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All trails lead to, and away from, Xenia Ohio
'We get bicyclists from all over, from as far as California," says
Carl Atzbach of Victoria's Bed & Breakfast in Xenia. Xenia is a mecca for cyclists, with bicycle trails going off in multiple directions, and it offers easy access to the good restaurants and lively atmosphere of Yellow Springs, a city about 10 miles north. The Little Miami Scenic Trail, celebrating its 25th anniversary this year, comes through Xenia about 55 miles after its start at Newtown and continues past Springfield for a total of 78 miles. In Xenia, the trail passes a replica train station, which serves as a center for biking information, and its surrounding shady benches can give cyclists a needed break. The trail continues through Xenia, not as well marked as it could be and meanders onto the sidewalk, legally, where traffic is heaviest. Xenia drivers, however, are accommodating to cyclists. The Little Miami Scenic Trail, south from Xenia, is quiet and remote and has a feel of deep country. It passes through the town of Spring Valley, which gives its name to Spring Valley Wildlife Area, a destination for bird watchers as well as cyclists. In the village is an oddity, Ohio's first poured concrete house, a dignified 1854 two-story construction with columns in front. The Little Miami trail north to Yellow Springs is likely to have more people on it, cyclists, walkers, rollerbladers and the occasional parent pushing a stroller. Benches, absent from the stretch through Spring Valley, are spotted along the way. The trail runs in sight of U.S. 68, the road between Xenia and Yellow Springs, for the first stretch but then dips into woods with the Little Miami River nearby. Yellow Springs retains the liveliness of a college town even though Antioch College has closed. The trail into town passes the now quiet campus and near there is edged by a spectacular perennial border, the Women's Park, complete with its own brick walkway, and a bench or two. The trail also skirts Glen Helen Nature Preserve, with access to the Glen Helen Trailside Museum and the 1,000 acres that make up the preserve. Glen Helen is open every day, dawn to dusk, with a suggested donation of $2 per person. Yellow Springs is a good restaurant town with a number of eateries on Xenia Avenue. The Winds Caf? has an excellent menu, its own bakery and a good wine list. Not cheap, but good value for the money. Sunrise Caf?, down the street, is less expensive but also has an interesting, if not so ambitious, menu. Ye Olde Trail Tavern brings another element to Yellow Springs' eating options with more traditional but well-prepared offerings. The building itself is the oldest in town, constructed from trees cut on the spot at a time when Xenia Avenue was an Indian trail. The Corner Cone Dairy Bar & Grill at Walnut and Dayton streets offers not only soft ice cream and other treats but sometimes bicycle rentals. Some evenings Corner Cone has live entertainment. Above Yellow Springs, the trail moves through farm fields rather than woods, but if you turn right after a couple of miles, onto Old Jackson Road, then another right on Route 68, you'll come within less than a mile to Young's Jersey Dairy, perhaps the only working dairy with aspirations of being an amusement park. Young's is ready for cyclists, with bike racks, maps of the bike trail and the figure of a cow on a bike mounted high on an exterior wall. Ice cream of all the usual and some unusual flavors, and what they claim is the best milkshake in Ohio, are available there along with miniature golf, a petting zoo, archery and more. From Xenia, cyclists can also try Creekside Trail, which runs off to the west, going as far as Dayton and another web of trails there, and the Ohio-to-Erie Trail, which strikes off to the east. The Ohio-to-Erie name promises more than it delivers, as significant sections between here and Cleveland are incomplete and must be traversed by roadway. The Creekside Trail, slanting over to Dayton, also moves through more open territory but in season is alive with wildflowers. The closer one gets to Dayton the more varied the traffic on the trail. Bed and breakfasts are a good Xenia lodging option. Victoria's, an 1881 mansion with 12-foot-high ceilings, is just two blocks from the trail. On Creekside Trail, about 6 miles from Xenia station and 9 miles from Dayton, is the pleasant Alpha House in a 150-year old home. Xenia also boasts an actual bicycle trail that proceeds for about 35 miles, to a point 6 miles beyond London. Bike rentals are available in Xenia at K&G Bike Center, and bike repairs at Surf N Cycle, both open weekends. http://news.cincinnati.com/article/2...way-from-Xenia |
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