BEAVERCREEK — On the second journey over the Greene County bike trails, I was enticed into doing something foolish. I pedaled beyond my range.
With Creekside Trail’s seemingly pristine paths and well-manicured grasses, especially on a beautiful sunshiny day, I was drawn in. I was the fly that ended up too close to the Venus Flytrap.
In this case, the ride was too much fun, and so I didn’t want to stop.
It’s rained so much these past few months that whenever there’s a sunny day, I find myself in a frenzy, rushing out the door to strap down my car’s bike rack, load up my old but reliable Schwinn mountain bike and hit the trails. And on this day, it was gorgeous!
Not too hot.
No rain.
The sun felt really nice, and I was getting paid to ride my bike! How cool was that?
And so I drove over to Xenia Station and set about exploring the Creekside Trail. It runs from Xenia westward through Xenia Township, Beavercreek and on into Montgomery County. From there, you can link up with several other trails to travel even further into downtown Dayton, if you’d like.
This was one of those days where I almost did just that.
Initially, I was going to ride from Xenia to Beavercreek Station. That’s just a little over 16 miles round trip, and well within my biking-without-passing-out range.
But everything was so green, and well manicured and simply gorgeous!
You ride along and, even though you can hear freeway traffic for most of the ride, but unless you’re stopped at one of the eight roads you cross, you rarely ever actually see it.
I did gain an appreciation for drivers on Xenia’s Main Street, who patiently wait for us bicyclists to cross the road. It’s nice to know that one can ride across there without worry of getting flattened by a motorist. Thank you.
For the most part, it’s just you, another gazillion birds chirping, a chipmunk or two, and the bike path.
(By the way, I’m on a chipmunk streak. Between two earlier rides I’ve done around Riverside’s Eastwood Lake, another ride along the Great Miami River, and the two Greene County rides so far, I’m averaging two chipmunks per ride.)
I was really enjoying my ride northwestward, and so when I saw Beaver Station, I decided to head even further west. I rode another three miles until I had reached a spot where the trail crossed over Interstate 675.
I heard a choir singing. Light rays were shimmering over the horizon to some supposed promised land. Like a giant Flytrap, I wanted to keep pedaling westward.
Then somehow my better judgment kicked in and I headed back to Xenia.
The trip back had those same pristine trails, with the same beautiful greenery everywhere, and it was all still wonderful to see and enjoy. … but it felt as if there were a long, steady hill that stretched from just west of the Kil-Kare Dragway grounds, around this seemingly never-ending gradual right-hand turn, almost until I got to the outskirts of Xenia.
Maybe there’s no hill there at all. Maybe my legs had become wet noodles. I’m not exactly sure which, may be both. But it just felt almost twice as long as it did when I got out to the Montgomery County line.
My planned 16-mile trip soon became nearly 23 miles in all, and I felt it when I got back to Xenia Station and sat in my car.
I look forward to riding the Creekside Trail again, because I truly enjoyed the beauty it beholds for those who ride it. But I think I’ll be a bit more wary of the distance traveled the next time.
NEXT WEEK: Getting LOST riding to Spring Valley. (So much for being wary!)
