Location(s)

Lake Erie Wheelers offer a range of choices and ways to enjoy the Cuyahoga Valley, including family-friendly rides and more challenging routes.

Participants can choose the original train/towpath combination ride ($35) or road routes of 35, 50, 62 and 100 miles. Cyclists will wind in, out and around the beautiful Cuyahoga Valley, on a moderate to challenging ride, with a rolling and hilly elements. The cost of this race is $25.

For more information, or secure online registration, go here.

European countries excel at bicycling thanks to strong policies, lots of investment, and a real commitment to replace cars with bikes, John Pucher and Ralph Bueler of Rutgers University explain in a new report.

Berlin alone has built up a huge bike network with hundreds of miles of bike lanes, paths and even shortcuts tailored exclusively to cyclists.

How does Cleveland compare to the world’s best bicycling cities?

Find out here.

European countries excel at bicycling thanks to strong policies, lots of investment, and a real commitment to replace cars with bikes, John Pucher and Ralph Bueler of Rutgers University report.

Berlin alone has built up its bike network to include 534 miles of completely separate bike paths, 37 miles of bike lanes on streets, 31 miles of bike lanes on sidewalks, and 62 miles of pedestrian/bike paths.

How does Cleveland compare to the world’s best bicycling cities?

The city’s 2010 Active Transportation Plan is aiming for a 180-mile bike network, including 30 miles of off-road paths and seven miles of bike lanes that exist today (the longest of which is the 3.5 mile bike lane on Euclid Avenue). The biggest chunk of the Cleveland bikeway is a proposed 99 miles of on-road bike routes, bike lanes and Sharrows, which are used to show motorists that cyclists may “take the lane” and it helps show cyclists good lane positioning, especially where lanes are too narrow to share safely.

The completion of the Towpath Trail extension into downtown and a 29-mile City Trail Loop will put an off-road path or bike route within a 10-minute bike ride of 62,000 households and 125,000 employees, says Martin Cader, planner for city of Cleveland.

Location(s)

It's not just a race... it's an Experience! The towpath will host its annual marathon, half marathon, 10k, 5k, and Family Adventure Hike and offers a massage tent, live music, free food for runners, beer garden, hot tubs, nutritional advice, childrens area, food vendors and more.

Go here for more infomation or call 215/ 520-182

Those cross-country cyclists working to raise attention for climate change and the need to address an issue of national and international impact are at it again, organizing a ride from New York to Washington, DC. They are asking concerned citizens and riders to plan on joining them in September for a five to Washington D.C.

The ride is to promote renewable energy and solutions to global warming: www.climateride.org and they will have cyclists from all over the country joining them, and they say it would be great to have representatives from Cleveland join us and ride to Washington. Here’s the release:

Join Brita Climate Ride 2008
September 20th - 24th
New York to D.C.
www.ClimateRide.org

Join Brita Climate Ride 2008 for the first multi-day supported bicycle tour where you pedal to promote renewable energy and solutions to global warming. Climate Riders will cycle 320 miles in five days from New York to Washington D.C., following scenic country roads and finishing on the steps of our nation's capitol, where we will make a statement about our country's need for action.

Along the way, expert speakers will educate and inspire Climate Riders and local communities about the science, the policies and the solutions to global warming. Our riders and the communities we pass through will learn how our government, businesses, and all Americans will benefit from a cleaner, healthier climate. This is a unique event--a fundraiser and climate conference on wheels, and an opportunity to meet people who are engaged in making a difference.

Each rider will be responsible for raising $2,250. Proceeds from the ride benefit Clean Air - Cool Planet and Focus the Nation, two organizations that lead the way in expanding climate change education, encouraging renewable energy policies, and promoting solutions to global warming.

As the Towpath Trail inches its way from Old Harvard Road to the Flats, Cleveland’s south side and its neighbors aren’t waiting to get connected. Brooklyn Heights, Parma, Seven Hills and Independence are banding together to create the West Creek Greenway Trail, a 16-mile on-and off-road loop with linkages to the Towpath at Canal Road on the southern end and at the Cleveland Metroparks’ CanalWay Center on the northern end. Catalyzed by the West Creek Reservation, the group has already completed two sections of trail. Read more here.

