Review of London

London, Ohio, is bike crazy, driven by The Friends of Madison County. Wayne Roberts and Gene Pass, of Roberts Pass fame, are two of their biggest proponents. The trail volunteers, business owners and local government work together in a way not seen in any other town along the trail. Their understanding and appreciation of the Ohio to Erie trail as part of their economy should be a model to all. In our brief stay in London, we visited many of the businesses there. Look for them and others on the signs at trailheads.

Where to stay.
We stayed at Alexandra’s Bed & Breakfast. Twice. It’s a very nice B&B filled with great antiques, run by Ron and Susan. The really cool thing for bikers, however, is the hostel they built in the carriage house! Inside, there are about ten or twelve bunks. Each bunk comes with a plastic tub that contains your sheets, blankets, pillow, towel and robe. There is a shared bathroom and showers. There is also laundry! Your bike is secured in a locked garage area. You have 24 hour access to your bunk and bike with a secure door code keypad. All that at just $25 a night. Oh, and free wifi, too.

There are also hotel/motels out Rt.42 at I-70, out by the truck stops. We stayed once on a previous tour at the Holiday Inn Express, iirc. Nice room with a fridge. There’s also a Motel 6 and also a Walmart and other retail stores out that way.

Where to eat.
Two great places that we tried. The first is the London Coffee Peddler. Mike is an avid cyclist and will talk bikes with you all day long. Check the link for his hours and menu. Right around the corner from Alexandra’s.
The other place we ate at (twice), was Rothwell’s. Scott Rothwell is the owner and is one of the local business people that understands the importance of the trail to London. He’s got a great menu, excellent beer selection, and a pretty extensive wine selection from what I could see (remember, I’m a beer drinker The cornbread is so sweet and melts in your mouth. Oh, and I really dig the sour kraut balls. We had them both times we were there! Rothwell’s is maybe about a mile’s stroll from Alexandra’s.

Other things to note.
There is a good laundromat on High St. Just past The London Peddler, just over the tracks. Throw your clothes in, then go back and hang out with Mike while your waiting on the spin cycle.
The trailhead on the south side of town is awesome. There is a huge picnic shelter, running water and real flush toilets.
London is a pretty big town. There’s a giant Walmart in a large retail area on the outskirts. There’s a Family Dollar, a Kroger, and a Save A Lot, Kmart and CVS in town.
There is no bicycle shop!