Carol Lewis Cocchiarale (right) shows the new “IGotABike Ohio To Erie Trail Guide” to members of the Friends of Madison County Parks and Trails: (from left) Yung Holt, Danny Holt and Gene Pass.

New Guide Helps Cyclists Get on Their Bikes and Ride.

London is among the towns featured on a new interactive trail guide for the Ohio To Erie Trail, a 300-mile biking/walking path that runs between Cleveland and Cincinnati.
The 51-page guide comes in the form of a PDF that can be downloaded to a tablet or smartphone. Once downloaded, the guide can be used without Internet access. It features mileage charts between towns, navigation guides and recommendations on where to stay, eat and visit along the trail.

The guide is the work of Carolyn Lewis Cocchiarale and Guy Cocchiarale, cycling enthusiasts from Cleveland. They embarked on the trail guide project a year ago, after their blog about the trail, IGotABike.com, took off.

“The Ohio To Erie Trail Fund is busy building the trail, getting signage and getting infrastructure, but there was nothing in place to help people navigate the trail,” said Carolyn. “So, Guy and I did a blog and it was really popular. We had people from all over the country asking us for advice on navigating the trail. The guide grew out of that.”
Last May, Carolyn and Guy biked the entire length of the trail, collecting information to create the guide. They said their stop in London stood out among the others due to the organized support the trail enjoys locally. Playing a huge part in that support is the non-profit Friends of Madison County Parks and Trails.

This May and June, Carolyn and Guy rode the entire trail again to promote the completed guide and collect more information for updates. Again, they enjoyed London’s interest and hospitality.

“It was around June 3. We were headed northbound toward London, and Gene Pass and two others came looking for us. Gene was wearing one of our t-shirts when he caught up with us. They ended up riding 100 miles by the time they were done,” Carolyn said.
Pass is a charter member of the Friends of Madison County Parks and Trails (FMCPT). He was among 13 FMCPT members who rode the entire Ohio To Erie Trail, from Cincinnati to Cleveland, last fall. Carolyn and Guy guided the group the last few miles through Cleveland, so Pass decided to return the hospitality when Carolyn and Guy made their return trip through London. He and fellow FMCPT members, Danny Holt and Yung Holt, greeted the IGotABike couple and got a look at the new guide.

London’s portion of the guide includes information about the two trailheads, the Prairie Grass trailhead on West High Street behind the Madison County Senior Center and the Roberts Pass trailhead on Maple Street near Center Street. For more information about the portion of the trail that runs through London and Madison County, go to www.fmcpt.com.

The IGotABike Ohio To Erie Trail Guide is $14.99. To purchase a copy, go to www.IGotABike.com.

On Sept. 15, 2012, Carol Lewis and Guy Cocchiarale of IGotaBike.com escorted 13 riders from the Friends of Madison County Parks and Trails to Edgewater Park to “tire dip” in Lake Erie. Five days earlier, the group started their trek in Cincinnati, where they dipped their tires in the Ohio River. It was all part of their journey on the 300-mile Ohio To Erie Trail.

Click here to view the article online at The Columbus Messenger website.