Exercising at Sunside Trailhead of Western Reserve Greenway Rail-Trail in Trumbull County Ohio MetroParks

I meant to post a couple of photos from last summer of the Western Reserve Greenway Rail-Trail in Trumbull County MetroParks.

It’s an awesome paved bicycling and running rail-trail (a converted railway) located about 3–4 miles from my homestead. It extends all the way north to Lake Erie up in Ashtabula, which is more than 40 miles one way.

Greenway Trail Backstory

When I was a kid in grade school, my neighbors and brother would ride our bicycles and motorcycles along the gravel service road along that railway. I don’t remember whether or not the tracks were still there. Although, I do remember crashing my ~1979 Yamaha MX 100 into the back of my brother’s Kawasaki 125.

We were riding in a group and I was trailing behind by quite a bit; in an effort to catch-up I increased my speed. However, the gravel road had a lot of big puddles and the spray from those in front of me riding through them, and the misty grey day, made visibility extremely low for me. Then, for whatever reason, they abruptly stopped, just as I was trying to catch-up.

I didn’t even see them and slammed into the rear of my brother’s motorcycle. He and his bike were much bigger than me and my motorcycle so the impact only damaged my motorcycle. The front tire burst and I and the motorcycle got some “bumps and bruises,” but otherwise nothing else was damaged. My brother helped me walk the bike home a couple of miles.

Sunside Trailhead – August 2024

Anyway, given I wasn’t bicycling or running until earlier last year, I never ventured to the Greenway Trail. Nonetheless, once I became comfortable running 4–5 miles at a time by last summer, I began going to the Greenway Trail periodically.

Here I am, slightly “thicker looking” than I look now as of summer 2025 (see below), at the Sunside Trailhead (on St. Rt. 305) of the Western Reserve Greenway – Trumbull County Ohio MetroParks:

As of last summer I still hadn’t ridden my bicycles beyond the local side streets since 2019. I was, however, riding Maggie long and hard as often as possible, so I brought her to the trail with me (she has her saddle bags on, so she’s not naked like she was at Headlands Beach):

Sunside Trailhead – July 2025

Fast forward to last week and here I am at the Sunside Trailhead standing in front of the Porta-Potty.

The Porta-Potty actually came in handy yesterday, incidentally, because as I approached the end of my run, I suddenly got the urge to use the potty (for #2).¹I know this might be too much information (TMI) for some readers so I won’t continue with my many stories of my using Mother Nature’s bathroom accommodations during long runs over the years.

Some other nice features of the Sunside Trailhead include a bicycle stand, tools, an air pump, and electrical outlets for people to repair their bicycles and charge their devices. It also has an outdoor grill and small pavillion with four picnic benches.

Cignal Rialto Bicycle

Given I just dusted-off my ~1997 Cignal Rialto commuter bicycle²I also have a ~2003 Trek Alpha 4100 Mountain bike that I acquired in, maybe, 2017 from a neighbor who was moving and planning to trash it! It just needed some repairs. last month after it sat in the garage unused for 5.5+ years, I decided to put it on the bicycle stand and give it a bit of a tune up (true the rear wheel, mainly).³My Rialto only has six rear cogs and three front chainrings (18-speed), so it might be a 1996.

I bought the Cignal Rialto from a guy in Cleveland for $60 back in early 2016 or so, shortly after returning from my living in Portland, Oregon. Given I was a diehard bicycle commuter, I made a lot of modifications, but over a couple of years and mostly due to necessary maintenance, repair, and safety issues (bent rim, broken chain and cables, bad brakes, multiple flat tires, etc.):

