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So. Football to me is pretty much that game…where those dudes in tight pants run around pushing a small white ball with red laces. Down some ice. With a broom. And they aim for a basket so that they can score a field goal. Wait. Touch down. No…Wait. Whatever. BUT! Football is that game where Cleveland folks go BIZERK if you even mention the colors black & gold. (Or is it yellow?). Cleveland Brown’s fans *HEART* the Steelers. Right?

My point is, I don’t really know jack about football (nor do I really give a crap about football) but I do know this: Cleveland folks will do ANYTHING when it comes to beating Pittsburgh. And that, I care about.
Let’s bring this to a subject I do know (and LOVE) shall we?

May is Bike Month nationwide.  The Heights Bicycle Coalition is supporting local celebrations of Bike Month through collaborations with Heights cities, schools and more.  All are welcome to participate in these free Bike Month activities in the Heights:

Despite the cold and snow, winter has been a busy season for Bike Cleveland. We recently moved our office to the Sustainable Cleveland Center in Tower City (230 W. Huron Rd, Cleveland, OH 44113). Please stop by and visit us at our open house on April 4th, from 8-9pm, then check out La Camioneta, our sponsored film in the Cleveland International Film Festival, premiering at 9:40pm. We will have refreshments and plenty of great bike information. We hope to see you there!

Fairview Cycle is a family  bike shop. They have been open for 63 years and during that time they have seen many changes come and go in the bicycling community. Through more than half a century of trends including the '70s Bike Boom, the BMX craze, mountain bikes, the development of carbon bikes, and even electric-assist bikes, they have stayed steadfast in their commitment to offering families a one stop shop for all their bicycling needs.

Cleveland’s bike enthusiasts have spoken! Due to the sold out crowd for last year’s inaugural safari on two wheels – Wild Ride at the Zoo – this year we’re planning two!

The Westlake Criterium training race series enters its 18th consecutive season this month. Organizer Chris Riccardi plans to open the series of weekly, Tuesday night races May 7. He says the season is likely to be truncated by road construction, however, as the City of Westlake plans maintenance for part of the course. “Major road construction is scheduled for 2013, and I don't have a good answer for start dates impacting the course roads,” Riccardi said in an e-mail as Great Lakes Courier went to press.

May is National Bike Month, and in Northeast Ohio that means a slew of bike-to-school, bike-to-work, and other rides, as well as observances, actions, and celebrations. See you on the road!

When the Cleveland Velodrome opened at the end of last summer, it was as if the cycling community got a new toy that almost no one knew how to use. And then came Winter.

Lakewood Criterium race director Brian Limkemann confirmed in a phone interview that the race will take the 2013 season off to regroup, in anticipation of a return in 2014, “bigger and better than ever.”

See how you stack up to other area riders and challenge yourself with the new Cleveland Metroparks "Mountain Bike Race Series" this June.

Mud to morning ice

Sometimes a bicycle ride is exactly that—a self-propelled roll across the landscape on two wheels. But sometimes its an event, with a name, a mapped route, and maybe even meals and a celebration at the end. If you flip through the Ohio Bicycle Events Calendar, you'll see that the names of those rides have certain peculiar personality traits.

Date: March 15, 2013  Five days before the vernal equinox

 Most people who ride regularly in traffic have had the adrenalin-raising experience of being “buzzed” by a motorist: you’re riding along, minding your business, riding legally on the right side of the road, and some idiot passes you within a foot or two of sending you to the hospital, or worse.  Your fight-or-flight response kicks in: maybe you make a futile, angry hand gesture -- or you catch up to them at the next red light, and engage in an angry (and, usually, unfulfilling) “discussion” of the finer points of traffic law.

Bob Polk of Bob’s Bike Tours has been offering guided tours of Downtown Cleveland, Ohio City, and Tremont since 2011.  He is now also the face of Cleveland Bicycle Billboard Advertising, providing an eco friendly, fun and personable alternative to ho-hum advertising.  

As we pedal further away from the traditional “season of giving”, and into the start of spring I am reminded of the many incredible times throughout the last year that the cycling community has given back to their own. From fix-a-thons, to charity rides, to accidents, to unfortunate deaths; the cycling community here in Cleveland has given back whether it involved a bike or not. That is how we are. We are a close knit community. All of Cleveland really is. A small town where everyone knows everyone through some degree of separation, in a big city. That’s what makes the common denominator of two wheels such a unique tie. 

