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This Cairn, located in Owen Sound, marked my final destination in Canada. It was erected by the city a few years back to commemorate the abolition of slavery and to honor the memory of the many slaves who made their way to Owen Sound via the Underground Railroad and went on to contribute to the development of the region. I didn’t know what a cairn was, but soon found out that it has its origins in Celtic tradition and is a manmade rock formation typically designed to serve as a memorial. Indeed that it is the purpose of the Owen Sound Cairn.




The tiles in the foreground represent the squares of the quilts that were used as signals to the freedom seekers.



Concealed in the quilt patterns were hidden signs and coded messages that were passed on to runaway slaves. The quilts were generally hung on lines or fences to serve as guideposts.



I apologize for taking so long to write this final blog entry. Returning to the normal pattern of life has kept me distracted. I miss the solitude of the ride and the contemplative evenings at the campsite.

I did make it safely home from Ontario, although it took me three days to do so. What a contrast – to go from 41 days where I had reasonable control of my destiny to 3 days at the mercy of the airlines. I am still awaiting the return of my bicycle, which I shipped. I hope it gets here this week, as I have become quite attached to it!

This has been an amazing journey, and your encouragement and support of the cause throughout has made it all the more so. I never felt alone out there, knowing that you were following along each day via the blog. And your contributions in support of the WUWF program fund have never been more important. As of today, 78 individual and corporate sponsors have contributed a total of $16,328. THANK YOU!! If you still want to make a contribution and haven’t done so, it is never too late. And remember, I covered all of my expenses on this adventure myself, so 100% of your gift goes directly to support your favorite programs.

I’m going to take a little time to catch my breath before I finalize plans for the next adventure in 2011. Stay tuned …

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End of the Line

After the longest ride of the trip (102 miles and nearly 8 hours on the saddle), I arrived at Owen Sound tonight around eight o’clock. I wasn’t planning to get here until tomorrow, but as I got closer today the endorphins kicked in and I decided to go for it.


This was in spite of a really wicked head wind and even the threat of rain at one point. I didn’t have any time for exploring once I got here, but will visit several sites in the morning and blog about them tomorrow night. I am very tired but elated tonight – it’s hard to believe the adventure is over. Here are a few stats:

Total miles ridden: 2,216
Total days riding: 41
Average miles per day: 54
Total dog chases (since Fulton, MS): 45
Total flats: 4 (all within the first week)


For about 20 miles of the ride today, I passed through very flat farm land (although at a high elevation). Seeing hundreds of these huge turbines stretching as far as the eye could see in every direction, I realized that the real cash crop in northern Ontario is wind.


They are very impressive and a bit creepy, with a kind of War of the World look about them. At least Canada is putting its wind to work in creating clean energy.


Here’s a picture of my first glimpse of Nottawasaga Bay, just outside of Collingwood. You can see it just over the tree line in the background. The scenery was beautiful and ever-changing as I progressed along the route.



I can’t keep my eyes open so I’m going to wrap this blog up with a huge thank you to those who have contributed to this campaign. If you haven’t, it’s not too late to do so. Check back tomorrow for more information about historic Owen Sound.

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A Great Day To Be In Ontario

The good roads and outstanding weather today more than made up for the challenges of yesterday. Although it started out a bit chilly (one degree below freezing), the clear skies and bright sunlight soon warmed it up to a pleasant 60 degrees.

The scenery today was magnificent as I scaled more than one escarpment. The climbs here are more challenging than either Tennessee or Kentucky, with the elevation rising as much 1,800 feet over a distance of only a few miles.

The air is so clean and dry, and the visibility seems unlimited. Most of the scenery is so vast that you can’t capture it in a photograph, so I focused on a couple of interesting locations. The picture above was taken about midway up a particularly steep climb.

This picture is of Credit Creek near the town of Terra Cotta. With it being Victoria Day, there were a lot of Canadians trout fishing near this spot. There were also many folks enjoying the day cycling – I must have seen at least a hundred bikers. Canada is really trying to promote cycling and the drivers here are very polite.