• WM Weinmann Zac19 Rear Wheel⁴The archived July 2025 price on Amazon is $85. Back in Feb. 2019 when I bought this exact wheel, I paid $56.50, including shipping. So, this is just another example of how the US Dollar (the Federal Reserve Note, which is a debt instrument) continues to lose its purchasing power (we call it “inflation”) year-in, year-out. In this specific case, it implies a loss of purchasing power of 33.5% in almost 6.5 years; this works out to about 6.5% per year inflation. This is likely a low estimate of our real inflation (loss of purchasing power per year.
• Puncture-resistant Continental Town Ride Reflex Tires, 700 x 42cc
• Continental Tubes
• Clark’s Stainless Steel Cables
• SRAM PC-830 Chain
• Mountain bike gearing (Shimano 14–34T 6-speed MegaRange freewheel, aka granny gear)⁵The stock freewheel had 14-28T gearing, so the 34T is considered the granny gear; it makes hill climbing easier. The bike still has the stock 28/38/48T front chainring.
• Shimano Tourney Rear Derailleur
• Planet Bike Superflash Tail Light⁶I don’t have receipts for this item, but its July 2025 price is $25.
• Mirrycle Mirror⁷Although the July 2025 price is $25 plus shipping direct from the manufacturer, one can sometimes buy it a bit cheaper online. Amazon lists it at $19.50. I paid $13.33 back in June 2016, which included free shipping. So, it increased in price by 46%, or only 4.3% per year. If one uses the $25 price tag, then it is 7.2% per year, which seems closer to reality for inflation (at the low end).
• Mirrycle AL168 Basil Brass Duet Bell
• Wellgo Shimano SPD-compatible Pedals
• Tire pump
• Lock
• Better front brakes (v-brakes instead of cantilever, which are still on the back wheel) and pads
• Ondeni Bike Saddle

Also, the milk crate that I use on Maggie (see the picture of her) was taken off of this bicycle. The crate and bicycle have a lot of miles on them; so does Maggie. I plan to attach a basket or crate to this bike soon. For the moment, I just bungie strap my backpack or canvas bag to the rear rack.

Closing Words

Anyway, I’m glad I have the bicycle in good operating condition, because I’m taking Maggie offline for a few weeks since I need to clean her carbs again. I ended up crashing in a parking lot a couple of weeks ago because the engine began to stall when I was turning (more about this in a future post; nobody got seriously injured, but Maggie did lose her windshield in the crash.).

Be that as it may, when I go to the trail to jog, I now just ride my bicycle to a trailhead. Sometimes I go to the closest one, the Warren Trailhead at North River Road, which is only 3.5 miles from where I live. It’s nice in that it has a big pavillion and water fountain, but it doesn’t have a Porta-Potty. The Sunside Trailhead has a Porta-Potty but no drinking fountain; it’s also 7.0 miles away, but that’s not too far by bicycle and it’s my favorite nearby trailhead.

Footnotes

• 1
  I know this might be too much information (TMI) for some readers so I won’t continue with my many stories of my using Mother Nature’s bathroom accommodations during long runs over the years.
• 2
  I also have a ~2003 Trek Alpha 4100 Mountain bike that I acquired in, maybe, 2017 from a neighbor who was moving and planning to trash it! It just needed some repairs.
• 3
  My Rialto only has six rear cogs and three front chainrings (18-speed), so it might be a 1996.
• 4
  The archived July 2025 price on Amazon is $85. Back in Feb. 2019 when I bought this exact wheel, I paid $56.50, including shipping. So, this is just another example of how the US Dollar (the Federal Reserve Note, which is a debt instrument) continues to lose its purchasing power (we call it “inflation”) year-in, year-out. In this specific case, it implies a loss of purchasing power of 33.5% in almost 6.5 years; this works out to about 6.5% per year inflation. This is likely a low estimate of our real inflation (loss of purchasing power per year.
• 5
  The stock freewheel had 14-28T gearing, so the 34T is considered the granny gear; it makes hill climbing easier. The bike still has the stock 28/38/48T front chainring.
• 6
  I don’t have receipts for this item, but its July 2025 price is $25.
• 7
  Although the July 2025 price is $25 plus shipping direct from the manufacturer, one can sometimes buy it a bit cheaper online. Amazon lists it at $19.50. I paid $13.33 back in June 2016, which included free shipping. So, it increased in price by 46%, or only 4.3% per year. If one uses the $25 price tag, then it is 7.2% per year, which seems closer to reality for inflation (at the low end).