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...

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...

Our first night in Columbus did not begin with a grand plan. It became a route: a neighborhood bar, an apartment check-in, a brewery built inside an old factory, a practical Kroger run, and finally a room full of strangers singing together. We arrived in Columbus on Wednesday, August 12, with the e-bikes, a birthday trip ahead of us, and several days to see what the city felt like from street level. Before we had even settled into our apartment at River & Rich, we found our first answer. It felt local. Club 185 set the tone Club 185 was our first stop, and it immediately gave us the kind of welcome we hope for when we travel: unforced, comfortable, and rooted in its neighborhood. The bar's own description is refreshingly direct—an authentic neighborhood bar serving food and liquor most of the day—and that is close to how it felt from our side of the room. There was no need to decode the concept. The dark wood, closely set tables, old mirrors, a...

After several days of riding all over Columbus, Little West Tavern gave us exactly what we needed: a nearby bar, a comfortable seat, and an easy hour with nowhere else we had to be. By Saturday afternoon, our Columbus trip had changed pace. The e-bikes were packed away. We had already covered the city in long loops, eaten a birthday lunch in German Village, ridden north to the Park of Roses, and stayed at a baseball game until exhaustion won in the eighth inning. This was not the moment for another ambitious cross-city plan. It was the moment to stay close to our Franklinton home base. Little West Tavern sits inside The Junto , at 77 Belle Street, just a short hop from where we were staying at River & Rich. The restaurant describes itself as a wood-hearth neighborhood tavern. From our seats at the bar, it felt polished without becoming stiff—the kind of room where you could order a serious dinner, but where stopping in for one relaxed drink made just as much s...