Today I did my Q&A session with my friends at Ransom Middle School from a phone booth – remember those? Actually, this booth was not operative (I really thought it looked very British), but I did find a more updated version in Georgetown. It is hard to believe that I will be in Owen Sound on Wednesday and most likely back home in Pensacola by the end of the week. This has been a great adventure, but it will be good to be home again.


The weather forecast for the next two days looks good, so I should have a couple more days of enjoyable riding. I hope to be in Collingwood tomorrow night and then Owen Sound is a half-day ride from there. Check back with me tomorrow and thanks again for your encouragement and support.

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Canadian Bacon

When I passed this porker on the road this afternoon, I thought about the Eggs Benedict I had for breakfast this morning and the concept of real commitment. You know that in order to make my favorite morning dish the hen is certainly involved, but the pig is committed.


Think about that as you ponder your relationship with public radio. We don’t need your commitment, but your involvement through your contribution to this campaign will keep all of your favorite programs on the air despite the current economic challenges. Thank you to the many who are already involved. We are in the final days of this wonderful adventure. Your support and encouragement has enabled me to get out there every day, rain or shine, and discover new people and places. I think we have all learned some things we didn’t know.

I am learning about geology as I make my way through Ontario. For those who think this part of the route is flat, guess again. Since entering Ontario, I have been riding along the Niagara Escarpment. An escarpment is a ridge made up of gradually sloping rock layers on one side with a rather steep face on the other. They are generally formed by one of two processes: either by differential erosion of sedimentary rocks, or by vertical movement of the Earth's crust along a fault.

As you can see from this map, the Underground Railroad Route virtually follows the Niagara Escarpment. Rising spectacularly (I can appreciate this having climbed two today) above the lower lying rural and urban areas of Ontario, the escarpment holds the headwaters of several of the region’s rivers as well as many ecological treasures. The best known of these is, of course, Niagara Falls itself. Some of cliffs soar nearly 1,700 feet in the air. The two I scaled today were at about 1,000 feet each.


Here is a picture I took of Hamilton after climbing the escarpment between it and Dundas. The next picture was taken after I climbed the second one beyond Dundas. You can still see the Hamilton skyline in the distance. Yesterday I rode through the wine country, which borders Lake Ontario.


Today was more of an urban ride, and tomorrow I will be heading into a more rural area between here and Owen Sound. I am in Milton tonight. After having to maneuver through the urban sprawl of Hamilton today, I’m ready to get back out into the country.


Tune in tomorrow for my live reports on 88.1FM and check back tomorrow night for a new blog. Peace be with you ...

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2010 Miles Down, 190 to Go!

Yes! Rolling into Hamilton, Ontario in the pouring rain today I passed another millennium mile mark. Despite the rain and a hard-driving head wind, it has been a good day. Because of the weather I couldn’t take any pictures, so I am sharing this picture of my trusty bike in front of the American Falls at Niagara taken yesterday (I didn’t mean to only show the Horseshoe Falls on the Canadian side). I have to keep putting the bike in these pictures to prove that I’m not still at Hubbard’s Landing in Alabama, faking the whole trip.

Riding through Canada is interesting – the people are very friendly and the roads are good for the most part. If it wasn’t for the speed limit signs all being metric, I would think I was still in New York. The weather tomorrow is looking better, so I am anticipating some good riding and picture-taking as I leave Lake Ontario and head Northwest toward Owen Sound. If I maintain my current pace, I should arrive there on Wednesday. Yahoo!

I know this blog is brief, but all I did was ride, ride, ride today. Thanks for riding along – catch you tomorrow ...

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Oh Canada!

What a glorious day! The weather has been beautiful, the riding easy, and the scenery spectacular. Here I am on the Canadian side of Niagara Falls, proudly wearing my Ransom Tigers t-shirt in honor of my friends in John Lowe’s class who have been tracking me on my journey and making sure I keep my facts straight.

I began my day riding through downtown Buffalo in search of the Michigan Avenue Baptist Church, one of the city’s best-known Underground Railroad sites. The church had its beginnings in the mid-1830s when the first black congregation in the area was organized.

