A revised edition of the award-winning book of historically themed cycling tours in and around Cincinnati, Ohio.
Bicycling Through Paradise: Historical Rides Around Cincinnati includes nineteen historically themed cyclist tours for all abilities centered around Cincinnati, Ohio. Written by two longtime cyclists—one a professor of history and one an architect—this book dives into the details of local landscape and history encountered along the route. Rides combine familiar destinations like Lunken Airport, Eden Park, and Loveland Castle with lesser-known sites like Underground Railroad stations, ruined stone canal locks, and a nineteenth-century socialist commune, all located in and around the Greater Cincinnati area. Stops along the way include public parks, covered bridges, and one-room schoolhouses.
Each chapter includes a QR code to link readers to a companion Community Page where cyclists will find downloadable turn-by-turn directions and wayfinding photos, plus a place for cyclists to share their feedback, making this book an interactive experience.
Introduction
Cycling Advice
Part I: Waterways
1. Path Dependency: Layers of History along the Mill Creek
Northside, Ivorydale, Elmwood Place, and Lockland
2. William Henry Harrison and the Shawnee Nation
The Ohio River Valley West to Harrison’s Tomb, Shawnee Lookout, and Indiana
3. Visions and Dreams on the Little Miami Scenic Trail
From Milford to Xenia via Loveland Castle, Kings’ Mills, and George Barrett’s Concrete House
4. Floodplains and Hilltops
Eden and Ault Parks, Cincinnati Observatory, Pioneer Settlement and Lunken Airport
5. Following the River: The Story of Mary Ingles
Alexandria and Bellevue, Kentucky
6. Swimming Pools, Parks, and the Integration of Coney Island
7. The Whitewater Canal Route
Indiana from West Harrison to Cedar Grove, Brookville, and Metamora
Part II: Paradise
8. Bicycling Through Paradise
Mariemont, Perintown, Harmony Hill, Felicity, and Utopia
9. The Party Tour: Breweries and Inclines
Amusements Past and Present in Over-The-Rhine
10. Town and Country
Mt. Airy Forest, Winton Woods, Greenhills, Glendale and Sharon Woods
11. A Holy City: Churches, synagogues, and Shrines
Northern Kentucky, Downtown Cincinnati, Walnut Hills and Evanston
12. Immortality and its Consequences
Spring Grove, College Hill, Fernald Preserve, and Whitewater Shaker Village
13. Immortality, Continued
Hamilton, the Hollow Earth Monument, Chrisholm Farmstead, and Miamisburg Mound
Part III: Big Ideas
14. Homeland Insecurity
Military Installations from Fort Washington to Newport Barracks to Fort Thomas, Kentucky
15. People, Animals, Water, and Salt
Anderson Ferry, Burlington, Kentucky, Rabbit Hash and Big Bone Lick
16. Building a Nation’s Soil: The Civilian Conservation Corps
Big Bone Lick and Walton, Kentucky
17. Black Community Leadership in Madisonville
18. Crosstown Missions
Xavier University, University of Cincinnati, and Hebrew Union College
19. Art Deco Architecture
Lunken Airport, Downtown, Union Terminal, and the Mt. Washington Water Tower
20. Industry, Rustbelt, and Re-development
Norwood, Oakley, and Madisonville
