We are Rhona and Dave, tandem touring cyclists from West Virginia in the US. We convinced two of our tandem cyclist friends, Allen & Margaret to use the Ohio to Erie trail as a base for a multiweek early autumn credit card style tour.  We will start outside Cincinnati in Milford, OH and mostly follow the Ohio to Erie trail northeast to Lake Erie.  We'll probably cutoff onto a portion of the Underground Railroad Route leading to Ashtabula, OH and ultimately Erie, PA. From there we'll follow Pennsylvania Bicycle Route A to just north of Pittsburgh and then travel the Great Allegany Passage (GAP Trail) to Cumberland, MD which is near our home.  

All four of us are of a mature age so it has been a challenge to schedule medical procedures and appointments so that we can be on tour for 3-4 weeks. But, Margaret and Allen both still have adventurous itches that they still scratch through snow skiing, mountain biking and rock climbing, resulting in recent years with a broken pelvis, concussion & brain bleed. So as the time for the tour approached all of us were avoiding risky behaviors that might delay or end the tour. Margaret and Allen called the other day with the news that Margaret had tripped on the steps and broken her little toe.  Nothing too adventurous or risky about that but the urgent care doctor had splinted her up to her armpit...that may be a bit of an exaggeration. 

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Fortunately, their friendly orthopedic doctor (who seems to have gotten to know them pretty well)  substituted a way to "buddy tape" the little piggy and said she could ride a bicycle. He was a little taken back when she further explained the bike ride would be about 1,000 miles in length, but nevertheless gave his approval.  So, the trip is on starting Tuesday with loading both tandems onto a trailer for a 6+ hour drive to Milford and the start of the 326 mile Ohio to Erie Trail. 

I am using Ride with GPS to navigate and plan portions of the route. I didn't bother mapping the Ohio to Erie Trail into Ride with GPS. You can link to it here Ohio to Erie Trail. We will probably veer off onto the Underground Railroad Route near Hudson, Ohio, so that is where I started the Ride With GPS portion. The ride south from Erie, PA is along Pennsylvania Bicycle Route A. Just north of Pittsburgh we will probably veer off onto the Montour trail which is a mostly car free route southwest around of Pittsburgh to McKeesport where we'll catch the  GAP Trail to Cumberland, MD near our home. 

That's the plan.  I hope to update this ride daily on Cycleblaze using my I-phone. Between fatigue and the small phone screen and the vagaries of voice dictation* I anticipate there will be a lot of errors which I'll edit when I return home.  

*I've been studying Duolingo Spanish lessons on my phone and sometimes my voice dictations in messages are translated into very poor Spanish.