What is high in the middle and round on the ends? OHIO!
New skate tour locations are nearly impossible to find but they are super important to us because our skaters like to visit new places – and we do, too!
The criteria for new locations is daunting. There has to be a perfect storm of enough trail miles for five days of skating (and make them all flat, please, because nobody wants hills – oh, and the trails have to be well maintained, too, because we want it smoooooooth), nice scenery, a minimum amount of shuttle time between trails, interesting optional activities, good towns and hotels to stay in, and finally, a location that is easy to access.
Add to that the pressure of creating a very special trip for our skating alumni to celebrate our 20-year anniversary! That’s not so much to ask, is it?
We have toyed with the idea of adding an Ohio skating trip to our schedule for years. Allan, Zephyr’s owner, did some initial research. Several years later I resurrected the idea and polled our skating alumni about the possibility of an Ohio Skating Adventure. The feedback was…crickets. Having never been to Ohio, I figured our alumni knew something we didn’t, so dropped the idea.
But in recent years, I kept hearing more and more about the marvelous trail system they had, especially in western Ohio, near Dayton. It became impossible to ignore. So I did more digging, sent more emails, made more phone calls, connected with more people. Things just kept sounding better and better. And then, this summer I wound up having to travel to nearby Indiana to help run one of our conferences and figured, “What the heck? Why not check out Ohio while I’m out there?”
To put it mildly, I was blown away! I realize Ohio might not sound sexy, but the trails there are amazing: 330 miles of paved trails just in the relatively small area I visited. What’s more, they are in great condition and are almost all flat, 12-foot-wide converted rail trails, passing the “no hills” test with flying colors. And there are cute towns, nice hotels, beautiful scenery, fun optional activities, and minimal shuttle time. Cincinnati (where we meet) is cheap and easy to fly or drive to. In short, Ohio has everything on my checklist…and then some!
I went to Ohio with my fingers crossed, hoping to find a place worthy enough of a special alumni tour to celebrate 20 years of Skating The World. Boy, did I find it! I fell in love with the adorable small town of Yellow Springs (where we spend our last two nights in a brand new and lovely hotel), the friendly people, the lovely green agricultural land, the beautiful rivers, and all the trees – so many trees!
As I rolled down the trails, I made mental notes of things like where I will take everyone for ice cream or beer, or where Desiree will plan one of her famous scavenger hunts, or where Allan will create a fabulous introduction game for the group to play on the first day. Most of all, though, I reflected on all the special places I have traveled with Zephyr and the many, many wonderful people I have met and skated with over the years, including my fellow Zephyr guides. And I thought: I can’t wait to bring them here!
Our inaugural Ohio Skating Adventure will take place June 25 – 29, 2017 and will be limited to Zephyr alumni and their travel companions through October 31. It is also limited to inline skaters and bikers who travel with them. (We have two new bike tours to tell you about soon.) If you are a skater and a Zephyr alumnus, please join us on our inaugural Ohio Inline Skating Adventure for Alumni & Friends, June 25 – 29, 2017.
