I am moving to athens ohio in a week or two, as i have been offered a job as the head rowing coach for the mens program there.
I have absolutly no idea what the training around there is like, i’ve only been twice. the area looks like it would be great, but does anyone know anything about trails to run on (off road), groups that ride there, etc?
thanks!
The area in and around the OU campus is pretty hilly. Should make for some great running.
Thats really all I remember about the area.
haha yeah thats all i really remember too.
i used to bike from campus out to old man’s cave area. its a little over 50 miles, round trip. really nice ride with some good rollers…you just head west on union (forget the number for the road). dont really need more directions than that. if you’re looking for something flat. there is a paved trail from OU to hocking college. its about 25 miles roundtrip. the athens marathon basically just runs this route.
GREAT Halloween party down there in Athens!
Always hilly down by the river 
You will have a good pool to swim.
The roads in that area are great for cycling and there is a pretty big Mt Biking scene there
There are several State parks with trails (Zeleski), in addition to the on campus paved pedestrian paths.
yep, i am exctied about the pool and rec center there.
cycling i should be able to figure out on my own, running i am still looking for trails close to campus.
how far is zeleski from there? i have been there a few times camping, but not recently (went to school at denison, so that was the place we went to camp, hike, etc).
When I lived in Chillicothe, we used to go down there to swim, and Ice Skate afterwards.
Zeleski SF is off of US 50 in Vinton County before it intersects US 32. Lake Alma is near McArthur and has some great trails as well. I have backpacked in Zeleski, mountainbiked at Lake Alma and ran there once.
There is also some trails in Strouds Run State Park near Athens.
Ohhh man… I LOVE that place.
You will have great options. Killer pool and strength training facility, awesome run loops. (get with the XC team, they can tell you where the best runs are). There is a new Tri team there that has apparently caught on quite a bit, especially since swimming and track got killed by Title 9. I’m an ex-CC/Track dude and I loved that place. There a couple decent bike shops there but they are far more familiar with mountain bikes. My folks live 30 mins south of there and over X-mas I broke a shift cable on my bike. (hauled my bike and trainer since I just got over foot surgery) The cycle path is the only shop that didn’t freak when I said it was internally routed. There will be some great rides routes, but you will need to do your home work. Go to the cycle path since they have more of a roadie feel than the rest and actually sell tri bikes (Felt and Fuji if I remember right and you’ll need a decent wrench at some point). If your not careful, you’ll end up on some gravel rode in the middle of no where. folks down there are not used to bikes or men in spandex so don’t be surprised if you don’t get an Old Milwaukee can hurled at you.
Great school (not sure about the rowing program, see if Fritz Hagerman is still with the exercise phys program. That guy is THE smartest person I have ever met when it comes to sport and he used to consult for US rowing). I’d love to hook up for a ride when I’m in town if your game (I’m probably a bit slower than you but I can hold my own). I get down that way at least a couple times a year for a week or two so the kids can visit their grand parents. You can email me at the address on my profile.
Lots of hills down there. I might be biased, but the run training is the best in the midwest I think. Great trails, great rodes (many on packed gravel) great dog that will chase the hell out of you, cold in the winter, hot and humid as hell in the summer, hot chicks sun bathing along the bike path in the spring…jeez, just tons of good looking women in general (hope your not married, you’ll tear it up there). You can swim at Stroud’s lake in the summer or Lake Snowden too.
Congrats on the great job at a great school in a really fun little town. BTW…Halloween is maybe slightly overrated.
Lake Hope State Park (20miles) is beautiful - lots of hills, great trails for running, even more fun mtb riding lake in summer for open water swimming. I’ve also run in Hocking Hills. In the middle of nowhere so road riding would be great. And of course they have a great pool (I was a swimmer in the MAC conference just after they built that facility , so even though its got a few decades on it now, I imagine its still quite good.
Wow…I went to wrestling camp there when I was in High School…HILLY!
I’ve camped at Lake Hope state park the past 3 Octobers with the Cleveland MTB club. Some peeps drove into Athens for Sat. night festivities, only about 20 minutes away. Trails were great, I ran an hour each friday before the rest of the bike club got there. Rolling, but not real steep or long.
Link to trail reviews, maps and elevation profile for Lake Hope and other MTB trails in Ohio.
http://www.spokejunkies.com/reviews/index_ohio.php
thanks for all the help so far guys.
sounds a lot like the area i went to school in.
I live in the middle of a corn field now so i am used to epople that are not used to bikes!
i know a few guys that or were on the tri team, and hopping to hook up and ride with their cycling team at some point.
Having spent undergrad and grad school there I can tell you that Athens is about as cool a town as you can live in as a student.
That said, my friends who work there complain about not having a lot of things in the area and having to go to Lancaster 35 minutes away.
But, for outdoors pursuits I doubt the area can be beat.
If you want me to put you in contact with some folks who live in town, send me a PM and I’ll make the connection.
Bob
PS- OU has a rowing team supported enough to have a coach? Man, things have changed!
i lived in Athens for 8 years (high school and college). Its a great place to live, but have to agree with a few others that it can get a little slow, especially in the summer. Its grown quite a bit in the last 10 years, but still has that small town feel.
Lake Hope is the best offroad riding around Athens in my opinion. Ambush used to do an offroad half iron there, I don’t think they do it anymore, but that was a great race. You can ride to Lake Hope from town, but its about 20 miles or so each way. You can also ride in Wayne National Forest. If its anything like it was in the early 90s, some of the trails are heavily used by motorcycles and 4wheelers. We used to ride in Sells Park, but I’m not sure if its open anymore. That was a nice option, easy to ride from town, do a few loops and ride back.
Max and the guys at Cycle Path have been there for years and are a great resource for local rides on and off road. Max, the owner is an avid cycling advocate and great person. John is an excellent and knowledgeable wrench too.
Have fun in Athens, I’m envious.