Did you know America’s biggest and most successful bike-to-school program is right here in Northeast Ohio? Bike To School Challenge (www.centurycycles.com/to/BTS) returns for its 6th year on May 6-24, 2013, organized by Century Cycles bicycle store and five Northeast Ohio schools to inspire and incentivize over 4,000 students to ride their bicycles to school as much as possible for three weeks.

The Towpath Trail is one of Northeast Ohio's most popular bicycle paths by day. Riding it by moonlight is an entirely different experience that bicyclists of all abilities can enjoy on Century Cycles Night Rides on the Towpath Trail, now back for their 19th year this spring.

Allow us to introduce ourselves.  Our mission is to offer a bicycle education - based workspace, and to advocate for bicycling in a way that fosters a healthier, safer, and more sustainable community.  Although our workspace happens to be located in Bay Village, our organization is not just for Bay rresidents, but for everyone in the region.

Our education offerings this year will focus on teaching basic bicycle maintenance and safe bicycling techniques.  Class times and dates will be posted on our website as they are finalized.

In line with our mission of sustainability and education, the cooperative also repairs donated bicycles and sells them back to the community.  This keeps usable bicycles from ending up in a landfill, and at the same time  provides education opportunities for our volunteers. Of course it also allows the public to purchase low-cost bicycles that have been freshly tuned-up.   All proceeds help fund the Cooperative.

Our first year of operation was a busy one.  We were able to develop collaborative relationships with many organizations throughout the region.  We continue to seek creative, collaborative relationships with any business or organization interested in furthering bicycling in our community.

During open hours, all are welcome to see our mission in action by stopping at our workspace in the basement of the Bay Village Community House, at 303 Cahoon Rd.. There you'll learn more about our mission by talking with volunteers.  You can also view and purchase used bicycles, and you can even bring your bicycle to work on it.  Because we are 100% volunteer-operated, our workspace hours vary from week to week.  Current open hours are posted to the Open Shop tab of our website, www.villagebicycle.org.  You may also contact us at info@villagebicycle if you have any questions, are looking to collaborate, or would like to get involved.

Throngs of folks tumbled through the doors of the Denver Convention Center over the 3 days of the North American Handmade Bicycle Show--NAHBS 2013--in February.  

Grace Gallucci, executive director of the Northeast Ohio Areawide Coordinating Agency, will speak at the Heights Bicycle Coalition’s annual meeting at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, April 23, at The Open Office, 2843 Washington Boulevard, Cleveland Heights, Ohio.  Following a brief annual meeting of the bicycle coalition, Ms. Gallucci will speak about the role of NOACA in regional transportation and environmental planning, and her view of the place of bicycles in the transportation mix.  The public is welcome to attend.

Great Lakes Courier's monthly calendar is a comprehensive guide to rides and bicycling events around Northern Ohio. Whether you're looking for a ride in the city, a tour of any length, a race, or a social gathering, this is your one-stop shop for the month.

Great Lakes Courier gathers information about rides and related events from a multitude of sources including our readers and writers, the Ohio Bicycle Events Calendar, Bike Cleveland, Ohio City Bicycle Co-Op, Bike Lakewood, Heights Bikes, Individual clubs, restaurants and bars, and even flyers we pick up around town.

Beck Center for the Arts and Connect to Beck (C2B) are proud to announce the second annual Bike for Beck bike ride and festival on Sunday, May 19th. C2B and the Beck are excited to build on last year’s triumphant success by offering even more music, food, art, activities, and other cycling-related fun.

East-siders have an opportunity – rare in the Heights – to take a course to become confident riders, taught by a League of American Bicyclists’ certified instructor. The Heights Bicycle Coalition is offering a Smart Cycling class for adults on Saturday, May 4, 9 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. at Heights High School, 13263 Cedar Road, Cleveland Heights.

Extreme sports are on the rise and bicycling is no exception. Enter the Amish Country Roubaix, complete with gravel, dirt and worse. Fashioned after the Paris-Roubaix, a one day professional bicycle race in northern France, this local challenging event will be held Sunday, April 21, at noon from the Holmes County Fairgrounds in Millersburg. It's sponsored by Ride On Wooster Bicycle's Soupcan Mountain Bike racing team.

