Cycling in Northeast Ohio
A writer askes "Is there anything more real?"

A photograph shows me straddling a blue bicycle in front of a Christmas tree. My face is wild with smiles. That summer, my friends and I trailed each other down the streets of our Conneaut neighborhood like gangsters. I found I liked to ride fast. I liked the way my body turned into the curves, stable on the two sturdy wheels. Something about being on a bike made me feel free.

It still does. The feel of riding a bike is one of the most delightful, especially when I ride without holding on—the bike and I become one. On a crisp fall morning, I hardly mind the chill as the air blows across my skin; I know the sun will warm me up within the hour. The best way to escape is by bike because there’s no tracing you, so if I ever want to skip town for good, I’ll get a good satchel to attach to the back of my bike. And just go.

Seriously, is there anything more real than riding a bike?

Lorain County’s Back Roads and Beaches Tour, http://www.backroadsandbeachesohio.com, takes advantage of farmland vistas and lake views. The Tour goes through Mill Hollow and Gore Orphanage Road, along the Vermilion River, winds down to Wellington and to Findley State Park. These were my old high school biking and joyriding grounds. I regularly cycled from my house in western Lorain to Lake Road and out to Avon Lake. So, when I recently found my wheels on Lake Road again, peddling past the Power Plant and the old movie theater, it felt good. I felt like I was 17 again riding my first 10-speed with my hair blowing out behind me. In the fall, the winding back roads are glorious with color.

Many cities, like Avon Lake, have municipal bike paths. Hilliard Boulevard through Westlake has a marked cycling lane, and it feels surprisingly safe. One of my favorite things to do is to ride up from my house on Canterbury to Hilliard and head west to Crocker Park on a Saturday morning. I carry a backpack and fill it with as much organic produce bought at the Farmers Market as will fit. I feel like I’m doing my part—getting exercise and living green.

The ride along Lake Road past beautiful homes with the Lake sparkling in the background after cycling the curves of Cahoon Road through Huntington Reservation is another favorite of mine. But that’s just for starters. I spy the trail along the Lake from Edgewater to Whiskey Island and continuing parallel to Marginal Road to the east where it meets Rockefeller Park. Suddenly we can be on the East Side and can ride along the Lake going east, finding the sidewalks and planned asphalt and roadways that are most bicycle friendly.

In northeastern Ohio, we don’t have to ride on city streets. We can take our bikes to the Metroparks’ Emerald Necklace and ride through North Chagrin, South Chagrin, Bedford, Brecksville, Hinckley, or Rocky River Reservations. Or we can come right up the center, along the Cuyahoga, to where the Metroparks meets the Ohio & Erie Towpath Trail, all the way up to Steelyard Commons north of Canalway Visitor’s Center. In September and October, the trail is shaded and shrouded from sound, more peaceful than usual with the high prairie grass and goldenrod on either side of the route making it feel like nature is sheltering us from the world’s chaos.

One of these days my husband and I are going to expand our usual Rockside Road to Peninsula ride further south to Navarre and visit my cousins—I’ve see the paved Towpath extension along Route 21 near Massillon. Who knows where we could end up once we hit the tributaries connecting to the Summit County Metroparks and beyond? The trails beckon to us. We want to ride our worries away. If we don’t want to spend the night at the hostel near Boston Mills or at an Akron hotel, we can now put our bicycles right on a Cuyahoga Valley Railroad train and head north again.

Everything hooks up. When you pull into the parking area to Station Road Bridge, the Metroparks’ Brecksville Reservation is across the street. From the Nature Center in North Olmsted, I can ride on hilly trails to Berea or I can turn north to ride through Mastick Woods past Big Met and up to the marinas at the mouth of the Rocky River. If I wanted to, from Berea I could continue south into Strongsville and keep going to Hinckley and eventually find Happy Days Visitor Center where I’ll have to take a break because I can’t bike the Ledges.

Ohio has over 700 miles of biking paths. Check out the website showing the trails at http://www.dot.state.oh.us. The site also gives trail updates, like the fact that work is underway on Cascade Locks with connections south from the intersection of Quaker and Ash to Bowery/Water and State Streets in Akron. And in Chardon, they’re constructing The Maple Highlands Trail south of Chardon.

Communities and businesses are supporting cycling by mapping routes and providing places to water up, and they’re also sponsoring events like Pedal to the Point, where the routes are blocked off and bikers don’t have to worry about traffic. The Ohio City Bicycle Co-op provides bicycle riding education, including Saturday social rides, Earn-a-Bike program, and bicycle repair classes. Rails-to-trails conservancy is dedicated to enriching America’s communities and countryside by creating a nation wide network of public trails from former rail lines and connecting corridors. Both the Metroparks and the National Park Service provide guided rides, including night rides and weekend trips, and local cycling organizations give everyone a chance to be part of a biking community.

Many of us can remember our first bike, the first time we rode without training wheels, the mode of transportation we had before we got our first car keys. You know what they say—you never forget how to ride a bike.

Remember how that feels?

From Cool Cleveland contributor Claudia J. Taller ctallerwritesATwowway.com

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