For several years the congregation worshipped in a rented space in Niagara until their permanent home was completed in 1845. During the 1850s the church building served as a safe house, where freedom seekers would hide in the basement while waiting to be ferried across the Niagara River to Canada by night.

Around the corner from the church is the Nash House. J. Edward Nash was the son of parents who had been born as slaves. He arrived in Buffalo from Virginia in 1892. Twenty-four years old at the time, he took the pulpit of the church and served as pastor for 61 years. He was one of the most influential leaders in developing the African American community in Buffalo. He was host to W.E.B. Dubois and Booker T. Washington, among other prominent African American leaders of the time.


He was widely respected by the city white establishment and used his access to public officials to benefit the African American community.

Buffalo was the last stop on the freedom train. Legendary Underground Railroad conductor Harriet Tubman led bands of numerous runaways through Western New York on their way to freedom in Canada. Many fugitives stopped running in Buffalo, put down roots and began to build their own communities. This was the beginning of a rich and diverse culture that still permeates the city today.


Here is the Peace Bridge leading from Buffalo into Ontario. I took this picture from the Canadian side after riding across it. The most complicated part of crossing over was getting me and my bike through the metal turnstile at the American checkpoint.

From then on, it was smooth sailing along the Niagara Recreation Trail that runs alongside the Niagara River from Fort Erie to Lake Ontario at Niagara-on-the-Lake.

I met a family of Canada Geese, obviously quite at comfortable on their home turf. In closing I’ll leave you with a couple of obligatory pictures of the great Niagara Falls, although photographs don’t even come close to capturing the beauty and power of the water.



Tomorrow I hope to continue North through St. Catharines and toward Hamilton. The weather forecast is for more wind and thunder storms, so I don’t know how far I will get.

Whatever the weather brings, it won’t dampen my spirits. I am continually amazed and delighted at how inspiring this trek continues to be. Thanks for coming along! This is a holiday weekend in Canada, with Monday being Victoria Day, so I should encounter some festivities along the way.

Check back tomorrow for more pictures and stories. Take care!

Large versions of all my blog pics can be found at my photo gallery

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Blown Away in New York

I thought you might enjoy this picture of the mangled mess that was once my great little tent. Last night a storm front moved into the area and brought with it a raging wind that made me feel like I was back in Pensacola during hurricane season.


The locals said I got a good taste of the extreme weather typical along Lake Erie. After about five hours of non-stop blowing, my tent poles finally gave up and twisted themselves into a whole new configuration. I ended up with about eighteen inches of space to sleep in the rest of the night. As soon as daylight arrived, I was up, packed and on the road in hopes of beating the next shower. I didn’t beat it for long. Most of today’s ride was in cold pouring rain. Of course, within an hour of stopping for the day, the sun was out and it had evolved into a beautiful spring afternoon. And I thought the weather changed quickly along the Gulf Coast.

Tonight I am staying just west of Buffalo. In the morning I will ride through the city, check out a few Underground Railroad sites, and cross over the Peace Bridge into Ontario. From there I will approach Niagara Falls from the Canadian side. I hope to be camping right near the falls, which means I have to work on bending my tent back into shape tonight.

Keep those comments coming – I really enjoy reading them! Oh, and don’t forget to contribute to the cause if you haven’t already. Take care and check back tomorrow.

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Guess Where I Am

I rode like the wind today and covered three states: Ohio, Pennsylvania, and New York – well, actually I started out in Conneaut which is three miles from the Pennsylvania state line and ended my ride in Ripley, which is less than one mile into New York- but I did it nonetheless (55 miles).

Tonight I am camping on bluffs overlooking Lake Erie. The day started out cold and cloudy but cleared up as I rode and by the time I reached Ripley it was 74 degrees and clear (as you can see from this picture). Storm clouds are gathering as I write this, so I could be in for a wet night.

I have certainly been blessed with good weather on this trip, so I have no reason to complain.

I breezed through Erie about midday and took this excellent bike trail that winds through the downtown waterfront. What a vibrant area and one that is clean and well maintained. From there I spent the next couple of hours riding along the lake shore through Pennsylvania’s wine country.

