Bicycling friends Ted Kmet and Gary Courtright examine another rocky segment of the abandoned rail line between Brinkhaven and Killbuck. When this 16 mile stretch is completed for bicycle and horse use we will be able to ride from Fredericksburg in Wayne County to Mt. Vernon in Knox County, OH. Gary and Ted (lower left) negotiate a section heavily rutted by horse and buggy traffic.

MOUNTAIN BIKING A RAIL-TRAIL--

I do not think I have ever ridden a bike trail and not encountered any other people—until three of us recently rode the Mohican Valley Trail between Danville and Brinkhaven in Knox County plus its incomplete extension for another 4 miles or so on toward Glenmont.

The latter section ultimately will be a 16 mile segment of the Holmes County Trail. For now, the four miles we rode from Brinkhaven toward Glenmont is a mostly crushed cinder, weedy buggy trail which ends when it encounters County Road 75 in Holmes County.

This also is the first time on a rail-trail I’ve ever wished my mountain bike had four-wheel drive.
The trail surface from Danville to Brinkhaven ranges from loose stones to packed gravel with lots of dusty, pulverized sand in between. Bike tire tracks compete with those of horse’s hooves and buggy wheels; usually with more of the latter.

While that segment makes the choice of a mountain bike very wise indeed, it ends at the largest covered bridge in Ohio; a 370 foot behemoth that spans high above the Mohican River on the approach to the Brinkhaven trailhead.

From there on you will sometimes question even the adequacy of your mountain bike.

There is a heavily rutted section as you approach the crossing of SR 62 that obviously is a quagmire in sloppy weather.

From SR 62 on to the intersection with Holmes County Road 75 the relatively smooth and always noticeably ascending grade lurches through heavy woods.

Sometimes route 62 traffic can be heard.

Mostly it is silent, dead silent; the marvelous quiet being the absence of human-produced noise. The three of us saw at least twice that many Whitetail Deer. We came to regard game trails crossing our route as major intersections.

Ant hills were everywhere along the weedy margins; usually in the form of perfectly shaped cones two to three feet tall. I noticed the birds mostly because of their absence; a robin here and there; one small patrol of vultures doing their macabre but natural duty.

We had to climb a steep incline to get up to the county road 75. I wondered how in the heck a train managed that ascent.

Up on the road we encountered a sign that announced, “Trail Closed—under construction”.

When we turned around to scramble back to Danville, now about 9 miles distant, we were confronted with another sign that said the same thing.

Hmmmm.

BREAKING POLITICAL NEWS--

Wow. Senator John McCain hit a political home run just hours ago when he named Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as his vice presidential running mate. Wow.

What she lacks in age (44) and national political experience (all of hers is confined to Alaska) she more than makes up in pure, unassailable strength of character. She is an accomplished, self-described soccer mom with a quality record of achievement in her short public service history.

Regardless of that brief history, she has more administrative experience—successful administrative experience—in government than the other three candidates for the top spots in this presidential election combined.

She is a successful mother, has been a successful mayor and, now, is a very successful governor. She is a conservative and believes the Washington, DC style of politics and government is in desperate need of a cleansing.

She said in her introductory speech in Dayton concerning a congressional boondoggle of the “Bridge to Nowhere” in her home state, ...go away congress, “...if Alaska needs a bridge we will build it ourselves.”

That’s my kind of gal. Wow.

Bring on November!

Saturday's adventure will take us down an unopened buggy path that someday will be the connection between the existing Mohican Valley Trail from Danville to Brinkhaven, OH and the Holmes County Trail that today ends at Killbuck. Here yours truly and companion Gary Cartright are pondering how early railroaders chiseled their way through the layered rock formation in this 16 mile corridor. (Photo by fellow rider Ted Kmet)

On our recent Wednesday bicycling outing three of us trundled 42 miles around the southern part of Richland County—not without its amusing moments such as this marvelously untimely sign compliments of the Mansfield City Parks Department at North Lake Park.

In nearby South Park we paused to ponder the restoration project on the town’s block house which once served as the county courthouse and a safe haven from Indian attack for the area’s much smaller population in those days. Back then it was located in what we now know as Mansfield’s Central Park.

