News

Heights Bicycle Coalition Races Ahead

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. 

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Volume 1, Issue 8, Posted 7:31 PM, 11.30.2012

This Bike Life

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. 

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Volume 1, Issue 8, Posted 7:31 PM, 11.30.2012

Bicycle tour of historic Noble-Monticello neighborhood scheduled for Oct. 20

FutureHeights will host the last installments of its app-enhanced neighborhood tours on Oct. 20 and Nov. 3. They are part of four neighborhood tours created by FutureHeights, with help from the Cleveland Heights Historical Society, the Cleveland Heights Landmark Commission, and the Center for Public History and Digital Humanities at Cleveland State University.

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Volume 1, Issue 7, Posted 9:28 PM, 10.16.2012

Blazing Saddle looking forward to 2013

Blazing Saddle Cycle is proud to announce that they will be joining forces with Scapegoat Cycleworks to form what we believe will be the centerpiece of Cleveland's cycling community. Since our inception in 2011, our main goal and focus has been to provide the most knowledgeable and functional bicycle workshop for our area. With the addition of Carmen Gambino and his frame building and mechanical talents, we are confident that we will be the most complete and unique shop in the entire region. We will now feature sales, service, restoration, and custom built bicycle frames and components. 

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Volume 1, Issue 7, Posted 7:31 PM, 11.30.2012

Village Bicycle Cooperative & Bike Lakewood Collaborate to Help Get Children Ready to Ride


On Wednesday, August 22, 2012 from 6:00-8:00pm at Madison Park in Lakewood was the first “Ready to Ride” program which assists young people  to learn about bike safety, maintenance and promote biking as a healthy way of life.
 
This event was spearheaded by Lakewood residents, Tricia Gogol, Scott Gerbac, and Jennifer Smillie from Village Bicycle Cooperative (located in Bay Village), and in collaboration with Bike Lakewood, Mahall’s, and  Beck Center.  Donations included seven "upcycled" bicycles from Village Bicycle Cooperative; free tickets from Mahalls & The Beck;  safety sheets and stick-on reflectors from NOACA; and other organizations provided miniature first aid kits, sample chain lubricant, and  teddy grahams. Also important to note were the 15 people that volunteered their time to help make this event such a success... without them this would not have happened!!
 
There were over thirty children interested in the bike raffle and they waited eagerly for the 7:00 p.m. drawing.  The smiles and giggles when a child won a bike was priceless.  One little guy, Jordan, did a dance and rode off with the biggest smile.  Approximately 27 children participated in bike maintenance and  learned some elements of how to fix their bikes and the tools associated with certain repairs.  The mechanics from the various organizations were patient, thorough and instructive as they helped the children repair their bikes.
 
Big thanks to all who participated and made the end of the summer special for some boys and girls in Lakewood.  There are plans for more “Ready to Ride” events in other communities.
 
By Donna & Gregg Wilson Village Bicycle Volunteers

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Volume 1, Issue 6, Posted 7:31 PM, 11.30.2012

Locally Brewed Extravaganza

I ride two sides of my bicycle these days. Infuriated and jubilant.

The 'rock dodge' that I learned in the League of American Cyclists' Traffic Skills 101 is a manifestation of those two sides.  It's the idea that you can control the whole bicycle from the seat; which is true, just like a kayak.

I've been fascinated with yin and yang for a long long while for it’s such a powerful thought that one cannot exist without the other. In fact, the presence of one makes the other stronger. It's a bit Jedi, a bit oxymoron, and a bit of holism. It's also a great view from that seat.

So, I had this idea to tie together two of the jubilant joys in my life, bicycling, brewing, and locally grown foods. I thought wouldn't it be nice to celebrate the Coit Road Market, one of the oldest year-round markets in Greater Cleveland (since 1932 ya'll)? Indeed, it would be. The Coit Road Market is in East Cleveland, a grand old place that many would prefer to forget, like Bombay Beach on California's Sulton Sea.  Alas, it does exist, people live their lives there daily. Some great people I might add.  And that's the thing about Greater Cleveland, so much greatness in the ordinary. 

