Rides in Cincinnati

[hankchong]

I'm spending more and more time in Cincinnati, and am interested in keeping a bike there. There seems to be a lot of great climbing in the area. Any suggestion for routes? I'll be riding out of Anderson Township. Also, any advice regarding appropriate gearing and tire sizes (roads there seem pretty good relative to New England, where I tend to ride 28s) are appreciated.

[Lovetoclimb]

Hit up Element Cycles. Also there are group rides hosted by multiple shops in town almost every night of the week as well as several mixed group, typically fast, weekend rides. I used to live near downtown and would ride almost exclusively in Northern KY, or far West into rural Eastern IN for big long jaunts. Rabbit Hash KY is a very popular destination, take the state highways and side roads out there from town to make a loop and you can't go wrong. Climbs are short, some steep, never atrocious though. They add up so having that extra gear in back can be helpful. I got by with 39x27 and usually ran 25 or 27mm Vittoria Paves.

[hankchong]

Thanks, L2C.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G850A using Tapatalk

[keevon]

Does Campus Cyclery still host weeknight rides? Have fond memories of riding with Glenn and company.

[Lovetoclimb]

They do but it is organized and run by their shop team, now called "Team Hungry". Great group of people, usually a no drop ride with several people keeping watch. Definitely worth stopping in and inquiring there as well.

[bikemoore]

My parents live in Anderson Township and I have done some cycling while visiting. I didn't grow up in the area, so I don't know it well. Cincinnati is hilly, but the roads are generally in bad condition with heavy, fast traffic, very limited visibility, and little tolerance for bikes. [Sorry Cincinnati residents: I am a fan of the Bengals and the Reds, but I'm not a fan of your roads for cycling.] However, Anderson Township/Newtown has a really great rails-to-trails paved bike path that runs along the Little Miami River for about 80 miles north up to Springfield. It is flat riding, but is so nice for cycling that I don't care. When I visit, that's where I ride. Flat riding is good for me too. On hot days, there are even kids with lemonade stands hawking cold lemonade to the trail users. The trail is used, but I would not call it crowded. I had zero trouble cycling fast on it. On some parts of the trail you will encounter other users and some parts of the trail are quite remote with only occasional encounters with other users.

Go to the Little Miami Golf Center / Bass Island Park. If you drive there, you may have to pay for a parking pass from the Parks Department to leave your car there (you can buy them at the lot). Depending on where you are in Anderson Township, you may be able to ride there. The bike path starts from that parking lot there. Look at Google Maps: see the little gray line just on the south side of US50/Wooster Pike at Newtown Road called the Little Miami Scenic Trail? That's the bike path.

It also hooks up with another path called the Lebanon Countryside trail, but I haven't used that one. Ohio is doing a great job converting rails to paved trails. I recommend taking advantage.

[rzthomas]

First off, I think Cincinnati riding is great. Never had too many problems with traffic or bad drivers and the pavement ain't that bad, but I live in Chicago now where the pavement sucks, the routes suck, and the drivers are horrible.

I am from Cincinnati proper. My in-laws live in the Newtown/Milford area, which is close to Anderson, where there are good routes, but sometimes accessing them is a bit of a pain. Roundbottom Road is OK to ride east of Beechwood, but I don't like it west of that road due to all the Evans Landscaping trucks. Beechwood used to be a great connector from Mt. Carmel to Barg Salt, but it got crazy busy.

The Little Miami bike trail is another wonderful connector to good hills and climbs.

I would look up the Biowheels guys. They do really swell rides in Indian Hill and elsewhere.

Here is one route that you could use as a guiding map to the good stuff-- don't mind the average speeds -- I was on my MTB! :) -- https://www.strava.com/activities/314873517

You can ride forever on some of the roads that are accessed from Stonelick: https://www.strava.com/segments/7371837?filter=overall

[greengage]

I live a stone's throw from Anderson, and there are definitely good rides to be had starting from there. Montgomery cyclery in Anderson has a ride that leaves at 9am on sunday that's pretty laid back. Biowheels in Madeira has a leg destroyer on Saturday mornings at 7:30(?)am. Just shooting down 52 and turning left at a bill that looks good is a great way to go, but so is round bottom into Milford and 222 to 52 the opposite direction and back. And a million variations thereof.
I agree that cincy drivers aren't great, but I'm a pretty aggressive biker who doesn't care if he's cursed at, so I make my presence known and that seems to work alright.
Hit me up if you need a riding buddy or guide. I'm horribly out of shape after a winter/spring of drama/injury, but I can at least show you some hot spots.
Cheers

[Alan]

I am in the Blue Ash area and ride a lot with a group named Gears4Beers that leaves from the park in Loveland. You can see all of our rides on ridewtithgps if you search from rides from Loveland OH with a keyword of AJL. You can ck out the forum for this group at:

https://groups.google.com/forum/?hl=en#!forum/g4bs

Feel free to pm me with questions etc. I have been part of the local cycling scene for a long time.

Alan

[SlackMan]

It's not a full ride, but north of Beechmont on either Five Mile Road or Eight Mile Road (I forgot which one) is a really short steep downhill where I was able to hit 53mph. It's good for a big thrill!

I lived on Pamela Road south of Beechmont. I would take it south with some cross streets to Eight Mile Road and then head south and east to Old Kellogg Road (I think), and then head east to Ten Mile Road and continue on that. There are great riding roads, but I do recall some angry and very fast dogs.

[greengage]

It's eight mile. It's a blast. For some serious masochism you can go back up bridle (left at the bottom)!

[Lovetoclimb]

My parents live in Anderson Township and I have done some cycling while visiting.

This sentence is enough to tell you that reading on will provide you with a very limited viewpoint of riding in the greater Cincinnati area. It is some of the best I have encountered in the country (which is by no means comprehensive!) and that is coming from someone who lived/trained/raced/commuted/explored in the area extensively.

Add Swallow Bicycle Works to your list if you are heading out East of the city. They are great people with a good knowledge of all kinds of riding in the area.

[greengage]

Second swallow. Awesome peeps

[hankchong]

Thanks! I appreciate everyone's hospitality. Some of those landmarks and street names are familiar. I'm mired in work currently, but will follow-up once I'm in the clear. I need to get a bike out there first! Thanks, again!