The grapes are still dormant this time of year, but the vineyards and surrounding countryside are really beautiful. I am seeing a part of Pennsylvania (and New York for that matter) I have never experienced before. It seems hard to believe that day after tomorrow I will be crossing the Peace Bridge from Buffalo into Canada. From there it’s another 281 miles to Owen Sound. What a grand adventure this has been! Your comments, contributions, prayers and good thoughts have really carried me along – thank you!

Tomorrow I continue heading east along the lake. When I reach Buffalo on Friday I will turn north again and head straight for Owen Sound. I’m not sure how well I will be able to communicate once I am in Canada, but we’ll find out soon enough. Have a good evening, stay well, and check back tomorrow for the latest update.

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Mother Hubbard’s Cupboard

Built in the 1840s by William and Catharine Hubbard and known as “Mother Hubbard’s Cupboard” and “The Great Emporium” by runaway slaves, the Hubbard House was an important terminus on the Underground Railroad.



The Hubbards sheltered escaped slaves who had successfully crossed the Ohio River and made their way north to Ashtabula. From here, the slaves walked one quarter mile to the Hubbard and Company warehouse on the Ashtabula River, where friendly boat captains waited to ferry them to freedom in Canada.

In addition to the Hubbard House, Ashtabula County had over thirty known Underground Railroad safe houses, and many more conductors. Nearly two-thirds of those sites still stand today. Ashtabula County was also instrumental in John Brown's famous attack on the Federal arsenal at Harper's Ferry, Virginia. Brown stored many of his weapons at the King and Brothers cabinet shop in Cherry Valley. He later shipped them to the Kennedy farm at Harper's Ferry. Of the nineteen men who charged the arsenal with John Brown, Sr., thirteen were from Ashtabula County. Dangerfield Newby was the first of Brown's followers to fall mortally wounded. A former runaway slave from a Virginia plantation, he lived in Dorset and worked as a conductor on the UGRR in Ashtabula County.

Ashtabula is also known for the Great Ashtabula Train Bridge Disaster of 1876, the worst train bridge disaster in US history. Over 91 people perished, including Peter Paul Bliss, the man who coined the phrase "gospel music." He worked with Ira Sankey, the well-known song leader for Reverend D.L. Moody, the man who created the Moody Bible Institute. Legend has it that Bliss was able to free himself from the burning wreckage - his wife was not. He returned to the flaming car to rescue her. Unable to free her, he waited with her while the inferno engulfed them both.

It was exciting to finally reach the shore of Lake Erie today and the weather was perfect for my first view of the great lake. About half of my ride was right alongside the lake, through what is considered a resort area. After visiting Ashtabula, I rode on to Conneaut.

That will be my last stop before heading into Pennsylvania in the morning. I have now traveled 1,786 miles since leaving Pensacola on April 6th. For you dollar-a-dog contributors, the dog chase count since I started keeping track in northern Mississippi is 45.

Thanks again for your contributions, your comments, and your thoughts and prayers. They all keep me going. Check back tomorrow to find out where I end up. Peace be with you ...

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Get Your Wallet Out, Les

I owe my great adventure today to Les Matheson. Les gets it. He knows how important it is to support public radio and has done so most generously for as long as I can remember. When I was preparing for this journey, he was one of the first to come on board as a sponsor in a BIG way.

First, he is contributing $1 per mile for the total distance I travel in the state of Ohio (it’ll be close to 500). As if that wasn’t enough, he challenged me to find Jerry Gibson, proprietor of Gibson Bagpipes, premier crafters of these fine instruments. Jerry’s shop is located in Willoughby, Ohio. This is where I am tonight.

In addition to finding Jerry, my challenge was to get him to play the pipes as a part of one of my live reports. The payoff is an additional $500 contribution! Okay, mission ALMOST accomplished.

I found Jerry today, a miracle in itself, considering how directionally challenged I am. I had to leave the Underground Railroad Route to get here, which meant I had to find my own way. This is dangerous – I could have ended up lost forever in the suburbs of Cleveland. But I made it – here’s Jerry to prove it.

