TANDEM Diversity
Oregon - Covered Bridge Ride: We're not counting this one as a multi-day tour either. It was 2 days spent in the Willamette Valley of Oregon, riding and enjoying the gorgeous scenery and peaceful farmland roads that characterize the valley. Oh, and reconnecting with local tandeming friends.
Our base of operations was Albany, Oregon, a very nice town straddling I-5. If you ever have need to stop over in Albany, we can make a couple of suggestions....the Comfort Suites is an excellent hotel with very friendly staff. The Barn at Hickory Station is a fun food truck collection with choice eats and a fun atmosphere. And this trip we discovered the Carousel Museum in downtown Albany....very interesting!
For the first day we rode the Buena Vista Ferry Loop out of Independence, Oregon. The ferry was closed for maintenance so this turned into an out and back ride. But the wildfire smoke cleared and it was a lovely day for a tandem ride in the valley.
2026 Tours
The second day saw us riding the annual Covered Bridge Ride, put on by the Mid Valley Bicycle Club. They provide excellent routes and support, including root beer floats at the finish and lunch at a beautiful riverside park. We opted for the 68 mile route which took in 4 covered bridges and again a lovely setting in the smoke-free valley.
The reprisal of our OTET tour was great. We shared the experience with good friends. We enjoyed unsurpassed scenery. Locals were welcoming. Accommodations were excellent. The food was varied and interesting. We learned tons, and that's important for us on tours.
Logistics were pretty straightforward. We made all lodging arrangements in advance. We had our luggage transported daily and had our bike cases moved from Cincinnati to Cleveland by a different transport service. This all worked seamlessly and with very little effort on our part.
The trail was generally in great shape. There were two short detours for construction but the added bonus of a new, paved section of trail entering Kilbuck.
We shared the trail with lots of Amish folks and enjoyed many interesting conversations with them.
OTET 2026:
9 days riding
plus 1 day of running errands on the bike while staying in the National Park, for a day of hiking.
352.7 miles
7274' of elevation (yep, a flat tour!!)
Be sure to get in touch with us by email, if we can help you in any way to plan your own tour along the Ohio to Erie Trail. We feel this trail is a true treasure and one not to be missed in a tandem touring couple's lifetime.
Wishing you many happy and safe tandem miles!
California - The Golden Gate Bridge: This was not a multi-day tour but rather a fun day ride across the GGB to Sausalito (for coffee) and back. We had a brilliant, sunny, April day.
This photo was taken on the southern end of the bridge after the ride.
There were a couple of notable detours due to construction. The first of these was in the area of South Lebanon, after we left the Residence Inn at Kings Mills. However, a local cyclist helped us avoid all but a mile and a half or so of local roads. We found Ohio drivers to be fast and aggressive, so were very glad to miss much of this particular detour.
The second detour was between Peninsula and Boston Mills, along the canal tow path. There was an unavoidable stretch of a few miles on road but finally we were able to turn off and finish the last bit on a washed out mountain bike road.
The last time we rode the OTET we reported that the local Amish were making use of e-bikes. That trend has continued and we saw evidence that e-bikes, especially fat bikes, are gradually replacing horse and buggy for Amish transportation.
Only one day of rain!!
On our day of visiting sights in Cleveland (Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, International Women's Air and Space Museum), we found this absolutely delightful spot for lunch and a long conversation with the shop's owner. This actually turned out to be one of the trip's highlights!
The obligatory photo at the Cleveland script sign. Cleveland is a cycling friendly city.
In spite of both cases having been opened by TSA in Seattle, Tallie made it to Cincinnati in fine shape, with no travel damage. She was soon road-ready and anxious to start the tour.
We made it to Lake Erie!
And this was on the north end of the bridge, after a coffee break in Sausalito.
Finally, we were ready to start our ride out of downtown Cincinnati, headed toward Cleveland. We wanted to dip the rear tire in the Ohio River, but as you can see, it would have been too risky to try to carry a heavy tandem down to the water, so once again we used Chris' idea of christening the rear tire using a cup of water collected from the river in a disposable paper cup from the hotel.
And to Massillon to see the Lincoln Highway exhibit at the Massillon Museum.
And prior to flying back home we returned to Dayton for more historical learning.
On the way into Cleveland we went off course to take a look at the house from the Christmas Story movie.
Washington - Centennial Trail: Also just a day ride, but a great one we try to ride every year. You can take a look at our Centennial Trail Page.
Time to pack Tallie for the trip back home.
We found the trail to be in pretty good shape overall. Between Fredericksburg and Kilbuck used to be on roads, but much of that is now on new, excellent, paved trail. The tow path along the canal from Massillon to Cleveland was in good shape.
But first there were important things to see in the local area. There was a visit to the National Underground Railroad Center (a repeat visit for us), and then via rental car a trip up to Dayton to spend a day at the National Museum of the Air Force. Both were very worthwhile and loaded with tons of learning.
Ohio - Ohio To Erie Trail (OTET): Late September found us in Cincinnati to begin our second trip from Cincy to Cleveland along the OTET. Last time we turned West at Cleveland and rode as far as Sandusky. This time we ended in Cleveland.
We rode the trail in the company of two other tandem couples. Like last time, we found the trail riding to be idyllic, with tons of beautiful scenery and learning opportunities.
Shorter daily distances allowed us more time to walk about in the towns we visited for overnights.
The trip began in downtown Cincinnati; our hotel was the Towne Place Suites by Marriott, which was an excellent base for operations. They were very supportive of our biking plans, including providing a place for us to assemble our tandems. From Cincy we rode to Kings Mills (Residence Inn by Marriott), then to Xenia (John Allen House), to London (London Guest House), to Columbus (Holiday Inn Express Downtown - in the German Village), to Mt. Vernon (Mt. Vernon Inn), to Millersburg (Hotel Millersburg), to Massillon (Hampton Inn), to Cuyahoga Valley National Park (Inn at Brandywine Falls), and finally to downtown Cleveland (Hilton Downtown).
For this trip we opted to take our Co-Motion Speedster Rohloff Co-Pilot tandem (Tallie), and the first order of business was to assemble her at the hotel, before taking off for sightseeing around the Cincinnati area.
Approaching Cleveland.
This was an absolutely delightful tour, in one of the best cycling places on earth (in our opinion), with good friends, amongst friendly and welcoming locals, steeped in local history and gorgeous scenery. This is a trail experience not to be missed!