ZIPI Transit LLC

24/05/2026

Happy Holiday folks,

Let's remember those who provided our freedom to exercise our rights and passions. Bicycle riding is a great activity and it's a pleasure and great privilege to experience the beautiful OTET trail in relative peace and tranquility. It's a blessing and I hope we can all give thanks in unison with a collective voice.

The bike shuttle is in high gear running up and down I71 and pleased to enable a few folks who resonate well with shuttle services. The shuttle is a critical part of the experience for many and if it makes sense for you, we are here to help add value to your trip. Just ask our clients.

Conditions have been typical May in Ohio. It's stormy at times and a bit of sunshine along the way. If you can't handle a bit of soggy, then this hobby is not for you! Please don't waste our time and yours by booking a trip and then cancelling due to rain or whatever. We don't resonate with those who cannot manage a little soggy and stormy. My friends, if you cannot handle it- then, again, this is not the hobby for you. Especially when traversing the great state of OHIO. We have weather here and this trip is for those who face a challenge head-on and embrace it. We resonate well with such hearty souls. This bud's for you!

If a shuttle makes sense for you and your situation, give me a call. We do add value to your riding adventure as we know this trail well and go out-of-our way to ensure your experience is the best it can be.

Many thanks to those hearty souls who ventured with us recently. It's all about the journey!

Cheers

02/05/2026

It's a brisk start to the shuttle season on the OTET trail. The entrance of May has not been kind but we have some hearty clients with a "just-send-it" attitude. May brought us heavy rains and cold. May 2 has us in snow flurries and grappel with lows in the 30's.

Not exactly my kind of bike riding conditions but cheers to those who made plans and are sticking to it! It is very inspiring to see folks face a difficult situation head-on and press forward with a smile and determination to have a great time!

We could use more of this attitude and mental/physical toughness in our society today. Great stuff.

Cheers to our new friends at OutSpoken E-bikes

Note: We are running a new shuttle van this season with 7 seats. This adds 2 seats to our capacity! The new van is bigger/stronger and more efficient so a win on all fronts. We will be revising the website once I have obtained a few new photos, etc. (Need to string together a few sunshiny shuttles as this dark stuff is not photogenic 🙂 )

If a shuttle makes sense for you, give me a call to walk through your thoughts and ideas. Its a free call and great way to initiate planning.

Cheers to the 2026 riding season! Let's do this!

07/03/2026

Greetings folks,

March madness begins on the 15th so I hope your brackets are developing! Many bicyclists are also developing plans and gathering ideas on bike tours across Ohio as our phone conversations and bookings are slowly gaining momentum as we roll into Spring.

It's an exciting time as we blow the dust off our gear and get those bikes out for a look after a long winter hibernation. Around these parts, snow is still on the melt and temps fairly low, but I do see a few intrepid riders passing by on sunny and warmer days.

Today it made it to 70 degrees but we refer to this as a fools spring here in Ohio. Its enticing 😀

Weather across the State of Ohio is a mixed bag for the next two months no matter where you are in the state. It's going to be cold closer to CLE due to the lake and usually windy, rainy and even snowy throughout the state as we traverse through March and April. Trail conditions on the Northern leg are often soft this season as things are drying out slowly. Water is high. Sunshine is hit or miss, and good days do occur but do not expect a week of it. 🙂

For these reasons, the shuttle does not begin service until May, realistically it's mid-May. This is also when our insurance policy kicks-in. (May-October) We do field inquiries for early and mid-April which is out-of-scope for us. I wonder if these folks, calling from out of state numbers, really know what they are getting into? I am not sure, but bicycle riding has to be fun for me so plans during March and April are always short trips planned a day or two before while gambling on the forecast accuracy. (Often wrong as conditions change rapidly this season) Minimally, these months carry higher risk for most of us.

The shuttle does have some exciting and breaking news to share with you! We have invested in a brand-new and bigger van that provides us an extra 2 seats. This means we can now transport up to 7 passengers! We still have room for up to 8 conventional bikes and gear. (Bike and gear capacity remains the same) Our website will be updated in the coming weeks with the new information, but I thought I would share it here first. The new van balances our offering a bit better while maintaining required efficiency.

