Silver Comet Trail

I was in the Atlanta area so I had to make time to visit the well known, Hall of Fame trail The Silver Comet Trail. The trail is over sixty miles long in Georgia but connects to the 30+ mile Chief Ladiga Trail in Alabama. I only had the chance to do a bit over 10 miles but it was a most enjoyable experience.

The trail section I rode was near the Atlanta end starting near MM 5. I rented a bike from Comet Trail Cycles. The bike was excellent and the price was very reasonable. This trail section was mostly shaded, very welcome in the Georgia heat. I got to see bamboo trees for the first time along with some birds I was not able to identify. They were back and forth to nests that appeared to be made of mud stuck to the underside of a bridge.

The trail section I cycled was flat except for a couple of bridges over roads. The surface was paved with asphalt or concrete with a yellow line down the middle. The yellow line reminded users to keep right except to pass and it did its job. There were many access points both public and private. Trailheads generally had rest room facilities and water fountains.

It is my understanding that there is a large trestle and a tunnel further up the trail.

Additional information about the trail may be found at http://www.silvercometga.com/  You can watch a short video of the trail on MarksBikeTock on YouTube: https://youtu.be/v5c4BPwu-MM

Warwick to Ephrata Rail-Trail

Warwick to Ephrata Rail-Trail is a relatively new trail located in the heart of Pennsylvania Dutch country. News accounts indicate the trail opened in fall of 2018 but I believe portions were open prior to this. Both ends of the trail pass residential areas mostly above back yards. Most of this area has a buffer of trees along the trail making it less intrusive. The middle section of the trail passes through farm land offering beautiful views.

The trail is a bit short for cycling at about 7.5 miles. Since it is located on farmland, the trail has minimal elevation changes and I found no discernable difference cycling in either direction. The ends in the area of Ephrata and Warwick are paved and shaded, the middle section is smooth, crushed gravel with considerably less shade. There are porta potties placed at several locations along the trail. When I visited late in the morning on a Friday I found the trail well used but not so much to be considered crowded.

If you plan on visiting you should note that most businesses in the area are closed on Sundays. My wife and I were reminded of this when we visited on a Sunday and tried to find a restaurant open for lunch. We were very hungry by the time we finally found one.

You can find a nice pdf map of the trail here: https://www.ephrataboro.org/DocumentCenter/View/580/Wert-Trail-06072018

You can view a video of my ride here:

Part 1   https://youtu.be/t1hc4goO2WA

Part 2  https://youtu.be/RhWB1rd7tIE

D & H Carbondale to Union Dale portion of Lackawanna Heritage Trail

The D&H Trail north of Carbondale, PA has been closed for nearly two years for pipeline construction. It reopened a couple of days ago and I have been anxious to check it out. Yesterday I rode the section from Carbondale to Union Dale. This is part of the Lackawanna Heritage Trail and this portion of the trail has two parallel trails called the “A” trail and the “B” trail. The “A” trail is the one that had the pipeline construction and the one I rode. The “B” trail appears to be used by ATVs and quads. In the winter snowmobiles are common from what I have been told.

The newly resurfaced “A” trail was extremely smooth with nice drainage to keep the water off the trail. The view along the trail reflects the historic coal mining roots of the area. The trail crosses the Lackawanna River many times making for very nice river views. There are gates along the trail including at most of the bridges to keep motorized vehicles off the trail. The only negative is that the openings to allow bikes to pass seemed rather narrow. I did not measure but the distance between the gate opening and my handlebars seemed closer than other trails. I suggest extra caution or better just walk your bike through the gates.

My GPS tracker indicated a bit over 1500 feet of elevation gain in the 10 miles from Carbondale to Union Dale. It certainly was more fun on the return trip.

Overall the trail made for a very nice ride. It is a significant improvement compared to the same trail before the construction. I recommend a visit. I started at 41.5920764, -75.4859018.

Here is a video from Union Dale to Forest City recorded May 2021: Mark's Bike Tock

Western Reserve Greenway

The Western Reserve Greenway Trail is a 43 mile paved trail running mostly north - south in the northeast part of Ohio. I started in Austinburg, OH and headed south and turned around just past Rome. Once I returned to my car, I took a break then headed north to just shy of Ashtabula. I found the trail to be very straight and flat. The nice paved surface was easy to ride and the scenery was very nice mix of wooded and agriculture with a little bit of residential thrown in. There was more than an occasional road crossing but the roads crossed were lightly traveled.

On the drive to the trail I saw several flocks of turkey and several nodding donkey style oil wells. Didn't spot either from the trail but you may have better luck. The trailhead in Austinburg (at the rt 307 intersection) was adjacent to a convience store and sandwich shop. Overall it was a very plesant ride if you don't count the on and off rain on the day I was there.




















For video of this trail see my Mark's Bike Tock YouTube channel: https://youtu.be/Ttk49h3z0HY or https://youtu.be/oyexKM8AgVk

You can find additional information about this trail here: https://www.centurycycles.com/articles/western-reserve-greenway-pg612.htm