It's a Nishiki--I have abused it for over 20 years.

Put Cleveland's Bike Week on your calendars...GEAR UP!

Bike Week coincides with the 2008 Economic Development Conference in Cleveland.

  Bike week will be upon us sooner than later.  Get your bike in tune with Ohio City Bicycle Co-op.  Here's my idea for sustainable bike tires and a challenge to all you lug nuts out there:

Come up with a bike tire that does not need to be inflated and that does not go flat!!!

  Props to D.Williams for this archived story, prompted by my wish list for a dream bike.   How the mind works: we talk about bikes, we talk about inventions, we talk about the Alaskans and their King James dream...

ENTREPRENEUR SHOOTS FOR STARS - TALLMADGE TEEN TO LAUNCH SALE OF BASKETBALL CARRIER AT KING JAMES CLASSIC

Back to MY non-deflatable tire idea and MY self-locking bike idea...who wants to help me patent it????

Ooh la la, those Parisians have us foiled.  They have SMART bikes you can use with the swipe of a card!!!

Bi-lingual Youth Bike Adventures at Merrick House

Posted July 2nd, 2008 by merrickhouse

Of course, my first bike was an ultra-cool banana seat model with the high back, outfitted with the flag, the bell and, later beaded spokes and playing cards for the revved-up sound.  The neighborhood, at the time West Park, had a big, big hill and we would drag until late in the evening.

My neighborhood, today, Brooklyn Centre, has lots of kids.  In fact, the kids at the end of the street are signed up for the Merrick House bike program.  The week-long agenda is action-packed and someone really put a lot of thought into making memories for these kids.  Maybe, the organizers have some really cool bike memories of their own?  I am just glad that someone thought about the kids.

And, the safety part--that's a good thing, too.  One summer, my sister and I were tapped by my aunt, who worked for the Metroparks, to star in a locally produced public service announcement on bicycle safety.   We got tired of waiting for the film crew to set-up, so we started racing around and we crashed into each other.  The bumps and bruises made it very authentic.  We were trained as method actors.

  Dear OCBC members and friends,

Due to a communications error, you are getting this notice rather late: please RSVP by this Wednesday, 7/23 to attend the brunch. Sorry for my mistake: we hope to see you there!

The Annual Ohio City Bicycle Co-op members' meeting will be held at the Flat Iron Cafe (1/4 mile from OCBC) on Sunday July 27th from 10AM to Noon, to view the final stage of the Tour de France, and discuss (during the commercials) co-op members' business and election of trustees. This event is free (buy your own food off the Flat Iron menu) and open to all (member or not -- ClevelandBikes supporters and others will be joining us as well). RSVP is required by Wednesday July 23rd, so the Flat Iron can be sure to have enough food and tables. Bicycle parking will be available across Merwin Ave from the Flat Iron, and we'll have volunteers watching from window tables, but bring a lock if you have one!

Brunch will be followed by a Scavenger Hunt at 12:15, starting and finishing at OCBC, and lasting until 3PM. Fun prizes for top finishers in many categories.

RSVP for the brunch, and/or join the scavenger hunt for $5 (members) or $20 (non-members), on the calendar page.

See you then!
--
Jim Sheehan
Director, Ohio City Bicycle Co-op
1823 Columbus Rd
Cleveland, Ohio 44113
216 830 2667

  I am coping with some personal issues right now.  I am depressed.  Really depressed.  I usually try to swim during these times, but it didn't work out today.  I also have a pair of cross country skis that I picked up at Unique Thrift/with reworked fittings from Geiger's in Lakewood.  Not enough snow for that therapy, so I padded up and headed out to run my errands by bike today. 

If anyone else is in need of cheap therapy during these trying times--I highly recommend it.  I feel better now.  The beer at Zeleznik's helped  :)  Here's a holiday idea from my old neighbor Jim Sheehan, who used to wake me up in the a.m. with his late night bowling and Pat Dailey singing sessions:

Dear OCBC website users (sorry for any duplicates with our news list),

Since the end of the busy season, we have been busy fixing the nicest bikes we have, and now we need to make room for the many winter re-organization projects we have planned. So we are offering FREE lights* or free rack or fender installation** with any bikes sold this Saturday, Dec. 20, from noon to 6pm.

We have many very clean children's bikes (12", 16" and 20" wheel sizes) for $25 to $150; our usual assortment of adult cruisers and city bikes for $50 to $175; and some very nice road and mountain bikes for $150 to $300 (and several of our extra "performance" rentals for $350 and up); so there is sure to be something here for anyone needing a winter ride, or a nice gift to bond with until warmer weather comes.

We'll have some hot soup and snacks if you just want to come by for the camaraderie or volunteer to help out (but we're sorry, we won't be able to accommodate members' personal shop time this Saturday, as we'll need all the workstands for those fender installations**).

Also, as planned, for 2009 we will be raising the price of our membership classes from $80 to $100, so if you (or someone you know) could use a thorough course in bike maintenance, and/or a chance to bond with that new bike, you can just pay the $80 for the course now (either in person Saturday on on our website until Dec 31st), and sign up for any of our regular classes scheduled through May.

* note: Planet Bike Blinkey front/rear sets ($14 value), or $14 off the $26 Planet Bike Superflash, our favorite rear light. While supplies last (we have plenty, we hope).

