Bicycling in Dayton, OH: It Just Feels Wright
While riding along the Huffman Prairie Bikeway just outside of Dayton near the town of Fairborn, cyclists will pass the field where the Wright brothers conducted some of the initial tests of their new-fangled flying machine that they eventually would get airborne in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina.
This confluence of a bike path with aeronautical history is appropriate. Because before the Wright brothers became famous as the inventors of the airplane, they were the owners of the Wright Cycle Co., a bicycle sales and repair shop that opened in 1892 across the Miami River from downtown Dayton.
Profits from that shop helped support the Wright brothers’ aviation experiments. It also provided the roots for a cycling culture that has taken firm hold in Dayton, producing numerous biking branches that have grown over the past century-plus and now extend throughout the region.
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Plenty of Pathways for Bicycling in Dayton
As a result, the Dayton area has a thriving cycling scene filled with hundreds of miles of paved trails, an array of local bike groups and gear shops, and several regular events that help keep the two-wheel fun rolling all year long.
“This is probably the best place in the country to get on a bike,” says Daniel Cox, marketing and outreach manager at Bike Miami Valley and Link Dayton Bike Share. “You can easily get from place to place in Dayton by bike without having to get onto a road. We have all these different recreational cycling opportunities that are just built into the area.”
Go Cycling Anywhere in the Region
When it comes to bicycling in Dayton and the surrounding communities, the question isn’t where can you go? Rather, it’s where do you start?
“The riding infrastructure in the Dayton area is enormous,” says Mike Bisig, owner of Mike’s Bike Park & Bicycle Shop. “Pretty much anywhere you want to go, there is a bike trail close by. There are trails connecting neighborhoods and schools. It’s sort of like its own little highway system of bike trails.”
Indeed, the Miami Valley Trail system is the nation’s largest paved trail network, covering approximately 350 miles with Dayton as its hub. The two longest segments of the system are the Great Miami River Trail, which cuts directly through downtown Dayton as it travels from Middletown to Piqua, and the Little Miami Scenic Trail, which passes just to the east of Dayton while running from Anderson Township to Springfield.
Hit the Trails!
The Dayton region has 350+ miles of paved trails that connect 10 counties in the region.
“The Little Miami is absolutely gorgeous. Just beautiful,” Cox says. “It passes farmland with all these rolling hills. On a spring day, there’s nowhere better to be. It’s an amazing ride. And that’s just one of many that we have around Dayton.”
There also are opportunities in nearly every direction for those who enjoy mountain biking. These include John Bryan State Park to the east, Caesar Creek State Park to the south and Hueston Woods State Park to the west. Combined, they have more than 40 miles of mountain biking trails.
Closer to downtown, the MetroParks Mountain Biking Area (MoMBA) features 9 miles of trails suitable for riders of various experience levels, while the new Dayton Bike Yard at Welcome Park offers 2.5 acres of flips and jumps, along with areas for beginner cyclists and families. Other popular cycling sites include the Troy Mountain Bike Area and the Huber Heights Orange Skatepark and Pump Track.
Take It Inside
Even when the weather is not conducive to outdoor bicycling in Dayton, the wheels keep spinning at Mike’s Bike Park & Bicycle Shop, a 70,000-square-foot former warehouse that was converted into an indoor biking facility in 2017.
“We have ramps and other features for people of all ages and all abilities to ride,” Bisig says. “You can ride bikes, skateboards, scooters and pretty much anything that doesn’t have a gas motor. We also feature a full-service bike shop that – because it’s linked to the indoor park – is open longer hours than most bike shops. So if you’re out on a ride at 8:30 at night and get a flat tire, we can fix you up.”
A Cycling Community
It’s not just the parks and paths that make the Dayton region an ideal place for cycling. It’s also the people. Since the biking opportunities are so plentiful and convenient, pedal power is extremely popular throughout the area.
“Dayton and most of the smaller cities around here all have a chapter that organizes bike events and group rides,” Cox says. “If you’re into cycling for recreation, you can find people who want to bike for a few miles and just have a good time or people who want to get out and bike 50 to 100 miles.”
The Dayton Cycling Club has been promoting all aspects of cycling – health, recreation, transportation, competition and fellowship – since 1961. Meanwhile, the Miami Valley Mountain Bike Association (MVMB) works to create and maintain multi-use natural-surface trails.
“We especially want to help get beginners comfortable on our trails,” says MVMB Vice President Jordan Hart, who also is the outdoor recreation coordinator with Five Rivers MetroParks. “There are so many places around here where you can bike safely and have a good time. It’s just such a great amenity for the community and the region.”
Plenty of Local Cycling Events in Dayton
When it comes to finding a local cycling event, residents of the Dayton region don’t have to sit around spinning their wheels. There are numerous great options to enjoy throughout the year. Here is a sampling:
Wright Wride: The Dayton Cycling Club honors the hometown Wright brothers with this summer event that has been held for more than 50 years. The ride begins and ends at Cedarville Community Park, with routes ranging from 25 to 100 miles.
Tour de Gem Cycling Classic: Held at RiverScape MetroPark with the Dayton skyline as a backdrop, this annual benefit for the United Way and more than 60 other nonprofits raised over $350,000in its first five years.
Cycle-Con: Usually held in early fall, Cycle-Con is a national gathering showcasing recumbent and other specialty bikes. Demo rides are available to the community during this fun two-day event hosted at the Greene County Fairgrounds in Xenia.
Tour de Donut: For something a little different, the Tour de Donut in Troy is basically the Tour de France meets Homer Simpson. The route takes cyclists to several area donut shops, where they receive a reduction in ride time for each donut they eat.
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