It's an exciting time of preparation and many openings still exist for May/June so let's get chatting on your ride very soon.

Spring is in the air! Cheers.

17/02/2026

Happy Defrost everyone,

The great 2026 "thaw” is underway in the great state of Ohio this week! It's been a real old-school rough and rugged winter here- the kind our parents used to run from as "snowbirds." This winter returned many recollections of days considered long lost to the local weather archives. It turned harsh following Thanksgiving and never looked back until recently.

As the snow melts and temperatures moderate, thoughts of Springtime bicycle journeys in Ohio are beginning to populate in the minds of many. We are starting to see some aspiring bicycle tourists coming out of hibernation and planning May trips along our beautiful trail. The planner is slowly populating with trips, but we have many more opportunities to hop along for the journey.

Many folks make us the first call in the planning process and that proves value adding in every case. We can provide those insights and tid-bits that make a good trip great and much less cumbersome. We are a value adding service for those seeking help.

Please consult our website for all details regarding this shuttle experience. Then- if it makes sense for you, call for a further walk through and to set your booking date. Note- our clients are earnestly seeking trail transportation solutions and services as a primary factor and above all other considerations. (This is why this shuttle exists-to fairly serve this particular and unique market demand within a workable framework for us)

We recognize that our bicycle shuttle does not make sense for everyone or every situation. However, if it makes sense for you- please contact us and we will work hard to provide you with a memorable and enjoyable shuttle experience as we traverse this majestic state of Ohio. It's a fun job! One I enjoy and look forward to.

Get those bicycle tune-ups completed as it will not be long! I know I need to order a couple new tires 🙂

Cheers to the melt,

https://zipitransit.com/home

Paul

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01/01/2026

Happy New Year everyone!

2025 was a fun time for the shuttle with many great memories! Good conversations certainly help on the long route across Ohio and we enjoyed many. Often times, the greatest value the shuttle offers are the conversations occurring among passengers! Many new friends are made on the 4-hour ride. There is not much else to do on a long ride, so the chatty are always the best clients. 🙂

Highlights of the year included a big Cicada hatch occurring between Loveland-Morrow in May. The early season brought storms and rain but by August it dried out and were some of the best riding conditions anyone could hope to obtain rolling into October. We saw many e-bikes, recumbents of all manner and kind and several tandems!

We are most pleased that all of us arrived safely and without incident as we transited nearly 40,000 miles! It's an enormous amount of driving, and the wear and tear on people and equipment is significant. Many thanks to Mr. Turner who helped run the shuttle this year and informs me that he will be back for 2026 as he works the shuttle schedule into his own adventures and endeavors.

Moving forward, business operations will remain "similar." We will be featuring ride sharing and maximizing our trips for best efficiency. All shuttles will depart CLE no later than 9 AM. (Pick-up 8-8:30 am will continue) We will no longer be able to accommodate later departures as it's just too difficult for many reasons. River front arrival should remain as-is 1:30PM approx.

Our standard program is CLE/Akron -CINCY/Newport/Covington (River front) with an optional stop in the greater CBUS area as required. (I71 Corridor) Other trail stops are difficult and generally out of scope for the shuttle unless group size (economics) is sufficient to merit the stop or detour off I71. Those situations will always be reviewed separately and worked in when they make most sense.

I do expect a website refresh in early February with new revised info. However, please check it anytime to better understand how the shuttle works. Many questions can be answered by some simple investigations. If a shuttle makes sense for you, please contact me to walk through plans and ideas. The call is 100% free and folks walk away better informed and in a good position to organize a trip after a chat.

Below are a few selected outtakes from the 2025 season.

Cheers to 2026.

30/10/2025

Well, another fine shuttle season is in the books. It's been a good time enabling rides, this year, on our epic OTET trail. To our clients - Thanks for the memories! It was a pleasure serving you and being a small part of your journey.

The tandem in the photo represents the last shuttle of the season! Our rig/gear is now put away for winter layup. We are planning to return to service next year. Probably get going around mid-May per usual. I expect a few tweaks here and there as striving for efficiency remains a key focus. I will update our website after New Year.

