(This is the first in an occasional series of my favorite memories from bicycling — a bike tour from Cincinnati to Hueston Woods in 1965.)
My first bicycle tour came at the tender age of 15. I can't believe my mother agreed to it; I certainly wouldn't approve of such a venture for my own son at that age.
My good friend Steve and I had been caddying at a country club all summer. I'd catch a ride to work with Steve's dad then hitchhike home after carrying some guy's bag for 18 holes.
I don't know who came up with the bicycling idea. We were always scheming. I do remember looking at a road map of Ohio and seeing there was a place called Hueston Woods State Park that had a campground symbol. It was near Oxford, which was 35-some miles from Cincinnati.
Different times
We made that our destination. Somehow we got our parents' approval. This was 1965, so things were different. There was less traffic on the roads; heck, there were just plain fewer people. The craziness that you read about now either didn't happen with such regularity or was swept under the carpet.
My memory about most aspects of the trip are hazy, while others are crystal clear.
I don't remember much about what I packed, although I'm sure it was too much of the wrong stuff. Both our bicycles had wire baskets attached to each side of the rear wheel. I distinctly remember carrying a rolled up canvas pup tent lashed across the handlebars.
The Ford plant
We left early in the morning. We scooted downhill from Deer Park into the Mill Valley. One of my vivid memories is riding past the Ford Plant in Sharonville that morning and seeing the sun hanging in the humid, early morning August sky like a big orange disc.
I don't know what this area is like for bicycling now, but I remember not worrying much about traffic. We cut west over to the Millvale-Oxford Road and headed north where I have another clear memory, walking the bicycle up the slope out of the valley for the Miami River.
We made it to Oxford, ate lunch, and headed right out to the state park. This was the longest slog of the trip, because we thought the park was right outside of Oxford, when in fact we had miles to go to the entrance and then a couple of hilly miles to the campground.
Dropped thermos
While there was a concession at the lake, we felt we had to return to Oxford to buy supplies the next day. I'm sure we were nutrionally bankrupt. Candy bars, hamburgers, etc. We must have felt that we needed milk, which we poured into a thermos bottle that I carried in my hand — until I dropped it. In those days, thermoses were glass inside, and this one shattered in a thousand pieces.
We stayed there two nights, then returned home. My only memory of theh return trip is walking my Schwinn up the other side of the Miami River valley.
We felt adventurous and unique; we knew of no one in our high school who had ever taken such a trip. It would be 12 or 13 years before I'd load up a bicycle for another overnight bike tour.
The 3,000 acre park was created in 1957 at the site of a prison honor farm. Four-mile Creek was dammed in 1956 to create Acton Lake. The forest became a state nature preserve in 1973. A resort and conference center was later added, as was a golf course.
The park now has 12 miles of bicycle trails on level and steep terrain. Mountain bike rentals are available and racing is held periodically throughout the year. See also DirtWorld.com.
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