SOL in Middleburg Heights

- a Smart-guided Cleveland Metro Park Cycle Tour

Middleburgh Heights | Berea | Strongsville OH

Glide into the serenity of a wooded wonderland without leaving Cleveland's metropolis on this smart-guided 17-mile-bikeway Short One-way Loop (SOL).

Get away from the city without getting too far away! Unload your bike and any city-induced stress you may want to lose and head into the sanctuary of nature found on this bikeway tour of Cleveland's Metro Parks.

Get deeper into the serenity of nature by bringing your mountain bike for an optional bit of mid-tour dirt trails on the Royalview Single Track Mountain Bike Trail. The terrain is beginner-to-intermediate-level, with gentle climbs and descents, and some roots and rocks. The MTB trail is the turnaround spot on the route. It is an optional invitation to bikers who are curious about immersing further away from it all.

The tour takes you into nature's domain with deer, chipmunks, birds, butterflies, skunks, squirrels, beavers, woodchucks, forest mice, and other woodland critters. Rivers, creeks, marshes, and lakes create pleasant obstacles for the bikeways to wind around, over, and through. Wallace Lake (swimming, anyone?) and a pet-friendly CycleNuts tested and approved midway tasty stop (details provided with the ticket purchase) are included in the tour route.

It is only a quick 17-mile bikeway tour but a lasting dose of relaxation. Your ticket for this tour provides a tour route that can be ridden over and over again. This may become your go-to bike ride. Bring your favorite peeps... or not. It is your ticket, your tour.

The route follows the topography of the land, which will find most riders working their gears or e-bike boost at points along the way. Sweat may happen, but possibly more from the forest humidity than the exertion. Speaking of sweating - it's optional. You set the pace, starting time, and touring agenda with CycleNuts' expert smart-guided cycle tour pattern. The route is 92% bikeway and bike lane. In some short segments the route shares the road with motor vehicles. Mostly, the tour route is shaded.

The points of interest are nature-full:

• Cleveland Metroparks - The oldest park district in Ohio, the Cleveland Metropolitan Park District was born in 1917, the "initiative of a young, self-taught engineer who had conceived the idea of an outer chain of parks with connecting boulevards some 12 years earlier. William Stinchcomb's genius was to anticipate the future need for open space at a time when Cuyahoga County outside of Cleveland was still largely rural. From a few scattered donations of land in the Rocky River Valley, the Park District grew to embrace some of the most scenic areas of Greater Cleveland".
• Wallace Lake - At 17.6 acres, Wallace Lake is a stunning remnant of an old sandstone quarry. The old quarry was flooded in 1941 to create Wallace Lake. Today, it's a vibrant and lively site for people and the native flora and fauna that prosper on its banks.
• Lake-to-Lake Trail - A scenic level trail that includes a long boardwalk segment through historic Fowels Marsh and scenic vistas of ancient Lake Abrams and Lake Isaac.
• Valley Parkway Trail - Located along the Rocky River Reservation, the paved trail offers beautiful scenery and many opportunities to see wildlife and birds.
• Big Creek Reservation - A major component of Big Creek Reservation is Big Creek Parkway, a refreshing alternative to the standard suburban commuter routes to Cleveland.
• Rocky River Reservation - This sprawling, linear park encompasses over 5,600 acres and is centered along the Rocky River. While not all of the parkland is natural—it includes three golf courses and numerous picnic grounds—Rocky River has floodplain and upland forests, steep cliffs and bluffs, and open meadows.
• Big Creek Reservation Trail - Ride a stretch of Cleveland history. Although the oldest bikeway in Cleveland dates back to 1939 in Rocky River Reservation built by the National Youth Movement, the Big Creek Reservation Trail was "envisioned in a 1920 Cuyahoga County road map, circulated by William A. Stinchcomb, during a term as county engineer. Stinchcomb mapped out the "emerald necklace" and is the founder, father, chief architect, and long-time director of the Cleveland Metropolitan Park District (Cleveland Metroparks)".
• Mill Stream Run Reservation - is located in Berea, Middleburg Heights, North Royalton, and Strongsville. Long ago nineteenth-century communities like Albion, Sanderson's Corners, and Slab Hollow sprang up to take advantage of the water power from the east branch of the Rocky River and its tributaries. The reservation includes numerous species of wildlife and plant life, including ferns and wildflowers. The East Branch of the Rocky River is noted for its spring trout fishing.
• Royalview Single Track Mountain Bike Trail - The Royalview Trail is located in the Mill Stream Run Reservation of the Cleveland Metroparks near Strongsville, Ohio. It was first opened in June of 2012, after many hours of design and construction work by the Cleveland Metroparks and volunteers from the Student Conservation Association and the Cleveland Area Mountain Bike Association (CAMBA).

WHY CHOOSE a Smart-guided Selfie Cycle Tour?

You get all the benefits of a guided tour without the drawbacks of a tour guide, other tourists, time restrictions, and a rigid tour agenda. With this smart-guided tour, you can go when you want, at your speed, and hang out at a spot as long as you wish. You can even wander off the planned route and the smart guide will get you back on track when you are ready.

HERE'S THE PLAN: You bring a bike and a smartphone. CycleNuts provides the smart-tour guide links! You will receive an expertly designed tour route via email. Click the emailed link and follow the Selfie Tour route using your smartphone as your smart-tour guide for the Voice and Map guided turn-by-turn instructions.

SHORT INSTRUCTIONS: From your location, using your cell phone click on the starting spot link and follow the Google Maps directions. When you arrive, click the emailed tour navigation links to begin the tour. The navigation links will be either Google Maps, Ride With GPS (RWGPS), or both. For more complex tours, there may be several links to click with additional instructions. With Google Maps, the navigator will prompt you at each checkpoint to continue navigation.

BUY NOW AND RIDE WHENEVER AND FOREVER. The route links do not expire. Buy now and plan your adventure - invite your favorite peeps or ride solo; make overnight accommodation reservations; reserve a sitter for your pets. Many tours include dog-friendly tasty spots, as noted in the tour instructions. Here are two CycleNuts tested and approved sites for pet owners: Bring Fido for those touring with dogs; and Rover for those needing pet sitters. The purchase is for the CycleNuts Selfie Smart-guided route links and instructions. Attractions, lodgings, food, bike rental, etc. are not included.

CYCLENUTS SELFIE TOURS tie together fun, interesting, scenic, historic, tasty, and refreshing points of interest along a bikeway-focused tour route where you ride at your pace and pleasure. You are the tour boss. You choose the date and time - the tour is good for any day or time.

With these Smart-guided Selfie Cycle Tours, you bring the bike, and the smartphone - CycleNuts provides the smart-guided links. The smart guide gives voice and visual turn-by-turn instructions along an expertly designed tour route.

Do the tour solo or bring along your crew. Easily stop anywhere along the way to visit attractions or refreshments and the smart guide will continue the route from wherever you are when you are ready to roll.

Got questions? - Get answers! – http://CycleNuts.link FAQS