  The weather was perfect and it was Saturday so the trail was just too crowded to stop for photos.  This trail was close to being our favorite.  Almost as wide as a 2 lane road and paved are 2 huge pluses, but because it is an old RR trail it's a straight line the entire way, so a little boring.  If you ever get out this way check out Carmel, also a beautiful little town right on the trail. We got back to the car after riding 42 miles and the sky went dark.  Poor Dennis then drove 2 hours to Champagne, Illinois in sheets of  heavy rain.  We are now at the University of Illinois where Dennis and Sally got their degrees.  The sky cleared. This is the sculpture in front of the electrical engineering Bldg The Monon Trail through Carmel.  Dennis i...

  FRIDAY, JULY 18--GASTON TO MUNCIE, INDIANA Today began with heavy rain so we got a late start and hoped for clearing skies.  Luck was with us, no rain and we discovered an additional ride along the White River.  We also found a wonderful ice cream shop after the ride.  Photos aren't great.  There wasn't much to see and we rode 38 miles. This sculpture was in front of the Gathering Center located at the Minnetrista  museum and gardens donated by the Ball family. (They made Ball mason jars) Minnestrista is a Sioux word for gathering place.   I just liked this bike rack.  I'm going to make a pendant in this shape. The White River This is a mile marker on the Cardinal Greenway Trail, almost impossible to read as you're riding by but showing up every half mile.  Most other trail mile markers are made of 4/4 treated wood with carved numbers.

  THURSDAY, JULY 17, DOWNTOWN LOUISVILLE/JEFFERSONVILLE INDIANA Barbara West's birthday.  Happy birthday Barbara.  Hope you enjoyed your day!!!!!  See you next week. Today was kind of a mixed bag.  We started out riding in Downtown Louisville and had some trouble staying on the trail.  I think we managed to ride its entirety which wasn't much.  But then we crossed an old RR bridge over the Ohio River into Jeffersonville Indiana and thoroughly enjoyed that ride. It's called the Ohio River Greenway and  followed the river across levees and through parks.  We stopped at the Falls of the Ohio State Park and saw some videos on the birth of the Ohio River.  Pretty neat.  We could have looked for fossils along the river but it started raining pretty hard.  We waited it out and had a lousy lunch with a great view.  Made it back to the car before it started raining again.  A crazy day! But lots of Photos. This is the most...

WEDNESDAY,JULY 16--Louisville Loop (Jay's Birthday) HAPPY BIRTHDAY JAY, Hope you get lucky in Reno!!!! Dennis and I were so impressed with today's Loop trail, (it isn't really a loop yet).We rode as far as we could on it 35 miles and in spite of the heat enjoyed every mile.  The trail was hilly, curvy and scenic, following the Floyd's Fork River.  Eventually they plan to have it circle Louisville and extend over 100 miles.  The city and Jefferson County have really invested some money in building it and creating all the parks that tie into it.   map of the trail from my phone We were able to walk to the top of this silo for the next photo.  109 steps. View of the Trail from the silo. Curves and hills.  See why we took our lunch. Looking up the 109 stairs to the top. All the bridges were built like this one.  We crossed the river at least 10 times. Our lunch spot.  We took bagels from breakfast. They've had a lot of rain lately.  

TUESDAY JULY 15--toward Cincinnati This Little Miami River Trail has been great given the hot temps during the day.  It's mostly shaded, flat, wide and follows the river through lots of parks.  Yesterday we were riding through cornfields, today, small towns.  Also most of the trail today was maintained by the state and they do a wonderful job.   A TRASH CAN IN LOVELAND, OHIO ANOTHER TRASHCAN DESIGN (HOMAGE TO THE TRAIL) THIS INTRODUCES THE PHOTO BELOW THIS IS A MINI TUNNEL.  THE NETTING IS FOR THE BATS. THE LITTLE MIAMI RIVER WAS THE FIRST RIVER IN THE NATION TO RECEIVE DESIGNATION AS A SCENIC RIVER ACCORDING TO THE NATION'S FIRST SCENIC RIVER ACT IN 1968.  (Yay Ohio!) THIS WAS ONCE A RAIL TRAIL THE TRAIL THROUGH LOVELAND OHIO.  WE WERE SO IMPRESSED WITH THE WAY THIS TOWN EMBRACED THE TRAIL. A FELLOW BIKER TOOK THIS PHOTO FOR US IN LOVELAND.  

MONDAY    JULY 14 Yellow Springs Sorry to say we did not see one thing that we deemed photo worthy. We rode 49 miles on the Miami River trail or what we thought was the Miami River trail but took an unmarked trail out of Xenia and ended up in Cedarville.  So we backtracked to Xenia for lunch, rode back to the car and drove to Yellow Springs, a cute little artsy town but not really photo worthy.   Still a good ride.  More tomorrow, hopefully with some photos.

  JULY 13, 2025--Cincinnati (Melody's birthday) Happy birthday, Melody!!  She's in Hawaii with Jared and family enjoying the wonderful weather there. Dennis and I arrived in Cincinnati around 2:30 and parked next to the stadium where there was a Red's game in progress. They beat Colorado 4 to 2.  Expensive parking but very convenient. Cincinnati is a lovely city fully embracing the Ohio River waterfront with beautiful parks and neighborhoods.  This is what Sangria looks like in Kentucky (I guess) Cincinnati skyline with Reds Stadium in the forefront The aquarium a paddle boat on the Ohio River This boundary line appears on the "Purple People" bridge as it crosses the Ohio River In the late 1800's Cincinnati was a big pork processing center. We're looking in a mirror which makes us look wider.  (a lot wider!) Same mirror.  It was a huge sculpture on the river trail.