A Man on Amish-ion

Patience pays off. It's an old cliché that often proves to be true.

Several months ago, Rae and I were looking to sell a piece of furniture that had been left behind in our house by the previous owners. We couldn't find many interested buyers for several months, and almost considered keeping it. Then one day not too long after the COVID-19 pandemic had induced temporary lock downs of many businesses, a manager from the Hotel Millersburg reached out with interest. For obvious reasons, they were pretty short on cash at the time, but he had an intriguing proposal: he would take our furniture in exchange for a two-night stay at their hotel, located in the heart of Ohio Amish Country.

I probably know what you're thinking. Who would want to go visit Amish country? Although I consider myself most comfortable in an urban setting, I'm never afraid to venture outside of my comfort zone. I also grew up about an hour away from Pennsylvania Amish Country, home to such unique town names as Intercourse, Blue Ball, and Bird-In-Hand, among many others. To me, the occasional trip to Amish country is like taking a trip back in time, somewhat literally.

So that's how the two of us found ourselves in Millersburg, OH this past weekend. What is there to do in a small town of only about 3,000? Well for starters, there's a fantastic brewery in the downtown area (makes me think my home town could use one). The town thrives on locally made goods and food, and there are plenty of shopping options available. And of course, there's the 23-mile Holmes County Trail that runs along the creek at the west side of town:

After enjoying a well-made local breakfast and perusing a few shops and a farmer's market in the downtown area, we decided to spend the majority of our Saturday afternoon on the trail. It's typical Rail Trail that makes use of the old Cleveland-Pittsburgh railroad pathway:

As you can see above, it's a segment of the Ohio-to-Erie Trail, which is very much still on my non-existent to-do list (more on that later). I knew we wouldn't have the time to ride the complete trail, but tackling the south section would be very do-able. I wanted to head that way partly to stop at a natural food store that was not too far off the trail so we could pick up some snacks on our way:

I'm not saying they were healthy snacks, but I've made worse decisions. As for the trail itself, it was a pretty nice ride. Not really much scenery to speak of, but the majority of it was shaded under some thick foliage that made conditions rather pleasant, so there's that. There were a few unique signs on the way:

Share the trail, amirite? Anywho, after about 45 minutes of riding or thereabouts, we'd reached our midway point in Killbuck, where we decided to pause for some locally made Amish ice cream:

Like I said above, not necessarily a healthy decision, but it was totally necessary. I mean, you can't fake smiles like this:

I'm not shaving my beard any time soon, by the way.

When we arrived back at the trail head, we stopped to enjoy some more refreshments when two riders pedaled up on this amazing tandem rig:

If you look closely, you can see camping gear and many other supplies indicative of a long bike tour. After speaking with the couple, they were in the process of riding the length of the Ohio-to-Erie trail in support of the Pan Ohio Hope Ride. It's a ride that garners donations for the American Cancer Society. The large ride they were going to take part in has basically been shelved because of the pandemic, but they are doing it anyway because people donated to their team and they felt they owed it to them. I appreciate the effort so much, and it's rekindled my desire to do the whole trail start-to-finish one day.

That said, on our way in and out of Millersburg, we happened to drive down a small portion of the Ohio-to-Erie trail that's on-road, and it did not appear to be safe for cyclists. No shoulder or berm, and sharing the road with a 55-MPH automobile speed limit, among other hazards. It appears I need to do some scouting.

At any rate, we had entertained the hope of doing the northern section of the trail on Sunday, but decided to head back to Columbus instead. I'm not at all disappointed by this, as we thoroughly enjoyed our small exploration of Ohio's Amish Country this weekend. We'll absolutely return some day in the near future.

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I'd like to close this out by throwing out a few random mentions:

• First, happy belated Father's Day to all of the Dads out there, and a very belated happy Mother's Day to all of the Moms out there (I haven't posted on here in quite a while - appreciate your parents every day just to be safe).
• Second, I wrote a tribute to our dearly departed cat Marvin on my other blog, and if you care to stop in and read his story, I'd really appreciate it. I hope it will inspire you to care lovingly for the animals in our lives and try to help other animals in need of good, loving homes.
• Third and finally, I've now reached 93 consecutive days of riding a bike at least once a day, even if just for a short lap around the block. Amidst all the chaos in our world today and in my own personal life, it's been one of my sources of sanity, and I hope you have been able to find something like that in your own life. Regardless of your opinion of what's been going on lately, I hope you've been taking some time to care for yourself and care for others in the process. The best defense against illness and suffering is living well (and eating healthy!), and that helps us make the world around us a better place.

One week until 100. Can I make it? Sure I can. Happy riding, everyone.