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Volume 1, Issue 6, Posted 10:30 AM, 09.24.2012

The Hard Way

A sharp, short chirp of a siren called from behind me on my way home that night. I slowed down, eyes adjusting to a squad car’s strobe in the noncommittal darkness of dusk, and waited by the curb. I felt a little nervous—It was my first experience with being stopped by a cop— but couldn’t think of what I might have done wrong.

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Volume 1, Issue 6, Posted 10:30 AM, 09.24.2012

METRO METAL WORKS LAUNCHES BIKERACK GIVEAWAY Cleveland Votes to Pick Winners

Bike Rack Giveaway? Yes, you’ve read this correctly. Thanks to a collaborative effort between Dominion Foundation and the City of Cleveland’s Economic Development Department, Metro Metal Works is giving away and installing 50 bike racks to nominated businesses and organizations throughout Cleveland. 

Metro Metal Works began in 2011 as one of Lutheran Metropolitan Ministry’s new Social Enterprises.  The program hires people who are homeless and/or formerly incarcerated and teaches them employable skills, while producing a quality product.  LMM also operates Central Kitchen that employs people with obstacles to employment and provides meals for area homeless shelters. 

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Volume 1, Issue 6, Posted 10:30 AM, 09.24.2012

Bike Cleveland turns one year old

One year ago this September, 125 bicycle advocates, business leaders, and community residents gathered at Windows on the River in the Flats of Cleveland with one mission: to develop a strategy for making our region more bike-friendly.

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Volume 1, Issue 6, Posted 10:30 AM, 09.24.2012

Detroit Avenue bike lane a step forward for Cleveland

On Wednesday August 28th, the City of Cleveland presented to a crowd of 86 people a plan to add a bike lane to Detroit Avenue. Before the meeting even started, we knew it was going to be fun, since 68 out of those those 86 people had biked to the meeting. Bike Cleveland has worked with the City of Cleveland on the Detroit Avenue Bike Lane project since December 2011, when the City committed to find a way to get cyclists safely east and west while the City worked out its dispute with ODOT for funding the West Shoreway Project.

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Volume 1, Issue 6, Posted 10:30 AM, 09.24.2012

Glenville Fixathon gets 63 bikes back on the road

On Saturday, August 18th Bike Cleveland, Famicos Foundation, University Circle Inc., the Ohio City Bicycle Co-op, and Joy Machines Bike Shop sponsored an adult bicycle fix-a-thon. The fix-a-thon provides a way for Bike Cleveland to engage with cyclists in their ongoing and future advocacy work, and also get more working bikes back on the road. Thanks to the hard work of almost a dozen volunteers, including some amazing mechanics, we were able to get 68 bikes back on the road. 

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Volume 1, Issue 6, Posted 10:30 AM, 09.24.2012

READY TO RIDE Launches in Lakewood

Ready To Ride kicked off on Wednesday August 21st in Madison park. The event was the inspired idea of Lakewood residents Tricia and Scott Gogol who brought the idea to reality with the assistance of Jennifer Smillie from the Village Bicycle Cooperative. 

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Volume 1, Issue 6, Posted 10:30 AM, 09.24.2012

Critical Mass Report: July 2012

The afternoon of July’s Cleveland Critical Mass ride, my 10th time on the ride so far, started off sunny and cool, a welcome respite from the heat and humidity we had been having lately. Josef and Jerry and Sam and I left about two hours before the ride to slurp some noodles and enjoy $3 gyozas (a special price for cyclists that night) at Noodlecat.

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Volume 1, Issue 5, Posted 11:12 PM, 08.17.2012

Car Free Friday

In celebration of Cleveland's first ever Car Free Friday over 75 cyclists stopped by the Cleveland Bike Rack for a locally made breakfast, thanks to vendors from the Downtown Farmers Market. Car Free Friday was sponsored by Bike Cleveland, the Cleveland Bike Rack, Ohio City Bicycle Co-op, and the Downtown Farmers Market and vendors.

