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Man writes about riding in Ohio, gives routes, places to eat along way
By Bob Downing
Beacon Journal staff writer
Published on Tuesday, May 19, 2009
There's only one thing better than bicycling: That's bicycling and eating lunch, according to Stark County bicyclist Stan Purdum.
That led the 63-year-old freelance writer and part-time United Methodist minister to write Pedaling to Lunch: Bike Rides and Bites in Northeast Ohio (University of Akron Press, $18.95).
The 324-page book offers 20 bike day trips that stretch from Lorain County, east to Ashtabula County and south to Tuscarawas County.
The book by Purdum, of Plain Township, is filled with nugget after nugget of local history and attractions along the routes, in addition to detailed bicycling directions and maps.
His favorite ride because of its scenery is a rolling 39-mile loop from Strasburg to Baltic through Tuscarawas and Holmes counties. The lunch stop is at Miller's Dutch Kitch'n in Baltic.
''It's beautiful Ohio . . . and it's just a beautiful ride,'' he said.
The longest ride in Purdum's book is an 83-mile loop from Kinsman to Conneaut, a mostly flat ride in Trumbull and Ashtabula counties. There are shorter options of 28, 43, 45 or 61 miles.
His favorite lunch stop is the colorful Sunrise Cafe in Geneva-on-the-Lake, a spot known for its buffalo burgers and biscuits and gravy.
Other lunch spots that stood out to Perdum include the Steel Trolley in Lisbon (Columbiana County) and Des Dutch Essenhaus in Shreve in southwestern Wayne County.
The restaurants in his book ''aren't fancy and are rather ordinary and just good places to eat,'' he said.
Lunch has always been ''a welcome spot'' on his bike rides and adding them to the book seemed the logical step, he said.
In Summit County, he offers a 44-mile bowtie-shaped loop from Lakemore to Clinton with lunch at the Falcon Lounge in the Portage Lakes.
There are also loops in southern Cuyahoga County and northeastern Medina County, three in Wayne County and four in Portage County.
Purdum is a veteran with two long-distance bicycle rides to his credit: At age 50, he pedaled 4,247 miles in three legs from Oregon to Virginia. Five years later, he pedaled 2,248 miles in three legs along U.S. 62 from Niagara Falls, N.Y., to El Paso, Texas. He wrote books about both trips. He has also penned two religious-themed books.
Purdum, a cyclist with the Stark County Bicycle Club, logs about 4,000 miles a year. He typically pedals at least three days a week, even in winter if roads are dry and the temperatures are above 10 degrees.
He said he is looking forward to retirement in a few years so he can boost the number of miles he pedals to 7,000 or more.
In June, he will pedal his first official Great Ohio Bicycle Adventure, a weeklong tour across Northwest Ohio.
Bob Downing can be reached at 330-996-3745 or bdowning@thebeaconjournal.com.
There's only one thing better than bicycling: That's bicycling and eating lunch, according to Stark County bicyclist Stan Purdum.
Get the full article here.
Comments
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Akron, Oh
Posted 03:42 PM, 05/19/2009
Wow ..i jsut read this book. I missed his lil lecture at the highland library. I going to ride a couple of his suggestions.
