Iron Horse Trail
in Centerville Completed – I photographed the new Iron Horse Trail in Centerville recently and added pictures to my “Iron Horse Trail in Centerville and Kettering” page. I am told that the Centerville Washington Parks District is
hoping to pave the rest of the trail in Centerville from Iron Horse Park South to I-675 next year (2009). They ran out of money this year when building the trail from Iron Horse Park North to Hempstead Station Road, which is the border between Centerville and Kettering.
The City of Kettering Parks department (See Iron
Horse Trail in Kettering) has to secure the entire right-of-way from Hempstead Station Road through the City of Kettering to State Farm Park, where the trail ends currently. From there the trail is complete through Kettering and Beavercreek to the West end of the
Creekside Recreation Trail.
Tipp City Connected to
Troy – I attended the dedication 30 October, 2008, rode and photographed the new section of trail. There are new pictures on the Tipp City Trail page.
New Trail Signage – As I told all of you some time ago, the
Miami Conservancy District
(MCD) had received a grant for new trail signs in the Miami Valley. Eventually you’ll be seeing the same signs in Miami, Greene & Montgomery counties.
They'll be erected by the parks departments of each county. Here is one of the first of the new signs that MCD erected on the Great Miami River Recreation Trail in West Carrollton.
Section 5
– Troy East of River to Eldean Road then across Covered Bridge North though park District and MCD land to Peterson Road – This section is going through the documentation stage with ODNR in order to start construction in 2009.
Section 6
– The trail is under construction from Lock Nine Park in Piqua South on the West bank of the river to the Piqua Power Plant. The trail will cross the river there to the East bank and continue South to Peterson Road. I am told that while construction is continuing, it is not expected to be complete in 2008. Expect a Spring or Summer 2009 opening.
New Signage on Prairie Grass Trail (AKA Ohio to Erie Trail) – I was told that the friends of Madison County Parks & Trails (FMCPT) completed painting mile markers on the trail from the end of trail at Wilson Road (East of London) to Xenia. The mile markers are in the shape of Madison County.
To see a photo: Click
Here.
Pages Updated in Miami County
– During the last few weeks I have updated many of the pages that refer to the Great Miami River Recreation Trail in Miami County. I have had to revise mileages because Tipp City and Troy are now connected in a continuous 10.6 miles route between Kyle Park South of Tipp City to Lytle Road North of Troy. I updated the:
Miami Valley Trails – A compendium of all
300+ miles of trail by county in the Miami Valley Trails System
Centerville’s Iron Horse Trail page – I updated the page after photographing it recently. It’s complete through the City of Centerville. Next is the connection in Kettering between the Northern end of the current trail to State Farm Park in Kettering where the Iron Horse Trail now ends. The trail runs North from State Farm Park to the far Western end of the
Creekside Recreation Trail in Beavercreek.
Nashville Tennessean has good article about Miami Valley RailTrails: Recently the
"Nashville Tennessean" a newspaper in Nashville had a well written
and accurate short article about the trails centered on Xenia in the Miami
Valley.
The article is titled: “Xenia at center of scenic and historic trails – By Gloria Ballard “Nashville Tennessean” (11/02/2008)
Friends
of the Little Miami Scenic Park - This Summer we saw two trail
closures on the Little Miami Scenic Trail near Corwin. The trail is still
officially closed until repairs can be made; see September
2008 Newsletter . Many merchants such as ice cream
shops, B&Bs, hotels, bicycle rentals and other businesses who cater to
trail users, rely on the trail for their livelihood. So they have decided to
establish an 501(c)(3) not for profit organization named The Friends of
the Little Miami Scenic Park This group will work with the Ohio
Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) the manager of this 50 mile section
of the Little Miami Scenic Trail, to secure adequate funding for the trail.
The first meeting is Sunday 16 November 2008 at Caesar Creek State Park. I
will keep you informed of this group's progress in aiding the park's
management to keep the trail in good repair.
IRS
Commuter Benefits Extended to Bicyclists
- Last month I told you
about this tax break called the Bicycle Commuter Act.
This will allow employers to reimburse bicycle commuters for some of their expenses up to $20 per month. This compares to existing transit and carpooling benefits of up to $115 per month. The employers may take this money from taxes otherwise owed to the federal government.
