We came to Columbus with two e-bikes, a birthday, and a loose plan. We left with a route through the city that no standard weekend itinerary would have given us. Our Columbus trip ran from Wednesday, August 12, through the weekend, with an apartment near 431 West Rich Street in Franklinton as the center of everything. We were close to the Scioto, close to downtown, and close enough to restaurants and breweries that even the days without a long ride still felt connected to the city. The e-bikes changed the scale of the trip. Columbus did not arrive as separate neighborhoods visited by car. It unfolded continuously: Franklinton into the riverfront, German Village into downtown, downtown into Ohio State, and the Olentangy corridor north toward Clintonville and the Park of Roses. That continuity became the real story. Wednesday: learning the neighborhood We arrived around midday and began at Club 185, an authentic neighborhood bar where Columbus felt local bef...

Our second major Columbus ride had one simple direction: north. The Park of Roses was the destination, but the return trip—cold-brew martinis, a brewery stop, and the first signs that our energy had limits—became just as important. Friday began in the River & Rich courtyard. At 12:29 p.m., the photos show the familiar mural, grills, and shared outdoor space near our Franklinton apartment. The bikes were ready, and this time we were not building another ten-stop loop. We were following the river and trail system toward Clintonville. From our home base, the Park of Roses was roughly a seven-to-eight-mile ride each way, depending on the exact trail connections and detours. On e-bikes, that meant a comfortable outing rather than an endurance test—at least on paper. Following Columbus north The Scioto and Olentangy corridors are what made this trip work on two wheels. Instead of spending the entire ride negotiating city streets, we could use long stretches of p...

For my Columbus birthday, we did not choose one attraction. We connected ten stops by e-bike and let the city become the celebration. Thursday, August 13, began at our apartment in Franklinton with a route ambitious enough to feel like an event: River & Rich, Scioto Audubon Metro Park, Schiller Park, Brown Bag Deli, the Book Loft, the Ohio Statehouse, Goodale Park, The Oval, Ohio Stadium, and finally home. Ten stops. Two e-bikes. One birthday. By 3:00 p.m., we were back at the apartment after completing every stop. That finish time is the simplest measure of how well the e-bikes worked for this trip. In a few hours, Columbus changed repeatedly around us—riverfront, wetland, brick streets, downtown government buildings, city parks, a university campus, and the Horseshoe—without any single transition swallowing the day. Stop 1: River & Rich Our lodging near 431 West Rich Street was more than a place to sleep. It was the anchor for both of our major C...