The West Creek Greenway Trail will ultimately link with a new trail that the Metroparks plans to build from Old Harvard into Slavic Village, heading northeast to its Mill Creek Falls. From the falls, cyclists (and pedestrians) can head into the heart of Slavic Village on Morgana Run Trail, a 2-mile former train line that was converted to recreation path in a first for Cleveland. Read the story about this ‘rails-to-trails’ success here.

Beating West Creek to the punch: Cleveland’s Old Brooklyn neighborhood recently dedicated the Treadway Creek restoration project, including a 2/3-mi. bike path connector. It’s the first ‘neighborhood connector’ to link up to the Towpath.

Location(s)

Experience the Morgana Run Trail in Slavic Village for this annual 5K run and walk. Fee. For more information, call 216/429-1182 ext. 121 or register here.

• Gas prices have Clevelanders thinking for the first time about the cost of their commute. Scooter sales are up, but what changes need to happen before you feel comfortable commuting by bike? Can cars and bikes coexist on the roads in Northeast Ohio? Would a bike lane on your route to work make you feel safe?
• Meanwhile, after a dip in March, RTA is bracing for an upswing in riders. The transit agency ordered more extra-long buses for Euclid corridor and for its most heavily used routes. How do we prepare the region and RTA for rising demand and higher ridership? Can we retrofit our communities to be more transit accessible?
• We hear reports about suburbanites who are now "stuck". Stuck with gas guzzling cars and large homes located far away from the city. Many live in low density areas that are not easily served by transit. What are their options? Can they combine modes of transportation?
  
  

The Mayor of Charleston, South Carolina clearly sees the value of bikes and local infrastructure, taking steps to add more cycling access on area bridges. Earlier, the South Carolina state transportation officials added bike access to a federally funded bridge, a step ODOT refused to consider. The federally funded bridge has proven to be so popular, they have even hosted wedding groups. Building on the success, the Mayor announced more plans for bikes on bridges.

Here's the information:

Win for Charleston, SC: Old Bridge to Be Retrofitted: According to the Charleston Moves E-News, "Mayor Joseph Riley has announced the city's plan to add a cantilevered 10-ft wide bicycle and pedestrian lane to the southernmost of the two Ashley River bridges." The bridge is the primary conduit for travel between the downtown Charleston and West Ashley, but has been a roadblock to cyclists and pedestrians. Charleston Moves has actively championed access for cyclists and pedestrians to this important bridge. They report that the City of Charleston is now seeking funding for construction.

http://www.charleston.net/news/2008/may/14/create_better_bridge_links40740/

Kevin Cronin
ClevelandBikes : When ClevelandBikes, Cleveland Benefits!
www.clevelandbikes.org

With Cleveland Bicycle Week ending on a glorious day to ride, we offer a look back at the main event, the city’s first bicycle conference. On paper the highlight was supposed to be League of American Bicyclist’s Andy Clarke acknowledging Cleveland with a Bicycle Friendly Community (BFC) honorable mention.

But, we think those riding to work every morning (including GCBL staff) were the real shining light. We enjoyed starting new friendships during the group rides, and take away a sense of pride for showing its possible (and fun) to bike commute in Northeast Ohio.

Back to Clarke for a moment. He commended Cleveland for its progress, and explained that becoming a finalist includes more than plans and miles of bike lanes.

“It’s not just about what the City is doing, but what the community as a whole is doing,” he said. “(City policy) is a key part, but it takes more to create a cycling culture.”

And, the policies themselves don’t have to be expensive for the city. “They don’t have to be big ticket items. There are a lot of very inexpensive ideas, from where you put paint down to look at development that’s going on all the time that could be more conducive to cycling if the right policy was in place.”

Clarke offered the League's technical assistance and experience working with cities like Louisville, Kentucky, which took a Gold-level BFC award for their work reshaping their streets and bridges but also turning out thousands of cyclists to events.

“Cyclists and pedestrians are a great indicator species of quality of life in a city.”

See more Cleveland Bicycle Week coverage here.