Riding companions Gary Courtright and Ted Kmet are pictured (right) examining the wooden shingles which are being hand-split on the site to add authenticity to this well deserved restoration.

Farther down the bike trail the nice folks at Alta Greenhouse presented us with the cheery greeting on the rear of their building, Come in for a Break while just 20 feet or so away on the same wall another sign left the very opposite impression of their hospitality (right).

Naturally, as is often the case with intellectually challenged aspirants to the human race, one of them will crawl from under its rock and deposit some detritus in what is an otherwise pristine scene. I hope the last user of this shopping cart is, somehow, forever prevented from contaminating the gene pool.

THERE IS ZIP IN THE AIR--

Flying Propnuts president Heath Hamilton (right) pilots his helicopter in an aerodynamically defying, inverted maneuver (above) during a recent outing at their Bellville aerodrome.

This old fixed wing corporate pilot is convinced neither bumble bees nor helicopters are aerodynamically capable of flight.

Yet, above is a helicopter flying, inverted, just feet over a local bean field—without an on board pilot. Come to think of it, that may be the wisest way to fly one of these things!

The pilot in command of the machine pictured is Heath Hamilton, President of the local, remote controlled model airplane group called The Flying Propnuts.

Believe me, this is a group that make these scale model air machines do things that defy both the laws of gravity and the physical limits of stress.

If a human pilot rode along while these guys were massaging the electronic controls, it would not be a pretty sight when he attempted to extricate himself from the cockpit—no doubt, for the last time ever!

I watched Scott Foster from Toledo launch his helicopter into what appeared to be a barrage of anti-aircraft fire. His machine jerked around in the sky, just feet above ground, showing more acrobatic moves than a squadron of inebriated line dancers.

Then, it morphed itself into a scale model air show showing rhythm and grace in precision, acrobatic choreography. It was a sight to behold.

These little flying machines can cost anywhere from 200 bucks to more than ten thousand—with the club average value estimated at $1,500; most of which is in the electronics.

They are capable of astonishing maneuvers principally because of an extreme power to weight ratio and proportionally large control surfaces. They can be propelled—with similar speed and dexterity—by both tiny internal combustion engines and battery powered motors.

They are averaging somewhere around 50 to 75 mph while performing, and, yes they have jet propelled models that achieve 200 mph. Whooosh! You need nuclear powered eye glasses to keep up with them.

The range of the controlling radio can be, say, 2 miles, but, the little planes would be out of sight far before that and, consequently, soon out of control. Obviously a wise pilot turns them around before that happens.

Can you imagine how enthused I was when the fellows encouraged me to give this marvelous hobby a try.

Alas, there are simply too many adult toys and too little time.

Read more about the Propnuts here.

Heath Hamilton (right) completes a pre-flight inspection of one of his helicopters while his Pop Kurt Hamilton watches attentively. In the small photos above that is Jeff Meyers of Mansfield boring holes in the sky with his snappy little machine.

The Flying Propnuts put some zip in the sky near Bellville with their remote controlled model airplanes and helicopters. Please stop by Saturday for a visit with these friendly and highly skilled, hobbyist-pilots including Craig Goetz (right) in a typical flight-day posture.

They fly every Sunday in good weather after lunch at the Bender Memorial Field just west of Bellville on SR 97 then ½ mile south on Bellville-Johnsville Rd. Your visit will be both welcomed and free.

A SPINED MICRATHENA—

Yup, that’s one of those in the photo above; another orb weaver spider about ½ inch in general diameter excluding its quite longer legs, of course. This critter, probably a female, was pictured working across one of my wooded trails one recent dusk.

When I stopped abruptly to avoid its web, I examined its silky lair and had no idea what kind of critter I had discovered. So, I did some careful photo exploration with the macro lens then promptly submitted an email enquiry to my favorite bugologist, Jan Ferrell, a naturalist with our Gorman Nature Center.

The black and white protrusion is actually the abdomen of this upside down spider.

Jan not only provided the identification, she suggested a link for some very informative comments. If you are really curious, click here and enjoy today’s lesson about some extremely interesting things that commonly, and somewhat invisibly, surround us unless we stop for a very careful peek.