Dayton Aviation Heritage & Goodbye, Ohio

Xenia to a bridge 13 miles away on the Creekside Trail - 26 miles RT

A cool, raw, overcast, blustery day met us as we unloaded the bikes and hit the Creekside Trail at the Xenia Station. Showers were forecast, but thankfully they never materialized. The trail was smooth and level and easy riding, though cold, mostly due to the wind chill.

We passed the Kil-Kare Raceway and stopped for a minute to watch some of the race cars warming up and speeding down a straightaway on the track. Some were just revving up and tinkering with their engines. It was a noisy place which seemed incongruous with the serene nature of the trail.

There were several old historical buildings along this trail. The Daytona Mills building was now used by a lumber and building supply company.

The old Alpha Seed & Grain Company elevator c. 1915 sat right along the path and is now under the stewardship of the Beavercreek Historical Society.

We stopped briefly to admire the restored Beavercreek station depot and take a look a the nearby Miami Valley 9-11 Memorial.

Marking our spot on the GPS at a nondescript bridge at the 13-mile point, we turned around and headed back to Xenia.

Creekside Trail - Mad River Trail - Great Miami Trail - Wolf Creek Trail - 21 miles RT

Luckily, a short day was planned due to a trail gap through the city of Dayton because it was really cold and windy. We parked at about the halfway point at Veteran’s Memorial Park alongside the Great Miami River. Though it should have been a lovely riverside location, it was not a pretty place. There were lots of homeless folks and people living in their cars. We wondered what their stories were. There were no toilet facilities or trash bins nearby. Litter was strewn everywhere and the smell of urine and feces was strong where we first parked. We moved a distance away to an unoccupied parking area and unloaded the bikes.

The northwest wind was strong and cold along the river and challenged us all the way. We rode on the Great Miami Trail which connected to the Mad River Trail which connected to the Creekside Trail and finally arrived at yesterday’s ending destination and turned around.

We crossed innumerable busy streets and bridges including one over I-675, a repurposed 465-foot train overpass.

Once back at the Veteran’s Park, we stopped at Blanche to warm up and have breakfast, then set out again along the river crossing it at the Stewart Bridge towards downtown Dayton on the Wolfcreek Trail. Construction was in progress and it was a mess. A detour sign directed us off the trail with never another detour sign to be seen. We weaved our way through a maze of neighborhood streets and David finally resorted to maps.me to figure out how to return to the trail. The trail ended abruptly and we reversed direction. There were no workers at the construction site, so we threaded our way along the river on a rough path avoiding machinery and holes and had a much quicker and more direct return trip.

Dayton Aviation Heritage National Historical Park

Since it was a short riding day, an afternoon diversion was in order. Dayton Aviation Heritage NHP, operated by the National Park Service, seemed a perfect place to spend a few hours. The Wright Brothers operated a bicycle shop and a print shop at the park’s location and it was here in Dayton that most of the development of their first airplane was conceived and conducted.

We first watched an excellent movie which provided a good introduction to the Wright Brothers and their work here in Dayton.  An extremely interesting and knowledgeable ranger took us to the original bicycle shop they owned and we were left on our own to explore the museum.

A Dayton contemporary of the Wright Brothers, Paul Lawrence Dunbar, an influential and talented black poet, was writing and lecturing worldwide during this same period. In fact, Dunbar and the Wrights knew each other and they printed his poems and writings. A small part of the museum was dedicated to Dunbar, his life and his work.

Upstairs in a tiny area, there was also the Parachute Museum. Though small, it provided lots of interesting information about the history and development of the parachute.

The first parachutist, we learned, did not plan to jump for sport, but out of necessity and it saved his life. Lt. Harold Harris survived his jump with minimal injury. The plane crashed.

On May 16, 1960, Captain Joe Kittinger jumped from a balloon gondola and made the world’s highest parachute jump… 102,800’ feet. He landed safely at a site in New Mexico 13 minutes 45 seconds later.

Trotwood to Verona - 28 miles RT - Wolf Creek Trail

We drove to Trotwood and picked up the Wolf Creek Trail at its continuation on the other side of the Dayton gap.. A steady WNW wind blew and when we rode one way against it, we figured we were bucking a 35 mph apparent headwind.

The old Trotwood Depot Station now sits beside the trail along with several old railroad cars.

Following the old route of the Dayton and Greenville Railroad originally constructed in 1852, this route was paved, level, and pleasant

In Brookville, another old depot still stands beside the trail.

The miniature Caboose Museum was unfortunately closed.

The completion of this trail was our last trail in Ohio. Goodbye, Ohio.

We needed a rest day so we headed to Kokomo… not in the Florida Keys, but rather in Indiana. It’s an interesting little city… come on along and join us. And yes, we sang ‘Kokomo’ along with The Beach Boys all the way there!