On our Fitness after Forty pages we discuss health and fitness with a focus on bicycling, and how to use cycling to maintain or improve your overall health.
Ohio trails can be found on the Rails to Trails pages including reviews, photographs, and detailed information about the trails.
The pros and cons of recumbents and uprights are discussed on our ‘bent vs. upright pages. Here we will compare the two basic bicycle designs and how they affect you, the rider.
The Laughs! page is just our way of bringing humor into our lives. Besides, laughter has been shown to be beneficial to your health.
Bicycling with health issues is the focus of Body and Bike, where the bicycle can help us with some of our physical limitations.
The Roadies pages explore different road routes with reviews of these routes with maps and directions. We hope you will contribute your favorite route!
On the Good Reads pages we suggest books, review books, and look for your favorite bicycling book suggestions.
Cycling Ohio is a fledgling website devoted to promoting bicycling in Ohio by providing road and trail reviews, information, news, and insight.
Though new, we will continue to add content as quickly as possible and look to you the reader to help us make this websight successful. Your input is important and appreciated, so don’t hesitate to email us with your ideas, opinions, workouts, and stories. Write to us at editor@cyclingohio.com
Ohio and Autumn Cycling!
Fall 2008
Fall in Ohio; it is a great time to ride. The summer went fast as always in Ohio, but we still have some riding days left.
The Rails to Trails Conservancy has recently posted their 5 favorite trails for fall colors. As is typical for most national organizations or magazines, they left out Ohio as a choice! Ohio has great fall colors, and we have many trails from which to see the beautiful fall colors.
The best trails I have seen which should provide good fall color are: The Little Miami Valley Trail #1 mostly from Yellow Springs and south. The Kokosing Gap Trail in Knox County. The T. J. Evans Trail from Johnstown to Newark in Licking County. And the Adena-Hockhocking trail in Athens County. If readers now of other excellent fall color rail-trails please send me an email at editor@cyclingohio.com.
As fall progresses the days get shorter and the nights grow longer, resulting in a transformation of the leaf pigments. The best fall colors appear when we have warm days and cool nights. As the chlorophyll in the leaf diminishes, carotene, a more stable chemical persists; light reflected from the carotene in the leaves appears yellow. A third class of chemicals in leaves, anthocyanins appear red or purple in reflected natural light. We don’t want to get too heavy into chemistry, but that quick chemistry lesson crudely explains why we see red, orange, yellow, brown, and purple colors in leaves. Rainfall conditions also affect the quality of fall colors.
Maples, sumacs, sweetgums, birches, and buckeyes are probably the most common, native trees in Ohio which can give good fall color. There are several other small trees & shrubs which can provide nice colors such as juneberry, and viburnums. Oaks, which are abundant in Ohio usually, color in reddish and brown range. According to the ODNR Division of Forestry: "The most abundant species are the red and white oaks, which make up almost 25 percent of the total tree volume, followed by red and sugar maple, which comprise 18 percent. Yellow poplar and hickory make up another 18 percent, and white ash accounts for 8 percent."
So my point is Ohio does have some beautiful fall color for the cyclist, and we don’t have to go to West Virginia, or Vermont, or some other place out of state to enjoy a beautiful autumn!
COLUMBUS, OH - The relatively dry summer has created the opportunity for a great fall color season, promising an excellent opportunity to get out and enjoy Ohio's state parks, forests and nature preserves, according to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR).
While regular rainfall over the summer months is a factor, it is September that sets the stage for the degree of brilliance in the fall. In the month of September, as the days begin to shorten, the weather needs to settle into cool, but not freezing, nights accompanied by bright sunny days to produce the brightest colors.
"So far we are on track for some exciting color in 2008", said Casey Munchel, service forester and fall color expert with the ODNR Division of Forestry.
To help Ohioans plan their seasonal outings, ODNR will be posting weekly fall color updates beginning the last week of September-first week of October. Fall color forecasts will be available at ohiodnr.com. The department's web page will post reports on current peak viewing opportunities at state parks, forests, and nature preserves. The Ohio Division of Travel and Tourism will also be launching their fall color website in the upcoming weeks, which will include more information about other autumn weekend getaways around the state.
Leaves begin to turn color first in northern Ohio around the end of September and finish out in southern Ohio at the end of October. Ohio is an especially great place to enjoy fall color because of the over 100 tree species that call this state home.
For Additional Information, Contact: Jason Fallon, ODNR Communications
