The Loveland Bike Trail is a

rail trail A rail trail or railway walk is a shared-use path on a Right of way#Rail right of way, railway right of way. Rail trails are typically constructed after a railway has been abandoned and the track has been removed but may also share the rail corr ...

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

. It is a section of the

Little Miami Scenic Trail The Little Miami Scenic Trail is the fourth longest paved trail in the United States, running through five southwestern counties in the state of Ohio. The multi-use rail trail sees heavy recreational use by hikers and bicyclists, as well as th ...

within the

Loveland, Ohio Loveland is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, Hamilton, Clermont County, Ohio, Clermont, and Warren County, Ohio, Warren counties in the southwestern part of the U.S. state of Ohio. The population was 13,307 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 ...

city limits in Clermont County. Like most of the longer trail, it was built along the

right-of-way A right of way (also right-of-way) is a specific route that people, animals, vehicles, watercraft, or utility lines travel, or the legal status that gives them the right to do so. Rights-of-way in the physical sense include controlled-access h ...

of the abandoned

Little Miami Railroad The Little Miami Railroad was a railway of southwestern Ohio, running from the eastern side of Cincinnati to Springfield, Ohio. By merging with the Columbus and Xenia Railroad in 1853, it created the first through-rail route from the important m ...

, on the

Little Miami River The Little Miami River () is a Class I tributary of the Ohio River that flows U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed May 26, 2011 through five counties in southwestern Ohio ...

. Along with 15 other city parks, the trail corridor is maintained by City of Loveland Recreation Commission. The trail was opened in the 1980s and became part of the Little Miami Scenic Trail in 1984. More than 100,000 people accessed the Little Miami Scenic Trail via the Loveland trailhead in 2014. Each summer from 1997 to 2000 and from 2002 to 2004, the city held a cycling race, Tour de Loveland, named after the

Tour de France The Tour de France () is an annual men's multiple-stage cycle sport, bicycle race held primarily in France. It is the oldest and most prestigious of the three Grand Tour (cycling), Grand Tours, which include the Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta a ...

, that promoted the Loveland Bike Trail as the centerpiece of Historic Downtown Loveland. It featured a route for professional cyclists that included many Downtown streets, as well as separate races for younger cyclists. In June 1998, the

USA Cycling USA Cycling or USAC, based in Colorado Springs, Colorado, is the national governing body for bicycle racing in the United States. It covers the disciplines of road, track, mountain bike, cyclo-cross, and BMX across all ages and ability levels. ...

Elite National Championship

time trial In many racing sports, an sportsperson, athlete (or occasionally a team of athletes) will compete in a time trial (TT) against the clock to secure the fastest time. The format of a time trial can vary, but usually follow a format where each athle ...

s and

criterium A criterium, or crit, is a bike race consisting of several laps around a closed circuit, the length of each lap or circuit ranging from about 400 m to 10,000 m. Overview Race length can be determined by a number of laps or total time, ...

were held in conjunction with the Tour de Loveland. On January 24, 2005, Loveland City Council voted to cancel the Tour, due to declining attendance and a lack of sponsors.

References

External links

Loveland Bike Trail
nbsp;– the Loveland Bike and Skate Rental's website with information on the trail Rail trails in Ohio Parks in Ohio Transportation in Clermont County, Ohio Loveland, Ohio Cycling in Cincinnati Tourist attractions in Cincinnati Protected areas of Clermont County, Ohio 1980s establishments in Ohio {{Cycling-stub