I would have gotten him on the air today, but he had no fully assembled pipes in the shop. He is going to get a set assembled and I am going to call him later this week and get him on.

The challenge of finding Jerry was great fun, but being able to spend some time in Willoughby has been even better. This is a beautiful town in the suburbs of Cleveland. Here’s a brief history:

Willoughby's first permanent settler was David Abbott in 1798, pre-dating Ohio's bid for statehood by five years. Abbott and his family had close relations to the local tribe of Erie Indians along the banks of the river the Indians called the "Sha-ga-rin" or Clear Water. This river was later called the Chagrin River. In 1835, the village was permanently named "Willoughby" in honor of Dr. Westel Willoughby, Jr., a public health official that the founders of the Medical College, which was based in the city, hoped to attract to the area. This medical college would later merge with Western Reserve Academy in Hudson, OH to eventually become Western Reserve University, the predecessor to Cleveland's Case Western Reserve University. Many historical buildings from this period survive to this date, affording the downtown Willoughby area some outstanding specimens of 19th century architecture.

There is a veteran’s memorial in the center of downtown with a prominent statue of a Union soldier with the inscription “In memory of the soldiers of Willoughby who served their country in the War of the Rebellion, 1861-65.”

Tomorrow I head to Ashtabula. It should be a good ride along Lake Erie, a little cold in the morning (there are frost warnings tonight), but clear and sunny. I’ve just about run out of Ohio, with Pennsylvania on the horizon. I hope the wind stays at my back.

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The Civil War Started Here?

One of the highlights of my visit to Oberlin was to see this iconic sculpture honoring the college and community’s contributions to the Underground Railroad. While the claim to be the origin of the War Between the States is still debated, one thing is certain – right from its start, Oberlin was different from any other school and community in the nation. It was the first college in the United States where women and men were taught in the same classrooms. In 1834, the college faculty voted to admit students “irrespective of color.” In 1835 Oberlin admitted James Bradley, who became the first African American to attend Oberlin College.

In June of 1835 the Oberlin Anti-Slavery Society was created and by the end of the year the society had 300 members. The anti-slavery society in Oberlin is important because it reaffirmed the community’s commitment to opposing slavery, and also because it was one of few anti-slavery societies in northern Ohio.

Oberlin became a major focus in the abolition movement in the middle of the nineteenth century. They seized every opportunity to challenge the fugitive slave acts and did everything possible to make sure enslaved blacks were not returned to the south. The most famous example is what is known as the Wellington Rescue. John Price, a young black man was kidnapped by Kentucky slave catchers and two Columbus deputies. When the news reached Oberlin, a crowd of blacks and whites went to the Wadsworth Hotel in Wellington where Price was being held.

The crowd demanded Price’s release and when negotiations failed they rushed the hotel. In the chaos, Price was rushed to a buggy and taken back to Oberlin. Hidden in Oberlin College’s President James Fairchild’s attic for a few days Price was then sent on to Canada and never heard from again. Twenty-seven men who aided in Price’s escape were arrested for opposing the Fugitive Slave Act. While awaiting trial, the men chose to stay in jail and printed the newspaper “The Rescuer.” On July 7, 1859, the Kentucky Slave catchers were arrested and charged with the kidnapping of John Price, and all but one of the twenty seven men were released from jail and charges were dropped.

In 1859, two of Oberlin’s African Americans, John A. Copeland and Lewis Sheridan Leary, joined John Brown’s band of 21 raiders in their unsuccessful attempt to bring about emancipation through a slave insurrection at the federal arsenal Harper’s Ferry, Virginia. Leary was killed during the raid and Copeland was later hanged. Oberlin memorialized them with the only monument erected for any of the five African Americans who fought with John Brown.


















Another local hero memorialized in Oberlin was Giles Waldo Shurtleff, who organized the first regiment of colored troops raised in Ohio. A strong tail wind and no rain have enabled me to make good progress through Ohio this weekend. I am heading for Willoughby tomorrow to track down a piper and then on to Ashtabula. Thank you for following along!

