STOMPin through the Cuyahoga

Metro Parks set up a STOMP bike tour (click on STOMP to see the website full of details) through the Cuyahoga Valley. They also had a 25 mile and 63 mile ride, but I'm not as in shape as my 50+ year old father or around that age mother, so we choose the 10 mile ride. We registered all 4 of us and waited for September 3rd to arrive.

Brenden got quite a few stares and people looking back after passing him...they couldn't believe the 4 year old had a real bike shirt with company logos and a pocket in the back...the works. He was also pretty proud of being able to wear his bike shirt like his Poppy does. He asked if Poppy was going to ride with us. Kyleigh had some pretty sweet duds on as well. (It was game day. 1st game of the season and against the 'great' SEC. And we won;) )

Some food for the road. These kids munched on Teddy Grahams, Twizzlers, Granola, Raisins, Gatorade and ice water while being carried leisurely in the bike trailer.

This was the lower parking lot. The one above had just as many cars. I heard a STOMP staff worker say that they had a 1,000 people sign up and ride the STOMP tour.

After going to the registration tent and grabbing our yellow wristbands to identify which path we should be on, we start on this old road next to Old Trail School which was founded in 1920 and is still in operation in the Cuyahoga Valley. The 63 mile riders had an 1.5 hour window to leave (between 7:30-9); the 25 mile riders had to leave from 9-10:30; and 10 mile riders left between 10:30-12. This was nice to not have to battle 1,000 other riders for bike real estate.

Once you pass the school, you are on the road for only a little while until you get to the tow path near Ira and Riverview.

After the train tracks, you begin your ride through the Cuyahoga....bridges, rivers, lily pads...

Trees growing in the middle of the river...

...and a whole lot of this...

Went past a field. You could hear shots fired by the farmers or farmhands to keep the birds away. I told the kids that's what happens if you try to get out of the trailer. It was a fruitless threat because they never complained or asked to get out once.

After seeing the state of Kyleigh's hair once I pulled off her helmet inside the mostly enclosed trailer (the mesh part was still open), we opened that thing up as much as it would and tried to bring a little more breeze into that confined space. She was still smiling though...  maybe that's because I asked her if she wanted to go get some juice (gatorade).

Hot day. I think she downed 3 of these.

At the halfway point, a rock quarry, they provided a 'fun stop'. Gatorade, raisins, granola, Twizzlers and a couple of footballs. We grabbed a few goods, let the kids stretch out their legs, and then strapped them back in for another 5 miles back to Howe Meadow for lunch. We saw the largest bull frog any of us had seen and a turtle in a ditch near the quarry (which Trent, after reading a rusted old national landmark metal sign, said it was the original Ohio Erie Canal built in the 1880s).

Tough ride for this Team 4:50 kid.

Better ventilation for the ride back.

Pretty ride. These kids did so great and the views through the Cuyahoga were excellent.

Sometimes the trail got crowded.

Another dad with his kids. There were quite alot of families on this 10 mile trail. 

This guy in front of Trent was pulling his kids in the bike trailer with a bike that was in the sitting position and pedals out in front, instead of traditional down position. The one thing that hurt was my neck for being bent over the whole ride, so does this type of bike help with posture? 

They had tents for Subaru, giving out a free bike at the end of the day, Akron zoo, free massage, food, and a few others we didn't much care about since we were focused on the food after riding for 1 hr 2 min. Next year we need to shave that time down. And maybe Brenden will ride his own bike. But if he does, Kyleigh will want to be right out there with him and could probably match him mile for mile.

The kids were dancing to the live music provided for the riders as they polish off a hot dog or Subway sandwich, carrot sticks, grapes, chips, beans, and about 5 different varieties of desserts. This was an excellent day. And Kyleigh slept extremely well.