Details are being worked out with Congress by the League of American Bicyclists (LAB).
Why I mention this break for bicycle commuters is that the LAB has a
detailed article on their website explaining the Bicycle
Commuter Act.
E-Mail
from a Satisfied Trail User - I get emails from a lot of people wanted to come to the Miami Valley to ride our trails. “Gail” wrote me earlier this year. She and her friends wanted to come ride our trails. She asked specifically if I could recommend any B&B’s who
could provide “shuttle service” so they could get back to their car that they were planning to park at Milford. After answering several of her emails requesting help, I send her a final email that asked that she write me of her experience after she got home. It turns out that their first day on the trail was Sunday September 14th,
the day of the big windstorm (Hurricane Ike). The following email is what “Gail” sent
to me:
" 18 September 2008
Thomas, I just wanted to let you know that our bike ride went wonderfully after we weathered the storm. We got on the trail at Milford around 2pm on Sunday afternoon and did not realize that a heavy wind storm was going through. We had only ridden a few miles when we encountered trees down all along the trail and at times it looked as though we would not be able to pass through. With God's help, we were able to go through, around and at times over and under trees until we got to Foster. We saw several emergency crews but no one told us the magnitude of the storm. Several bikers we encountered on the trail (like us got caught out in it) gave us pointers on how to make it through. We had planned to ride to Waynesville, but the wind was so great that the lady (Ms. Pam Bowman:
Ed) at The Hammel House
became concerned about us. She called me on my cell and after several tries finally got through and arranged to pick us up at The Train Stop in Foster. She was Heaven sent. Although there was no electricity, we spent a comfortable night at her inn and on Monday morning her husband took us to Xenia. We were told by the parks department that the trail was blocked from Corwin lot to Hedge Road. After driving us around for an hour, trying to find someone to fix a flat tire, we finally got on the trail. There were trees down all along the trail to Cedarville. We did not take the trail to Yellow Springs as planned because we were told there was no water or electricity at the Arthur Morgan House. We headed for Cedarville and although the trail was pretty bad, we made it to
Hearthstone Inn. There was no electricity there at first, but came on around 9pm. We rode to South Charleston Monday evening. On Tuesday morning, Stuart (Zaharek:
Ed) at the Hearthstone Inn took us to Buck Dam and we rode back to Cedarville. The trail was pretty clear on this end of the trail. We got in around 90 miles but considering the conditions, we felt fortunate to ride this many. I have to say, that the people we encountered were gracious and extremely helpful. The trails are marked fairly well and we only had to ask directions a couple of times. Thanks again for all the help you gave us. If I can be of assistance to anyone riding the trail, let me know. Thanks for all you do to make riding the Little Miami Trail and other trails in your area so great. You should come to The Virginia Creeper sometime.”
This is the kind of email we should get from all visitors to the Miami Valley. They all should read:
“We had a great time on Miami Valley’s trails and we’ll be back with our friends to ride your trails again.”
Trails in Miami County - In as much as Miami County is the current leader in trail’s construction, it seems fitting that the Trails in Miami County be the our Webpage of the Month for November. As many of you know the following trails have been completed or are under construction in Miami County.
Trail from Tipp City North to Troy-
This 1.62 mile section was dedicated in October 2008. It closes the gap between the trails in Tipp City and Troy. Now you can ride from Kyle Park (South of Tipp City) past Canal Lock Park (Tipp City) and Tipp City Nature Center to the trail sections (Sections 1 and 2) to the
Troy Trail. The trail continues North of Troy to Lytle Road.
If you find these newsletters and my Miami Valley RailTrails website of use to
you, please pass the information on to your friends and neighbors who might enjoy our
Miami Valley Trails System, the wonderful system of multi-use trails in Southwest Ohio. Then they can write me
and get on the mailing list to get their own copy of this newsletter. Our trail
system is wonderful for
walking, running, in-line skating, birding, fishing and cycling and on some
trails horseback riding. You see more wildlife from one
of our trails than most anyplace else.
All of my newsletters are posted to my website at the same time I send you this
text version. The URL for your use is: http://www.miamivalleytrails.org/join_our_mailing_list.htm