I am already fielding a few calls for next year. It's mostly high-level planning at this point but happy to help walk things through a bit. Many are happy to call us first before embarking on a detailed plan. It's a value-adding call.

I hope you all enjoy the upcoming holiday season! Keep those wheels turning and stay healthy and well!

Cheers!

14/10/2025

Exceptional conditions appear to be holding on for the remainder of the month and that is really great news as our shuttle season is winding down quickly. The Fall colors are now pulling in fairly good and that adds to the journey throughout Ohio on our spectacular OTET trail. Zipi and Mr. Turner enjoy the pleasant views along the route too!

It was a fun time along the river front this weekend as the River Roots festival was underway. Many riverboats from several states were viewed moored at Public Landing or cruising the area. These types of events add interest to either the ending or beginning of a ride. You just don't see this many riverboats in one place very often!

Good times and a few trips remain on our schedule this season. Looking toward 2026 but happy for some downtime as well. Thank you to our friends and supporters, in this forum, for promoting us and motivating our way forward! It means so much.

Cheers!

07/10/2025

September was quite a month! Stellar conditions, for the most part, across Ohio enabled outstanding outcomes on this 326. Many clients are claiming it's been one of their best tours if not the best. October arrived with the same attitude and is welcoming bike tourists on their journey.

Outside of a passing front tomorrow, things are looking exceptionally good as we approach the final weeks of the riding season.

It's been a fun time for the shuttle, and we are enjoying the happy faces whether it's the excitement of the launch or the accomplishment of a well enjoyed journey. We love a gritty/dirty bike, bags and gear as it tells us you had a great time! The stories keep getting better and it certainly helps those riding in the shuttle and planning to launch.

It's great when the shuttle has both launchers and retrievals on the same day. It's a value adding situation that only happens in the context of a bike shuttle. You have 4 hours to interview and get all the details! It's really fun and those wrapping up are eager to tell! The notepads fill up on our rides.

Anyway- Cheers to what is likely our last big shuttle week of the 2025 season. Things will start winding down soon so enjoy it while you can! We are already receiving inquires for 2026 so feel free to call and chat.

Many thanks to Mr Turner (the other Paul) who managed the shuttle over the past week as i took a much needed rest. Paul Turner

29/09/2025

As September is winding down, we are thankful for the many new friends made shuttling on this most spectacular OTET trail. It's been simply fantastic, and the recent rains don't seem to be disrupting anyone too much thus far.

Zipi HQ received about 2+ inches over the last week, and this caused a few rainy days of riding. Some limestone encrusted bikes returned home with a few of our clients wrapping up on the northern terminus. Pretty typical for those of us living in these parts. We're fairly well adjusted to our Towpath and many of us wouldn't change a thing.

A little gritty tells the story of a great adventure!

October is shaping up to be pretty good as I see it, and we will be continuing to enable journeys and experiences over the coming days.

Cheers to a new month!

22/09/2025

Clients, over the past week, are reporting exceptionally outstanding experiences riding our magnificent trail. Many are claiming the week of weather was the best ever experienced anywhere (near perfect conditions) and riding along was an absolute delight. The shuttle certainly agrees as it's been a dandy lately.

The Fall colors are starting a bit early this year, especially up north. We are seeing leaves go from green to brown and just giving up and dropping. I have never seen this before and its related, to some extent, to the extraordinary dry conditions throughout the state. Farmers are pulling commercial crops already! When the rain turned off in July, it never came back! Well- until now...

Typically, rain begins on or about September 22 in these parts. Well, "about" 2PM today (Sept 21) the storms rolled through the riverfront and throughout the state from end to end. Its rumbling around now and the shuttle battled through it all afternoon on the return to CLE.

It's going to be a bit wet all this week with a few inches expected. At least temps are favorable. We do need this rain but understand it's a bit of a drag. Nothing a large ice cream cone cannot fix! Or maybe several 🙂 It will all work out- It always does and there is a bunch of fun to be uncovered on this 326!

It's been busy and we are having a great time enabling trips and making memories with many of you.

Cheers!