Tag Book reviews

Ohio Rail Trail: What a Bike Ride!

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The Rail Trail Hall of Fame book (click for earlier review) led us to a campground near Lebanon, Ohio, where we parked our trailer on May 24 and rode our bikes on another of the USA’s top 33 rail trails.

The Little Miami Scenic Trail was our favorite of our cross-country journey. The fourth-longest paved trail in the country, it runs 78 miles from Cincinnati to Springfield, almost entirely in the shade and near-level as it follows the Little Miami River. We started in Morrow and rode north to Caesar Creek State Park.

The multi-use path exudes tranquility, especially on weekdays. It travels through several state parks, charming villages and places to pause for cool or hot drinks. It is part of a 340-mile network of paved trails that makes Ohio a great state to explore on two wheels or on two feet.

The Little Miami is part of the North Country Trail (click for earlier post), the nation’s longest hiking path, which we had walked in Wisconsin.

In case you are wondering, we are riding the same Giant steel-frame hybrid bikes that Sue’s parents rode in Europe and around America. They are sturdy and reliable, but weigh 40 pounds, which adds to the work load a bit.

We have used the TrailLink and AllTrails apps throughout our trip for hiking and biking guidance.

Thunderstruck Weaves A Tale of Intrigue

Reg Spittle 6 Comments


Fact or fiction?

Hawley Harvey Crippen, a doctor, and his wife (disguised as his son) board a ship bound for America in the early 20th century.

Crippen’s journey would become linked to wireless technology developed by Italian inventor Guglielmo Marconi.

One of them had committed one of the most famous murders in English history.

In Thunderstruck, a work of non-fiction, Erik Larson weaves the tale of two men who would never meet, but would be linked in a way neither could have foreseen. Grisly, suspenseful details emerge as the reader is left wondering for most of the book how the stories of doctor and inventor will merge.

Larson has a gift for making fact seem stranger than fiction. This is my third Erik Larson book. In Devil in the White City, he blends a compelling story about the Chicago World’s Fair with a gruesome murder. Dead Wake tells the story of the Lusitania.