Pedaling to Lunch: Bike Rides and Bites in Northeast Ohio

Discover the beauty and variety of Northeast Ohio’s landscape with twenty bicycle tours that take you down back roads, through rural villages, and over covered bridges. Long-time cyclist and area resident Stan Purdum weaves local history, humorous anecdotes, and philosophical musings into an engaging personal narrative of his experience pedalling in each of the region’s sixteen counties. This book includes detailed maps, mileage notations, precise directions, and Stan’s recommendations for lunch halfway through the rides. Those diners, taverns, and cafes not only serve as destinations, but also allow riders to savour distinctive small-town regional cooking. Stan’s carefully chosen routes will take you past a host of unique and interesting sights. Among them are the site of an experiment in utopian communal living, a place where a colony of native Americans was massacred, a hollow that was occupied by characters so notorious that lawmen refused to enter it, remnants of two canals and the historic Lincoln Highway, the childhood home of famed attorney Clarence Darrow, Lake Erie parks, and much more. This book is not just for cyclists. It will appeal to hikers, to automobile day-trippers, and even to armchair travellers who want to learn about Ohio’s history. Mostly though, it’s a ticket to enjoyable cycling. Whether you stop for lunch or not, these out-of-the-ordinary tours will give you miles of pleasure in Ohio’s great outdoors.