2ering

Hi All,

I am planning a tour around Lake Erie beginning in Fremont, Ohio and ending in Detroit, Mi. We would like to visit Catawba Island and then on to Vermillion. The most direct route would be to use SR 269 to cross the bay but ridewithgps.com routes us back to Fremont, Oh. which leads me to suspect that bikes are not allowed on 269. Does anyone know the answer? Thanks.

mev

I don't know the current answer and I'm sure someone has something more recent than I have.

Long time ago on my first trip across the US (June 19th, 1992 more precisely), my notes report there was a "No Bicycles" sign. I ignored it and cycled across anyways.

Trying Google Maps, it doesn't seem to plot a path across 269, despite several things I try - so suspect there is still a prohibition.

Edit: Looked on Google Maps street view at entrance to 269 from the last road on the South side - https://www.google.com/maps/@41.4610...7i13312!8i6656

Sign appears to say:

PROHIBITED

PEDESTRIANS
FARM MACHINERY
ANIMALS
bicycles or motorcycles
(less than 5 brake HP)

Tandem Tom

We live in NE Ohio and have cycled around Lake Erie 2x each time in a different direction. We cross at Pelee Island because we had no desire whatsoever to ride through Detroit.

indyfabz

That's too bad. Looks like a decent enough shoulder the entire way. Doesn't look like the most pleasant riding, bit it certainly looks a lot safer than some roads I have ridden. Hmmm? Wonder if wind conditions have anything to do with it.

Wilfred Laurier

On google streetview, there is a sign at the hwy entrance closest to the south end of the bridge that reads:

"PROHIBITED
PEDESTRIANS
FARM MACHINERY
ANIMALS
BICYCLES AND MOTORCYCLES LESS THAN 5 BRAKE HP"

2ering

Thanks guys, that's what I suspected. I guess I'll need to keep training so I can reach the 3728.5 watt output needed to meet the power requirement for bikes...only 3500 to go!

spinnaker

I guess any deer or other animals that venture on to the road will be given a ticket?

stardognine

Damn straight!!! 😁😉

sd5782 

Actually 269 is routed onto rt2 going across the Sandusky bay. A couple decades ago this became a modern highway. The smaller 269 is more of a nice rural state hwy. I grew up in Fremont and get to Catawba a couple times a year.i live in Toledo now. For a short time after the high speed rt2 bridge opened, one could still travel on the old bridge too. It was closed for better boat access I think.

the Catawba, and Marblehead area is pretty, but quite busy now. 45 years ago, I would ride my old Honda 350 north to Oak Harbor, east through Port Clinton, Catawba, Marblehead, across the old bay bridge(269), on to rt101 then back to Fremont down sr412. Nice 45 miles if old Honda would make it. That bridge has been closed for decades.

sd5782 

Another thought occurred to me. While you are in the island area, take one of the ferrys to either Put in bay(party island) or Kellys(more relaxed). I haven’t been to either for years. Check the schedules, but I seem to recall that the ferry also goes to Sandusky, so you will be East of Sandusky bay and back on route after seeing some VERY scenic Ohio.

Rob_E

I don't think this will work, or it might require chartering a boat. My memory is that you can ferry from Sandusky to Kelleys Island, and from Port Clinton to Put-In-Bay (South Bass Island), but there's no combination that gets you from Port Clinton to Sandusky, at least not with a bicycle. I think there's a ferry between South Bass and Kelleys, but I don't think it took bicycles when I was there. I don't know if the ferry between Sandusky and Kelleys takes bikes.
From living on South Bass for three summers several years ago, I have some experience getting me and my bike from South Bass to the mainland, but my info may be out of date, since it was almost 20 years ago. At the time, there werre two ferries from Port Clinton to South Bass. One, the Jet Express, goes from downtown Port Clinton to downtown Put-In-Bay, but I feel like there are bike restrictions and that some, maybe all, trips are foot-traffic only. The other ferry is the Miller Boat Line that leaves from a few miles east of Port Clinton and goes to a point on South Bass a few miles from Put-In-Bay (but closer to the state park if you are camping, plus the whole island is not very long, maybe five miles). Miller takes cars, bikes, and pedestrians with every trip. I don't remember a way to take your bike from South Bass to Kelleys Island. I faced this problem when going a little stir-crazy on the island and deciding to spend a day off in Sandusky. The only way I could figure to make it work was to take my bike over that bridge over Sandusky Bay. To go around would have eaten up my whole day. So I did it, legality be damned, and it was pretty intimidating. There was enough of a shoulder that I didn't block faster traffic, and there was bit of a curb on the actual bridge where I was able to walk the bike. On the return trip, I decided to try to get a passing pickup to carry me over, but I got no takers and ended up going back over on my bike. Doable, but not legal and not fun. However, while I think the Lake Erie islands are well worth a visit, I don't know how to work the ferries to get you around Sandusky Bay.

