Simon Kenton Pathfinders mark 25th Annual Bike Tour with tribute, historic route

By
T.J. HUBBARD
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Most successful tour in SKP history raises roughly $40K

The Simon Kenton Pathfinders celebrated a milestone on Sunday, Sept. 7, as some 239 cyclists took part in the group’s 25th Annual Bike Tour.

This year’s tour honored both a founding member of the organization and a piece of Logan County’s unique cycling history.

The 2025 tour was hosted in memory of Elizabeth “Betsy” Bohl, one of the Pathfinders’ original members and longtime treasurer.

Bohl, a former Urbana resident known for her civic and philanthropic involvement, died in January 2016 at age 69 after a battle with glioblastoma. She and other charter Pathfinder members helped establish the Simon Kenton Trail, which continues to serve as a major recreational asset for Champaign and Logan counties.

Mrs. Bohl’s husband, Dr. Steven Bohl, remains an avid Pathfinders supporter and was a platinum sponsor and participant in Sunday’s event.

The silver anniversary event also paid homage to the 1980 Olympic Bicycling Time Trials, which took place in the Zanesfield area.

No Time To Waste! More than 300 tough bicyclists, each hoping for individual and team recognition worldwide, gathered in Zanesfield Tuesday, June 3, 1980, for part of the Olympic Trials, billed as the”Buckeye Race for the Gold.” Other events are being conducted in Lima through Sunday. And though the U.S. won’t be competing in the Moscow Summer Olympics, enthusiasm Tuesday among the cycling participants seemed unabated — except, perhaps, for the number of competitors who had originally been expected. Most interesting, from the spectators’ point of view at least, was the 110-mile (177-kilometer), 10-lap road race east out of Zanesfield and up Bristle Ridge Hill. Nearly 900 spectators gathered in the village and at different points around the two separate courses for the trials that took a little more than four hours to run. Bicycles, costing $900 (about $3,700 in present-day dollars) or more each, sped over the courses with no serious incidents reported. Tires and wheels were changed on the run, like they do at the Indianapolis 500 motor race, and riders took on water and food as quickly as it could be – literally – thrown at them. In the above photo, one rider is shown as he was doused with water. He was later given a banana as he raced up Bristle Ridge Hill, a “killer course” in the minds of many and the toughest that most had competed on this year, one rider from Michigan said. (EXAMINER FILE PHOTO | BYRON SCOTT)

Cyclists this year retraced an 11.4-mile loop used in the 1980 competition, which drew more than 300 riders, including future Tour de France champion Greg LeMond, who won the overall event with a time of 4:10:23.

While the United States’ boycott of the 1980 Olympic Games kept those riders from competing in Moscow, the trials drew an estimated 900 spectators locally and marked Logan County as a part of Olympic history.

Sunday’s tour offered several routes: a 15-mile family ride south from Urbana, a mid-length option of 25-plus miles, and the longest course — a 57.7-mile trek that included the historic Zanesfield loop.

Support and Gear (SAG) stations assisted riders throughout the day, including one at Logan Hills Community Park staffed by longtime Pathfinder advocate Carmen Scott.

Scott played a key role in extending the Simon Kenton Trail into Logan County and was honored last year with the dedication of a trailhead and shelter house in Bellefontaine.

Though health issues in recent years have kept him from cycling as much as he would like, he remains a visible supporter of the SK Trail and the Pathfinders’ mission.

Sunday’s tour was the SKP’s largest to date, both in terms of number of riders and in total revenue generated, SKP Tour chairperson Jim Cook said.

A rider exits Logan Hills Community Park’s SAG station onto Sandusky Street (County Road 5). (EXAMNER PHOTO | T.J. HUBBARD)

This year’s event raised approximately $40,000, Cook said, adding that the 239 participants ranged in age from one to 84.

“The Simon Kenton Pathfinders are greatly appreciative of all who sponsored and supported the tour, as well as the many riders who participated.”

Rider fees helped support ongoing trail maintenance, with adults paying $50 to participate and youth riding free. Event merchandise sales, aided by sponsor Bolder Outfitters, also contributed to trail upkeep.

The Pathfinders, founded in 1997 with 17 members, have since grown to more than 150, continuing their work to expand and improve the trail network. The non-profit built and maintains the 28-mile Simon Kenton Trail in Champaign and Logan counties

More information is available at www.simonkentonpathfinders.org.

The 1980 Olympic loop that riders retraced during Sunday’s event.