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Light Traffic

Indeed it is along the back roads here in Ohio’s Amish country. I saw almost as many horse drawn buggies and wagons as I did loud gas guzzling, global warming automobiles. After camping in the rain last night, I was certain this morning that it was going to be a day of more of the same.

Instead, it ended up being a great day for riding. A very strong wind blowing from the southwest moved most of the rain clouds away as the morning progressed and rewarded me with a wonderful tail wind for most of the day. The storm clouds returned later, but I was able to maintain a good pace and made it the 78 miles to Oberlin without any rainfall.

Tonight I am being hosted by Ken Sloane and Lisa Shomo, a couple of avid cyclists who ride all over the world. They are exceedingly gracious, a trait I have found to be rather common among the biking community. Tomorrow morning after I participate in Holy Eucharist at Oberlin’s Christ Episcopal Church, I am going to visit the numerous Underground Railroad sites in this great college town. I already know that Oberlin College has the distinction of being the first college in America to admit both male and female students of all races. If the weather cooperates, I will take lots of pictures to document this historic town and share some more history about it in my blog tomorrow night.

One of Oberlin’s distinguished alums is Les Matheson, who is also a great supporter of WUWF. Les has pledged a dollar a mile for Ohio part of my trek and a big bonus contribution if I can connect with one of his fellow pipers and get him on one of my live reports. Stay tuned!

I have been studying my maps tonight and it is quite possible that I may reach Owen Sound within the next 10-12 days – yippee! I wish the total dollars raised for WUWF as a result of my efforts was as far along. If you have been waiting for the big finish, DON’T WAIT! Every dollar you contribute goes directly to pay for the programs you enjoy, so do yourself a favor. Don’t make me have to send Garrison packing when I get home.

Remember, I am on my own, covering ALL of the costs of this journey – that’s MY contribution to the cause. Please consider the importance of supporting public radio in these tough times. I know you have to choose what you can support – I hope you make WUWF one of your choices. Thank you for helping us to get this far and for making this adventure something I will never forget.

Check back with me tomorrow for the real story on Oberlin.

Peace be with you!

Large versions of all my blog pics can be found at my photo gallery

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I Rode 70 Miles for This?

You bet! There’s nothing like a well-balanced dinner at the campsite after a long ride. I do have most of the food groups covered, if you include the granola bar not pictured. Just imagine biting into that PBJ on a hot dog bun that has been stuffed into the bottom of one of my bags for about a week.


It just doesn’t get any better than this!

Not much history today – mostly just riding through intermittent rain. This weekend will be more of the same until I get to Oberlin, hopefully sometime Sunday. There is a lot of history there pertaining to the Underground Railroad. I am camping tonight near Fredericktown, hoping the rain holds off so I can get a relatively dry start in the morning.

I really enjoy the comments that many of you have been making. Rex, thanks for the history lesson about the Purple People Pedestrian Bridge in Cincinnati. I don’t have any great pictures to share (as you can tell by the one I took out of desperation) because I had to keep the camera packed away today to keep it dry.

Maybe the sun will make an appearance tomorrow and I can get some good shots. I will continue to blog through the weekend, so check back tomorrow. Enjoy your weekend!

Large versions of all my blog pics can be found at my photo gallery

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All Trails Lead to Xenia

Named a “Trail Town, USA” by the American Hiking Society, Xenia stands at the crossroads of four rails-to-trails in Ohio: the Little Miami Scenic Trail (on which I spent yesterday riding all day in the rain), the Xenia-Jamestown Connector, the Creekside Trail, and the Ohio to Erie Trail (where I did most of my riding today).

I continue to be impressed by Ohio’s commitment to safe biking. All of these trails are beautiful. The Xenia Station Bike Hub is a replicated train depot occupying the site of the town’s original depot.

My trek today has brought me to Dublin, Ohio, the home of Chuck Harmon, my Underground Railroad conductor for this leg of the journey. Chuck was responsible for researching and mapping the Ohio section of the URR Bike Route. A great resource for information about URR activity in the area, he took me to Mechanicsburg to learn about how one community took a stand against slavery.

