Cycling is something I just count on doing once the weather turns warms enough to turn snow into rain and the sun finally comes out in northeast Ohio.
Last year spoiled me. I was as strong on the bike as I was 10 years earlier, possibly stronger. In 2020 I rode 600+ miles 4 months in a row, over 200 miles in a week a few times, basically riding to my heart’s content. Cycling was a way to get outdoors, be safe, and do something that made me happy, blissful even — in the middle of the horrific pandemic. When normal life became anything but, I still had my bike, I could still ride. Cycling was one of the very few things that was Covid-safe, and it made life sort of normal while out there riding. Was it like that for you? Maybe we were all just looking for a little normalcy in whatever way we could find.
Life isn’t completely back to normal yet. I am still riding a lot although not as much as last year. The fun is still there out on the road, but there is more traffic on my favorite route now than in 2020, which like all cyclists I am sad to see. If you can avoid work traffic during the week or ride early enough on the weekend it isn’t too bad.
While I enjoy riding on the many trails here in northeast Ohio, my preference is to ride from home through Chagrin Falls and along Chagrin River Road. CRR takes you along the river, bucolic farms and fields, wildlife, parkland, and that beautiful curvy road loved and ridden by many cyclists in the area. We wave, we say hi and sometimes chat and I feel connected to them, to life, to myself. I love that there are so many of us out doing what we all love.
All is right with the world there.
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