Pathfinders’ History:

  • July 1997 – Simon Kenton Pathfinders founded with 17 members to develop a shared-use trail in Champaign County.
  • April 20, 1999 – Awarded $272,397 Transportation Enhancement Activity grant, in partnership with Champaign County commissioners, to construct Phase 1 of the Simon Kenton Trail (SKT) with 20% local match.
  • July 18, 2000 – Land for trail purchased with funds raised by Simon Kenton Pathfinders transferred from West Central Ohio Port Authority to the county commissioners.
  • July 1, 2001 – The first section of the Simon Kenton Trail is opened.
  • Oct. 4, 2002 – Received $450,000 for Phase 2, in the first year of the Clean Ohio Trail Fund grant program. Simon Kenton Pathfinders raised the 25% match to extend the trail from Woodburn to County Line Road.
  • July 2003 – Simon Kenton Pathfinders purchased the old Pennsylvania Railroad Station, 644 Miami St., to restore and update the building for trail users and the community.
  • Sept. 27, 2003 – Phase 2 completed as a partnership led by the Champaign County commissioners and including the Clark County commissioners, National Trails Park and Recreation District, City of Springfield, West Central Ohio Port Authority and Clark County Transportation Coordinating Committee.
  • Oct. 17, 2004 – Completed 6.5 mile-section of Simon Kenton Trail in City of Urbana with $1.1 million in federal funds plus a $250,000 ODNR grant.
  • March 2005 – Simon Kenton Pathfinders sold the building to the City of Urbana so it could qualify for funds for renovation. The City received $544,000 from the Ohio Department of Transportation for restoration, repair, new restrooms, landscaping, sidewalks, and street lights.
  • Fall 2006 – Representatives of West Liberty and Bellefontaine met to join Simon Kenton Pathfinders and pursue connection of the trail to Logan County.
  • December 2006 – The City leased the depot to Simon Kenton Pathfinders.
  • April 15, 2007 – Depot opened to the public as a rest area, and Simon Kenton Pathfinders sub-leased space to the Depot Coffeehouse.
  • July 2007 – Simon Kenton Pathfinders installed bike lockers at the depot on Miami Street. Available for a one-year lease.
  • November 2007 – Began planning Phase 1 of the Urbana-Bellefontaine Connector of the Simon Kenton Trail (1.25 miles from the Urbana Depot to near Grimes Field airport), collaborating with the City of Urbana.
  • Fall 2011 – Entered partnership with the City of Bellefontaine to apply for a Clean Ohio Trail Fund grant from the ODNR to fund Phase 2 of the Bellefontaine Connector, the largest section of trail to be developed in Simon Kenton Pathfinders history: 16.8 miles.
  • June 2012 – Phase 1 of Northern Connector of Simon Kenton Trail completed.
  • December 2012 — Awarded $500,000 Clean Ohio Trail Fund grant with 25% local match ($300,000) for Phase 2 connector construction.
  • July 28, 2014. Started construction of Phase 2 of the Northern Connector
  • May 2015– Opening of trail extension to Bellefontaine. A Crushed aggregate trail.
  • 2014 – Simon Kenton Pathfinders completed the construction of the 16-mile extension from the north corporation of Urbana to Carter Avenue in Bellefontaine. This 10 feet wide trail section was constructed utilizing crushed limestone which expanded recreational, social and economic benefits to the citizens of Champaign and Logan counties.
  • 2017 – The Simon Kenton Pathfinders chipped/sealed a 2.13 mile section of the trail from the end of the present asphalt pavement (Urbana corporation line) north to S.R. 296 at a cost of $28,622.89.
  • 2018 – A 2.30 miles section was chipped/sealed south from Carter Avenue in Bellefontaine to T.R. 199 and the parking lot at Carter Avenue at a cost of $29,017.20.
  • 2019 – The final sections to be chipped/sealed consisted of 5.22 miles in Logan County from T.R. 199 to the Logan/Champaign county line and the bike trail parking lot, and ramp to access the trail at West liberty.  This cost $61,261.63.  The remaining 6.23 miles in Champaign County from S.R.296 north to the Champaign/Logan county line were completed at a cost of $72,654.74
  • This completed the entire 15.88 miles project of chip/sealing the trail (plus 2 parking lots and access ramp)from the end of the present asphalt pavement (Urbana Corporation line) north to Carter Avenue in Bellefontaine. The cost was $90,278.83 for 7.52 miles in Logan County; and $101,277.63 for 8.36 miles in Champaign County. The grand total for the 15.88 miles was $191,556.46.
A pair of riders in Sunday’s SKP Bike Tour signal to turn into the Ohio Caverns entrance along State Route 245 (John Coffman PHOTO)
THE STRAIN OF BRISTLE RIDGE HILL, on County Road 10 just east of Zanesfield, tells on the faces of these U.S. Olympic competitors as they speed to the top during the 10-lap, 110-mile course there Tuesday, June 3, 1980. Capturing berths on the eight-man Olympic Road Race team, from the 29 who competed for international competition, were: Andy Weaver of Miami, Fla., Tom Doughty of Hobart, Ind,; Greg Lemond of Carson City, Nev.; Hal Tozer of Berkeley, Calif.; Gerry Fornes of Columbus; Bob Cook of Golden, Colo.; Ian Jones of Stanford, Conn.; and Tom Schuler of Birmingham, Mich.
LeMond was the overall winner of the event with a time of 4:10:23. In all, more than 300 cyclists competed in the trials that were divided into eight different categories. (EXAMINER FILE PHOTO | BYRON SCOTT)

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