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Volume 1, Issue 5, Posted 11:16 PM, 08.17.2012

Cleveland Bike Challenge Not Over Yet

Five hundred seventy-five Greater Clevelanders have stepped up to the Cleveland Bike Challenge, logging over 188,000 miles in just three months, that is the equivalent of biking around the world 7.5 times. But the Challenge is not over yet. Our goal is to log 250,000 miles by August 31st--an additional 62,000 miles in what will (by the time you read this) be less than 31 days. Can Greater Cleveland cyclists log at least 2,000 miles a day for the next month? Sign-up and make your miles count.  Visit BikeCleveland.org/challenge for more information. 

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Volume 1, Issue 5, Posted 11:12 PM, 08.17.2012

“From East 2 West” ….One Man’s Inspiring bike journey.

 Hello, my name is Kory Piorkowski and I’m a 24 year old college student with big goals and big dreams. I’m creating this once-in-a-lifetime documentary to educate people in local communities about the benefits of “going green” and living a healthier lifestyle, both for themselves and the environment.

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Volume 1, Issue 5, Posted 10:30 AM, 09.24.2012

FreeWheelin' Wednesday Bike Rides

Each Wednesday in August and September, the Heights Bicycle Coalition presents leisurely rides of 5 to 15 miles, visiting sights around the Heights. Rides begin at 6:30 p.m., departing from the Coventry Peace Park, at the corner of Coventry and Euclid Heights boulevards. Helmets are required.

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Volume 1, Issue 4, Posted 11:12 PM, 08.17.2012

Bicycle Safety Day will be August 11 at the Cuyahoga Community College Western Campus

Would your child like to learn bicycle safety skills while having fun with friends and family?  If the answer is yes, then head to the Western Campus of Cuyahoga Community College (Tri-C®) on Saturday, Aug. 11, for the College’s annual Bicycle Safety Day.  This year, the Tri-C Bicycle Safety Day, for children aged five through 13, will be at the Western Campus only In future years, the event will rotate among the Metropolitan, Eastern and Western campuses.

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Volume 1, Issue 4, Posted 11:12 PM, 08.17.2012

Cleveland City Council Set to Pass Bicycle Safety Legislation

As part of our work to build a more bicycle-friendly community, we at Bike Cleveland have been advocating Cleveland City Council to pass a series of policies that will protect the growing number of cyclists on the road, including an important law that requires motorists to maintain a three-foot distance when passing bicyclists. These policies, known as the Bicycle Safe Street Ordinances, were introduced on Monday, May 7th in Council by councilmen Anthony Brancatelli and Joe Cimperman.

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Volume 1, Issue 1, Posted 9:56 PM, 06.05.2012

Taking Us Back to the Future

It’s as if it’s always been there. 

The bright yellow beacon of our cycling future situated outside of the Root cafe fits 8 -10 bicycles. This is an amazing upgrade because the corral was installed on the street, utilizing an area big enough to contain only one car. This is a more compact and environmentally friendly way to use the space. As a community, Lakewood is extremely bike-friendly and as Tom Bullock stated at the ribbon-cutting ceremony on May 18th 2012, “the city is finally catching up”.

The very same day 15 other bike racks were installed at various points along Detroit Avenue. This is all part of the city’s ‘Bike Lakewood Master Plan’. It was extremely fitting that the largest capacity corral was installed outside of one of Lakewood’s most health-commited businesses. The Root cafe strives to be made with love for every person to share. It is a vegan and vegetarian, organic kitchen, an organic bakery, an espresso bar featuring Rising Star Coffee, Asian teas and herbal tisanes. It is a community clubhouse with local food, art, music and amazing events.  Eating well with your community is good health!

