Dear friends and family,
I am now in Cincinnati, Ohio preparing to ride from here to Cleveland on the Ohio to Erie trail (OTET) starting tomorrow.
I enjoyed the last two trails so much and felt so comfortable riding without cars that I rented a van in Pittsburgh and drove here for another trail.
Finishing the GAP trail in Pittsburgh took me through the industrial areas near small towns, still a trail without cars, but led me to reflect on the economics of where I pedaled so far.
I started in Virginia, which was one of the biggest slave states. Caused the civil war of course and I rode through many civil war battle sites.
Slave labor produced massive wealth in cotton, tobacco, and sugar cane. By 1840 half the world’s cotton was produced here by slave labor.
Slaves were valued as property and the 4 million slaves were valued at 3 billion dollars, exceeding the value of all the nation’s factories, railroads and banks. ( from the library of economics). Those numbers are mind boggling to me. Assets many felt were worth fighting for!
Then I rode through the coal mining towns and where coke plants were until arriving in Pittsburgh where the big steel manufacturing was.
I take a special interest in the coal mining history as, to paraphrase Loretta Lynn ” I was born a coal miner’s grandson”. My grandfather lost three fingers in a mining accident so left the mines of the Ohio River valley ( Tiltonsville, Ohio) and moved to Cleveland.
The mine was the best job available for a recent immigrant from Poland in 1907.
I passed the site of a huge mining disaster where 290 workers that were involved in transport and sorting coal by hand died in a single coal dust explosion. Hard times here.
Because of the mining, most of the well water in these little towns is unsafe to drink. I bought bottled water often for my own consumption.
Most of these little towns are surviving, but not thriving. The economy is often only tourism, bike tourers like myself, and retirees who live in the inexpensive houses and often young entrepreneurs setting up businesses in the cheap rent downtown locations.
As beautiful as the trail was in the fall splendor, the underlying economic and social history was ever present.
This is how we built this country, and a big price was paid in human work consequences and environmental impacts as well. I want to be careful not to judge from my priveleged position now, but also be aware of how we got here.
Both the C and O trail and the GAP trail were wonderful for touring and I would highly recommend these to everyone.
Post Pittsburgh arrival, I was busy with logistics:
Finding a way to get me and my bike safely to the car rental pickup location in a non- bike- friendly big city (Pittsburgh) and then a way to drop it off at the agency in Cincinnati near a hotel, where I could access the start of the trail minimizing city road riding ( which really scares me).
It’s a puzzle I enjoy solving while trying to keep safe and efficient.
I look forward to restarting riding again tomorrow. I’ve now had 15 riding days and the legs are getting stronger. And I’ve got a beautiful forecast for the next week, with cold nights and cool days to ride.
Sending love,
Charley