** note: Installation only (usually $10), for new racks ($26) or fenders ($27) purchased this Saturday. If we run out or are too busy, we can give you a rain check for the installation.

Stay warm: ride harder!

Jim

Jim Sheehan
Director, Ohio City Bicycle Co-op
1823 Columbus Rd
Cleveland, Ohio 44113
216 830 2667

  Our representatives are making sure that infrastructure dollars will go towards cars not bikes.  Please see Tim's comments and fax your representative.

  Folks who know me, know I ride my bike a lot--and I do it mostly on the sidewalk, which is probably the stupidest place to ride, because in some places, especially downtown, I could get ticketed for it.  But, I once was sideswiped by a truck and spent several weeks recovering from the potentially fatal accident, so I steer clear of cars.

Please weigh in here--today another REALNEO rider says that bikes belong in the street with the cars--I would ask:

How do we make Cleveland bike friendly to kids, teens, families, seniors et al? 

How do we build the critical bike mass needed to take over our transportation infrastructure?  Because I would advocate that we simply exclude cars first.

Start by closing some thoroughfares every Sunday--as Lois Moss did with the first Walk and Roll Cleveland through Rockefeller Park. I could name many streets in Cleveland that have very little cross traffic and residential access issues.  Believe me, it's not as difficult as planners would have you believe.

BIG thanks to Stuart, Evan and Greg with Ohio City Bicycle Coop for helping our kids gear up for safe summer riding today at the Brooklyn Branch Library 3706 Pearl Rd. Cleveland OH 44109.  See our cool neighborhood this Saturday with Lois Moss and Walk and Roll Cleveland.
 

RIDE ON!!!! 

THIS SATURDAY July 18 – Walk+Roll Old Brooklyn / Brooklyn Centre: Old Brooklyn Community Development Corp is bringing bicycling and walking to the All Access Home and Bicycle Tour this year. The event will not involve a street closing, but it will include free bicycle tours, walking tours, trolley tours, local businesses, historic homes and cemeteries in one of Cleveland’s most interesting neighborhoods. More info for July 18 here

NEXT SATURDAY July 25 – Walk+Roll Detroit Shoreway / Gordon Square: Nearly three miles of streets and paths will be part of this event which showcases one of Cleveland’s transformative neighborhoods. Walk+Roll is partnering with Detroit Shoreway Community Development Organization on this special event. More info for July 25 here

NEXT SUNDAY July 26 – Walk+Roll Slavic Village / Broadway: This is the most ambitious Walk+Roll to date! Nearly eight miles of streets and paths will be used for this route which will include two Cleveland Metroparks, an inner-city golf course, a waterfall and history center, numerous new commercial and residential projects, public art projects, Cleveland Botanical Garden’s community garden, bicycle polo, skateboard lessons, youth concerts and many historic churches. More info for July 26 here

Each Walk+Roll will be different and unique! All are FREE and family friendly. Walk+Roll's mission is to get you to add more bicycling and walking to your daily life. Every now and then, leave your car behind and explore what's outside your front door! You'll be healthier and happier, our neighborhoods will be cleaner and safer plus YOU'LL SAVE MONEY.

Walk+Roll is a tiny organization trying to do big things and relies on health and wellness organizations, senior centers, youth groups, theatre organizations, schools, artists, musicians, churches, clubs and other community organizations to spread the word and to bring their talents to Walk+Roll events. If you, your business or your community group would like to showcase what you do, come out and show the world what you do!

---------------

Thursdays July 30 and Aug 6 - We will host guided bicycle tours from Cleveland's Public Square to Whole Foods Market's Giving Grills! It will be a scenic, leisurely ride on bikelanes, sidestreets and neighborhoods that will take about an hour. You can ride back with the group or take RTA's Green Line back to Tower City. Please e-mail lois [at] walkroll [dot] com if you are interested in joining the guided ride.

Click here for the map for a nice bicycle route between downtown and Whole Foods Market!

But it's getting harder to pedal uphill:

Love this and fortunately--a company in CLE can outfit my bike:

http://www.romanequip.com/pages/bikes2.html

https://www.thelandcle.org/ask-the-land

 

Thank you to this lady-Diana Hildebrand @BlackGrlsDoBike^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

for organizing the Bibb for CLE bike ride today - feeling
more optimistic about his chances -but still so many bad ideas for bike network in CLE. The 
bike tour started at Lincoln Park and continued to Lake Link trail to Wendy Island and back.

 Lee Chilcote- I would like to participate but not be railroaded into promoting the "official" narrative. For too long - the media has camouflaged the people who play the real estate game here. Mitchell Paul gives your grief about having a trust fund. I hope that given financial stability it is in your best interest to speak freely. The strings here are controlled by a developer mentality that undermines govt accountability. The fact that Shontel Brown was recently chosen in a primary is all the evidence you need to show that this is a "pay to play" arena. I see in Plain Press that you tout the Lorain bike track and Midway - those projects were designed to support developers, not residents. The glaring reality in this town - there is no maintenance or repairs of structures once they are built. At least the Metroparks does this. If the stupid Lorain bike infrastructure is somehow constructed with millions of public dollars (like the asinine bridge at Northcoast) - then, who is going to maintain and do snow removal? Justin M. Bibb I will ride with you tomorrow to make this point. My guess? Your team will be riding on the METROPARKS trail - not streets, not bike lanes.