Fugitive Slave Laws passed by Congress in 1793 and 1850 allowed federal marshals to arrest slaves that had escaped to the North and return them to their southern owners. They could also arrest northerners suspected of aiding runaway slaves. These laws were contested throughout the North, including Ohio where one case in Mechanicsburg received national attention.

In August of 1856, escaped slave Addison White arrived in Mechanicsburg where he met abolitionist Udney Hyde and stayed at his farm while Hyde recovered from a leg injury. White’s master Daniel White learned of his location and came to Mechanicsburg in April of 1857 with federal marshals to reclaim his slave. When the marshals attempted to seize Addison and arrest Udney for violating the Fugitive Slave Law, Mechanicsburg residents with pitchforks and shovels came to their aid. The marshals left, but came back to arrest the men who protected Addison White. Several of the residents were rounded up and taken by the marshals toward Kentucky to face charges. Learning of the arrests, a large number of citizens set off on horseback to free their neighbors. The Clark County sheriff joined in the pursuit, but was shot near South Charleston while trying to stop the marshals. The running battle ended in Lumberton near Xenia when the Greene County sheriff arrested the marshals. The case was finally settled when the people of Mechanicsville paid $900 for Addison White’s freedom. During the Civil War, he joined the 54th Massachusetts Infantry and returned to Mechanicsville after the war to work for the city’s Street Department.

The history is indeed rich in these areas, almost more than I can absorb as I continue to make my way north to Ontario. Tomorrow I continue moving closer to Lake Erie, which I will hug through the rest of Ohio, Pennsylvania and New York until I cross over at Niagara Falls. The weather forecast for the weekend looks promising, so the riding should be good.

Check back with me tomorrow. Until then, peace be with you.

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Doing the Wright Thing

It was a matter of faith and conscience that made Springboro one of the most active Ohio communities of Underground Railroad conductors. Its founder, abolitionist Jonathan Wright, and his fellow peace-loving Quakers believed that God meant for all men to be free.

Accordingly, they were willing to break the law and risk their own safety by opening their homes and their hearts to escaped slaves in search of freedom. And they were very good at it. With a large number of safe houses interconnected by an elaborate system of subterranean tunnels, the Quakers were able to rapidly move runaways from one location to another, often just ahead of the slave hunters.

Despite constant scrutiny and harassment from bounty hunters and law enforcement, not one escaped slave was ever captured or returned while under their protection. It is estimated that as many as four thousand freedom seekers traveled through Springboro between 1815 and 1864. Wright’s home (pictured above) is now a Bed & Breakfast in Springboro. In the attic there is a trap door leading to a small hiding space between the attic floor and the sloping ceiling below over the staircase. The western chimney on the house is white-washed on only one side. This was a sign to runaway slaves that the house was a safe haven.

This is the Joseph Stanton House, which may have been known as the “Quilt House.” Quilts hung in the back of the house signaled runaway slaves that it was safe to enter. There was a hiding space in the basement that extended westward between the two basement windows, under what is now the sidewalk.

Freedom seekers had to be very trusting of the white Underground Railroad conductors. They were often hurriedly led into cramped hiding spaces, locked from the outside, and left until they could be safely released and sent on their way. I imagine it didn’t take long for reports of the kindness of the Quakers to make their way south. This probably accounted for the popularity of Springboro. Location no doubt was important as well. Situated between the Great and Little Miami Rivers and just two nights’ run north of the Ohio River, Springboro was in the middle of two corridors of flight.

The Friends Cemetery, located just off Main Street, is the final resting place for Jonathan Wright, many of his descendants, and at least eight known Underground Railroad conductors. Quakers marked their graves with simple river stone with no inscription.

In later years, more traditional head stones began to be used. Burial was done chronologically – family members were not buried together.

I want to thank three ladies in Springboro who gave me a quick education about its rich history – Suzie Salas and Anne Stremanos with the Springboro Chamber of Commerce and Helen Sproat, head of the Springboro Historical Society who gave me a rainy walking tour of the historic district and shared many great stories. You all are the best!

