Bikes, Lakewood and Life
Posted: Mon Jun 04, 2007 8:26 pm
Bryan:
I often bike to Cleveland State (CSU) where I work. As some have noted, the terrain is relatively flat and thus the 8 mile each way to CSU is a relatively easy ride.
However, if you want to do the park or go further east - I biked to Lakeland Community College when I taught CSU courses there - some gears are necessary. You seldom need more than 10 or 12; what you want is some low gears for any major hills.
For general riding I would recommend a hybrid - a bike between a touring and mountain model. These have wider tires, straight handlebars, easy to shift gearing and yet a decent responsive frame. My wife has a nice Trek hybrid. These run around $350 to $500 new. Such a bike should suffice for general riding, both commuting/urban and recreational.
I ride a Schwinn Paramount - one of the last models made before Schwinn disappeared in its previous form. Mine has very narrow tires, drop bars, etc. It rides so easy and turns on a dime. However, it is overkill for my commuting but since I don't do much long distance cycling any longer I donated my used 10 speed Raleigh that I commuted with.
Traffic is not too bad if you stay out of commuting hours or away from "recreation areas" that depend on taverns, etc., at night. I would hope that Lakewood would transform some key streets, such as Lake Avenue, into more of a biking/skating multiuse thorofare. Interesting that Cleveland has made Lake Avenue a 3 lane street now from West Boulevard to West 117th Street. This has really improved the safety of my commute to CSU.
Others have provided very useful details. I also recommend Century Cycles in Rocky River as they carry excellent models of bikes. They also have impressive accessories, such as helmets - absolutely necessary - lights, and carriers. As most streets are well lit - actually Detroit Avenue thanks to funding for reducing crime - is brighter at night than it is during many days. Thus, you need lights that make you visible to other vehicles (bikes are vehicles under the Uniform Highway Act and that is why cyclists should always ride in the street as far to the right as praticable), not lights for actually lighting your route. I like the flashing red and white LED lights as these are very visible to motorists.
Welcome to the wonderful world of urban cycling and Best of Luck in your efforts.
I often bike to Cleveland State (CSU) where I work. As some have noted, the terrain is relatively flat and thus the 8 mile each way to CSU is a relatively easy ride.
However, if you want to do the park or go further east - I biked to Lakeland Community College when I taught CSU courses there - some gears are necessary. You seldom need more than 10 or 12; what you want is some low gears for any major hills.
For general riding I would recommend a hybrid - a bike between a touring and mountain model. These have wider tires, straight handlebars, easy to shift gearing and yet a decent responsive frame. My wife has a nice Trek hybrid. These run around $350 to $500 new. Such a bike should suffice for general riding, both commuting/urban and recreational.
I ride a Schwinn Paramount - one of the last models made before Schwinn disappeared in its previous form. Mine has very narrow tires, drop bars, etc. It rides so easy and turns on a dime. However, it is overkill for my commuting but since I don't do much long distance cycling any longer I donated my used 10 speed Raleigh that I commuted with.
Traffic is not too bad if you stay out of commuting hours or away from "recreation areas" that depend on taverns, etc., at night. I would hope that Lakewood would transform some key streets, such as Lake Avenue, into more of a biking/skating multiuse thorofare. Interesting that Cleveland has made Lake Avenue a 3 lane street now from West Boulevard to West 117th Street. This has really improved the safety of my commute to CSU.
Others have provided very useful details. I also recommend Century Cycles in Rocky River as they carry excellent models of bikes. They also have impressive accessories, such as helmets - absolutely necessary - lights, and carriers. As most streets are well lit - actually Detroit Avenue thanks to funding for reducing crime - is brighter at night than it is during many days. Thus, you need lights that make you visible to other vehicles (bikes are vehicles under the Uniform Highway Act and that is why cyclists should always ride in the street as far to the right as praticable), not lights for actually lighting your route. I like the flashing red and white LED lights as these are very visible to motorists.
Welcome to the wonderful world of urban cycling and Best of Luck in your efforts.
