The Ohio Department of Transportation is nearing completion on a new bike path connecting the Hockhocking Adena bikeway to Chauncey, with an estimated completion date of Nov. 1, according to the ODOT District 10 Public Information Officer, Ashley Rittenhouse.
The connection is vital for safety because it allows bikers to bypass state Route 682, a busy road with no bike lanes.
“With more than 3,000 vehicles traveling this section of SR 682 per day and narrow shoulders, sharing SR 682 with vehicles is not a good situation for active transportation, and we’re thrilled to see this part of Athens County be more accessible,” Rittenhouse wrote in an email.
Although construction on the connecting segment started in August, the bike path project has been in the works for years, according to Athens Regional County Planner Connor LaVelle.
“The village of Chauncey and the county worked together to get this to the finish line along with the Ohio Department of Transportation and the Ohio Department of Natural Resources,” LaVelle said. “They were both major funders of the project.”
Not only does the bike path link communities like Athens, Nelsonville and The Plains to Chauncey, but it also serves as a link to the Bailey’s Trail System, a 58-mile network of mountain bike trails that begins in Chauncey.
“That's a huge amount of varying levels of intensity of trails throughout the Wayne National Forest that provide an opportunity for outdoor recreation, both for the village of Chauncey and then also because we'll be able to connect to the bike path, the hope is that now you have a direct pedestrian connection for the other parts of the county,” LaVelle said.
The Baileys Trail System is a favorite among Athens cyclists.
“I love riding hills, so there's some fun downhills at Bailey's that I would try to use, or ride to the end of the bike trail,” Katie Callahan, a sophomore studying environmental studies and geography, said.
The trail system also serves as a cornerstone of the local mountain bike community.
“They're very well taken care of, and there are always people out there, so it's good to see friendly faces. When you go enough, you start to see the same people, and it builds a community,” Gage Cable, a sophomore studying environmental geoscience, said.
The trail system is also vital for people learning to ride a mountain bike or for improving their skills.
“The Pump Track, it's a loop and it's a paved set of little bumps and rollers and things called berms, which are tall walls that you can ride fast around in turns,” Cable said. “You learn a lot of bicycle and body connection, which are important skills when learning to ride a bicycle.”
The benefit of this connection goes far beyond the trail system itself. Rittenhouse also mentioned that, while good for physical and mental health, the bike path also serves as a tool for tourism.
“With Baileys growing, I see a lot of business potential for restaurants to go in there, but vice versa. People come into Athens for restaurants after they ride Baileys because people are coming in from all over the country,” Cable said. “It's not only benefiting locals, but it's going to benefit out-of-towners as well.”
The connector is not the only improvement to the Baileys Trail System in the works.
“They're working on another trailhead north near the village of Buchtel, and so the Baileys itself sort of serves as a connector to these villages as well,” LaVelle said.
Additionally, Athens County and Athens Township are in the preliminary stages of planning to extend an existing trail, LaVelle said.
“In two or three years, that'll be another bike path extension, so the hope there is to be able to provide a safe pedestrian surface along Johnson Road,” LaVelle said.
To reach the new path to Chauncey when it opens, take the Hockhocking Adena Bikeway north past milepost 9.5, then turn right onto the bridge.