Despite a constant rain today, the riding was pleasant (I had the whole trail to myself) although I was pretty wet and cold by the end of the day. Tonight I am sleeping in Xenia, and in the morning I will be visiting neighboring Wilberforce before continuing along Ohio to Erie Trail. Thank you for your continuing support and comments – they make this journey all the better. Take care and I’ll check back with you tomorrow ...

Large versions of all my blog pics can be found at my photo gallery

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Spinning Heaven in Ohio

Kudos to the state of Ohio for creating an amazing set of rails-to-trails bike routes. Today I enjoyed a most pleasant ride on the fifty mile long Little Miami Scenic Trail, one of the longest paved rail-trails in America. Look closely at this picture – how could you not have a good day riding on this?

And it’s flat, too! Still not impressed? Take a look at some more of the scenery surrounding me for most of the day:

The original tracks that followed this route carried the Little Miami Railroad, running from eastern Cincinnati to Xenia, where it linked up with its partner line, the Columbus and Xenia Railroad, to make the first rail connection between the state capital of Columbus and Cincinnati.

When the trains stopped running in the 1970s, the route was converted to its current use.

This morning I left Cold Spring, Kentucky and crossed over the Ohio River into Cincinnati via the Purple People Pedestrian Bridge. I could find no signage explaining its origin, and I haven’t been able to research it.

It’s not purple – at least not now.

It appears to be an old bridge taken out of service and now allowing only pedestrian and bicycle access.

Once in the city, I made my way to the home of Harriet Beecher Stowe. A prolific writer, she wrote a book a year for nearly thirty years of her life. Her most famous book, of course, was Uncle Tom’s Cabin, inspired as I mentioned in an earlier blog by her visits to Old Washington and Ripley.

As the most popular novel of its century, the book was believed to be possibly the most influential factor in popularizing the cause of anti-slavery. As such, it made her an icon of the American anti-slavery movement.

Tomorrow I take a side trip to visit the community of Springboro, an original Quaker settlement and one of the most frequented stopovers for freedom seekers. After that, I continue along the Little Miami Scenic Trail to the towns of Xenia and Wilberforce.

Just a reminder: this trek is a FUNDRAISER. I am on my own, covering ALL of my expenses. 100% of your contribution goes directly to support the programs on WUWF. The contributions are slowing down, just as I am speeding up. Let’s make this thing work – I’m doing my part – how about you? To those who have already done so, THANK YOU! You know how much I appreciate your support.

Tune in tomorrow for the latest updates. Peace out!

Large versions of all my blog pics can be found at my photo gallery

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The Price for Freedom

For John P. Parker, the price for his freedom was $1,800 of hard-earned cash payable to his owner. In the early nineteenth century this was no pittance. Born a slave in Virginia in 1827, Parker made several attempts to escape until he was finally able to purchase his freedom from his owner in Mobile, Alabama.

He was permitted to earn the money by working in a foundry during the time period when the slaves were allowed to sleep. By doing this, he not only earned the cash he needed but also learned a trade that would be his livelihood.

By 1849, he had moved to Ripley, working in his own foundry by day and helping slaves escape from Kentucky by night. He was also an inventor, receiving patents for his soil pulverizer and tobacco presses. The picture at the beginning of this blog is one of a series of oil paintings depicting his life, on display at home along the riverfront in Ripley. As an Underground Railroad conductor, he would slip back into slave territory and help freedom seekers make their way across the Ohio River.


Here are the other paintings in the series:







Here are pictures of two other URR conductors (from the Rankin House exhibit):

















Today I made it to Cincinnati (81 miles – one of my longest rides so far this trip). Tonight I am staying with friends in Cold Spring, Kentucky – just across the river. Tomorrow I will visit the URR sites in the city before heading north. Much of the route for the next 50 miles is on rails-to-trails, so it should be some good riding. I have now travelled 1,331 miles since leaving Pensacola on April 6. Owen Sound, Ontario is getting closer every day!

Check back tomorrow and keep those contributions coming – thank you!

Large versions of all my blog pics can be found at my photo gallery

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