It’s only been a few short years since we last expanded, but the response was so positive that we decided to do it again!  Over the winter, another 4000 square feet was added to our North Olmsted showroom to enhance our bike and clothing selection, stretch out our service department,  and allow our fitters to have some working room when we are busy.   Cycling is more popular than ever in NE Ohio, and we are doing our best to keep pace with the growth of our favorite sport.

It’s spring and thoughts turn towards … Riding? Baseball?  How about a ride featuring Cleveland baseball history, what could be better! 

Where can you find both the 2012 Tour de France winner Bradley Wiggins and me, Great Lakes Courier editor Michael Gill? No, not neck and neck on the way up Mount Ventoux or the Tourmalet . . . no, not quaffing a pint at some distinguished pub along the road to London . . . but indeed, on the pages of the British magazine of bicycle love, The Ride Journal.

it was a welcome bit of February inspiration as we look ahead to a new season of cycling and writing about it in Great Lakes Courier.

Biking Tips

Joe Schneider had no idea he was being photographed. But as he pedaled his loaded bicycle to work snowy Lorain Road in the coldest weather Cleveland has seen in the last two years, someone snapped a picture. Then the picture ended up on the WEWS News Channel 5 Facebook page. And a stream of comments—more than 200 as of this writing—quickly followed. Commenters ran the gamut, from scorn to admiration. Lots called him crazy. They said what he was doing was unsafe. They made assumptions about why he was riding a bicycle in the icy cold.

The Cleveland State Cycling Club is building much hype, and is in the beginning stages of becoming the most exciting school organization on the CSU Campus.  With already 180 "likes" (and counting) on Facebook, students have been engaging throughout the Internet and exploring the new club's personal website (www.CSUCyclingClub.org), where they learn about great reasons to join. For example, club President Michael Hach has been talking with local cycling shops such as Fairview Cycle, Century Cycles, and Cleveland’s new Velodrome, to get CSU Cycling Club members discounts on bicycles, parts, and accessories.

Trains, Trails, and Limestone – An Inexpensive Ride

Eddy's maintenance classes are low key, informative, and fun!  All 4 of our locations offer convenient classes on a variety of dates. Please call the store you wish to visit and reserve your spot.  You can also welcome to sign up the next time you are in.  Prepayment is required, and is 100% refundable if you are unable to attend.

By day, Ride On Pedicab proprietor Dan Dominic can be found hanging out in Lakewood coffee shops with his one year-old daughter. In the evening, though, he goes to work downtown, pedaling passengers around East 4th Street, the Warehouse district, and a few other hot spots in a bicycle rickshaw, also known as a pedicab.

An obnoxious beeping startles you from your slumber and dreams of Heather Graham. Warm in bed you roll over and assess the time, then peer out the window and observe the morning sky; awash with the faint blue of the pre-dawn light. Your eyes widen at what you see. No clouds! No falling snow! Could it be that the sun might finally appear for the first time in two weeks?

To inspire a spirit of giving back to bicycling, national bicycle advocacy organization Bikes Belong awarded local bike retailer Century Cycles with a $1,000 "Build More Than Bicycles" Award for its Bike To School Challenge program. The award was presented at Interbike, the bicycle industry's biggest trade show. Century Cycles was one of only three bike shops in the United States to win the grant challenge, which received over 200 submissions.

Century Cycles is offering over 10 different bicycling and maintenance clinics at its stores from mid-November through mid-March, all free to attend with no RSVP required.

Donna Winfield of Rocky River won a Raleigh Cadent i8 bicycle valued at $739.99 from Century Cycles, Raleigh Bicycles and Deagan's Kitchen + Bar in the grand prize drawing at the Deagan’s Bike Night finale celebration on Thursday, October 11.

The Heights Bicycle Coalition was founded in 2010 with a focus on making the Heights area more bicycle friendly. Most of the work has focused on improving infrastructure, and encouraging more people to ride. 

When you think of a 62 year-old woman from Bay Village, you probably don't think of Pat Kahl.  Kahl  who has never owned a car, goes everywhere by bike.