Franklin Bike Trail: Start of My Aerobic Fitness Program

Today I walked about six miles along the new stretch of bike route between Franklin and Crain's Run Park just south of Miamisburg. This is one of the most interesting and beautiful trail segments in the Miami Valley. In downtown Franklin the trail runs along the riverfront alongside a street that is lined with historic streetlights. It passes the restored log cabin, built in 1805, that served as Franklin's first post office, a nice water fountain, and a highway bridge (not part of the trail) with interesting cast iron lion sculptures guarding its approaches. After you leave downtown the trail runs along the top of a levee with the river on one side and the dry bed of an old hydraulic canal that once served to provide water-power to Franklin's industries on the other. A couple of miles upstream from Franklin the trail passes the head gates of this canal and the ruins of the Chautauqua Dam. This dam once served to maintain the river's depth at a level sufficient to ensure a steady flow of water through the canal.

Old Franklin Post Office

Statue of lion on bridge in downtown Franklin

At this point there are also two bridge piers standing in the river, the only remains of a pedestrian bridge that once connected a station on the east bank of the river that served the old interurban line that linked Dayton and Cincinnati with the Chautauqua grounds on the west bank of the river. The Chautauqua was for decades one of the cultural and entertainment hot spots of the Miami Valley. It was a product of the Chautauqua movement that swept the country at the turn of the twentieth century and flourished for several decades. Groups of performers would follow regular circuits traveling from community to community presenting everything from Broadway plays to lectures to musical performances. Residents would turn out by the thousands for what for most must have been the highlight of the summer. In the 1920s over ten thousand communities participated in the Chautauqua movement with over forty-five million people attending (compare this figure to the total U.S. population in 1920 which stood at one hundred and six million). The Chautauqua near Franklin was also one of the favored swimming spots in the Miami Valley. It had the distinction of being the only grounds in Ohio purchased solely for Chautauqua purposes.

About a half-mile upriver from the dam is Crain's Run Nature Park. This park is a great place for a jogger or bicyclist to get a drink, use the restroom facilities, and rest. Across the road from Crain's Run Nature Park is a lock chamber from the old Miami and Erie Canal that was restored in 1990. This was a shipping canal that ran parallel to the Miami River and the Franklin hydraulic canal, and which represented the economic backbone of Dayton and the Miami Valley prior to the ascendancy of the railroads. Construction on this canal began in 1825. This particular set of locks dates back to 1829.

The scenery along the trail is outstanding. The entire route runs along the riverbank and most of it is heavily forested. There are numerous places were you can stop and lean against the wooden railing to rest and get a breathtaking view of the river. The best part for me, though, was getting to cool off with a banana split and Pepsi at the Tasty Freeze in downtown Franklin afterward! This has been one of my favorite stops since I was a kid.

This begins the aerobic phase of my new fitness program. I plan to alternate between strength training and aerobic workouts on a regular basis, lifting weights every other day and walking, jogging, or cycling on the other days. Saturday and one other day through the week of my choosing will be rest days.