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Volume 1, Issue 1, Posted 9:56 PM, 06.05.2012

Beck Hits the Road with First Time Tour

Bike to Work Week was a big deal in Lakewood, starting with the long awaited unveiling of Northeast Ohio’s first on-street bicycle corral, located on Detroit Avenue in front of the Root café, followed by Beck Center for the Arts first foray into cycling, the Bike for Beck event on Saturday, May 19.  

The goal of this public event was two-fold; first to raise funds to help the Beck Center programming initiatives and second to raise the visibility of Lakewood's growing bicycle community, which works very hard to promote bicycling as a viable, safe and fun means of transportation within Lakewood and beyond. 

Bike for Beck was obviously the result of ‘heavy lifting’ on the part of several local groups and individuals.  And from what I saw everyone had a great time.  The perfect weather didn’t hurt either!   The sheer number of people who signed up to participate in the 15-, 25- or 60-mile bike rides to help towards the fundraising goal was really encouraging for several reasons, one of them being the remarkable age cross-section. 

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Volume 1, Issue 1, Posted 9:56 PM, 06.05.2012

Pedal for Prizes Means Business Hundreds of cyclists converge in Old Brooklyn

Pedal for Prizes is quickly becoming a major highlight of the summer for cyclists from Old Brooklyn and beyond. The third annual event, held May 19th, attracted 550 cyclists, a remarkable increase from 75 participants just two years earlier.  Riders came not only from all over Ohio this year, but there were even a few from out of state!  

Riders were lured by the promise of more than $6,000 worth of prizes, in addition to the attractive entry fee (free!). Since its inception, Pedal for Prizes has been a grassroots initiative dedicated to promoting local business, community, and bicycling in Old Brooklyn.   The organizers, Jeffrey Sugalski, John Young, Bruce Page, Jacqueline Sliva, and Becky Derwis, a group of Old Brooklyn residents and business owners, could not be more pleased at the event's success. 

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Volume 1, Issue 1, Posted 9:56 PM, 06.05.2012

Night Ride on the Towpath Trail on June 2 to benefit Ronald McDonald House

Enjoy two-wheeled fun to help one very special home at the 3rd  annual Ronald McDonald House Night Ride on the Towpath Trail sponsored by Century Cycles on Saturday, June 2, at 8 p.m.

 It is a 12-mile moonlit bicycle ride that starts at Thornburg Station in Valley View (8111 Rockside Road, at the intersection of Canal and Rockside roads, next to Yours Truly restaurant) and is Century Cycles’ only Towpath Night Ride in Cuyahoga County.

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Volume 1, Issue 1, Posted 2:49 PM, 05.27.2012

RIDER PROFILE: RIDING IN THE BIG CITY

Nothing good happens between 1 and 5 am, my father used to say, especially as I got to an age where staying up that late began to mean more than just watching reruns on TV Land or doing homework in my bedroom. He’s right, in many ways. It’s the witching hour for drunk driving and other risky business, so perhaps if there’s a place to be inside and reclined during the wee hours…be there. Still, some find the early morning the ideal time for living, and not in spite of but because of the barren streets and drowsy skies. 

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Volume 1, Issue 1, Posted 12:55 PM, 03.05.2012

FIRST EVER BIKE FOR BECK IN THE WORKS; MAY 19 EVENT CELEBRATES AT ALL SPEEDS

Amanda Harland and Geof Pelaia are pretty busy people as it is. Amanda is stage manager for Beck Center's production of Spring Awakening, while also keeping Beck's checkbook balanced in their accounting department. In addition to his growing client list, media specialist Geof serves on various boards and committees for several local organizations. Together, they are co-chairing the first annual Bike for Beck event to benefit one of the largest arts organizations on the west side. Bike for Beck, a fundraiser to support Beck Center’s arts education programming, will also raise awareness of Lakewood’s bikeability movement ... for cyclists of all ages and speeds.

Weekly meetings for Bike for Beck have been taking place for months, with Amanda and Geof bringing in as many cycle-friendly (or even just cycle-interested) parties as possible to assist with the May 19 event.

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Volume 1, Issue 1, Posted 11:39 AM, 03.05.2012