sd5782 

I only get to catawba once or twice a year for fishing with a buddy who has a boat there. I have never been on the Jet, so perhaps it is pedestrians only and no bikes. A call could be in order. I know Millers carries everything, but perhaps doesn't run to Sandusky from the islands. A ride across the RT2 bridge on a bike would certainly be a memorable experience.

Rob_E

Actually, I got curious, so I checked out Jet Express (https://jet-express.com/), and it looks like it is now possible (fairly sure it was not an option when I was there several years ago). Miller is no help for Sandusky because they don't dock there ever, as far as I know, only at Cawtaba (near Port Clinton) and at South and Middle Bass islands. But Jet Express goes to South Bass and Kelleys from both Port Clinton and Sandusky.

Now, for the OP's purpose, if time is a factor, or the most direct route is desired, none of this is helpful. Getting to Sandusky is as many miles as going straight to Catawba. But to me, an interesting trip would be to bike to Sandusky, take the Jet Express to Kelleys, spend the night, take the Jet Express to Put-In-Bay, spend the night, take the Miller Ferry to Catawba and go from there. But that takes a 25-30 mile trip from Fremont to Catawba and turns it into a 25-30 mile trip to Sandusky, combined with multiple ferry rides and possibly overnight stays, all to end up a place they could have biked to directly.

In fact, I'd say the original premise is wrong, depending on where you start/end this ride. Using Fremont in general as a starting point and using the tip of Catawba as an end point, it still looks shorter to go right up 53 than it would to go to the south side of the bay and cross the bridge.

sd5782 

I think the OP wanted to visit the Catawba area on the trip. Actually, going East from Fremont one would be better advised to take 412 and connect to 269 or others when getting NE. RT6 is quite busy. Sandusky is also busy, so I wouldn't really want to ride there either.

Rob_E

But that doesn't get them to the Catawba area unless they use the bridge to cross Sandusky Bay. The part I was missing was that they also wanted to go to Vermillion, which is east of everything else, "on the way" to Detroit, which basically requires going northwest from Fremont. With the Vermillion stop in mind, I think I'd start this trip by going from Fremont to Vermillion, maybe using the Inland North Coast Trail, such as it is, to get south of Vermillion, then travel north to town (to whatever they wanted to see in Vermillion). Then go west along the coast into Sandusky, catch a Jet Express ferry to Put-In-Bay, bike to the car ferry port on South Bass, and take the Miller Boat Line to Catawba. From there continue on towards Detroit.

The problem with going between Catawba and Vermillion is you have to go over or around Sandusky Bay. The problem with doing Catawba first, then Vermillion, then Detroit is that you have to deal with the bay twice. And if you try and go around the Bay to the south, you basically end up back in Fremont to cross the Sandusky River. Assuming the OP is based out of Fremont, they might as well do a mini tour to Vermillion as a separate trip if they can't find a better way across the bay.

Rob_E

Okay, now I think I've made a wrong assumption about how they're approaching Detroit. If they are going "around Lake Erie" to Detroit and passing through Vermillion, then they are likely going almost completely around the lake, continuing east from Vermillion to Buffalo and into Canada, where they can follow the northern coast west towards Detroit. If that's the case, then the either have to head directly to Catawba, ferry around the bay to Sandusky, and continue on, or they have to go to Catawba and pass back through Fremont on the way to Vermillion. Or they have to illegally brave the bridge.