2013

Holiday Treat - 12/18/13

Nothing to do with Toledo, but check out this amazing video of road bike tricks. Happy Holidays, see you in 2014.

Construction Finished on University / Parks Trail

Looks like construction on the University / Parks Trail is finally finished! They spent over a million dollars trimming vegetation, rebuilding fences, and resurfacing the trail. If you roller-blade, you'll love the smooth surface.

Tombstone Tour

Come out this Saturday, Oct. 12, to ride in the 36th annual Tombstone Tour.  It starts at Secor Metropark and is 38 miles long.  There's also a Family Haunted Ride at Oak Openings for families with children 12 and under.

Secor Road Bike Lane - 9/13/13

In a letter to the editor of The Blade, Ronald Randall makes a good point that we just spent $5.4 million to rebuild Secor Rd., but didn't install bike lanes. Read the letter (it's the last one at the bottom).

Local Business Mentioned in New York Times - 8/1/13

Bike Brightz was recently spotlighted in the New York Times for its creation of bicycle lights. The company is one of many fueling the trend of adding customizable lights for safe night riding. Created by a teenager, Bike Brightz offers light bars that attach to the frame by zip ties. The article also paid homage to other companies for crafting horns, brake lights and turning signals for bicyclists - all for safer riding. Read the New York Times article.

Mtn. Bike Park Grand Opening - 7/27/13

Bring your bike to the grand opening of the Ottawa-Jermain Mountain Bike and Jump Park this Saturday. Ride the new 6.4 mile mountain bike trail or check out the dirt jumps, pump track, and skills area. Watch a graffiti mural be painted live while enjoying the free hotdogs and soda. There will also be an evening concert and vendor displays. People of all ages are encouraged to come.  The event lasts from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. on Saturday. Go here for more information.

Metroparks Bike Tour - 7/20/13

The Metroparks Bike Tour will take place Saturday, July 20 in Whitehouse, Ohio. Registration is from 7 a.m. to 11 a.m. at Fallen Timbers Middle School at 6119 Finzel Road. Coast through the scenic Metroparks of Toledo along 15, 31, 62 or 100 mile routes. Lunch's provided at Farnsworth and there are snack shops along the way. Helmets are required. For more information on pricing, registration and other tours, visit the Maumee Valley Adventurers website.

Portage River Bike Tour - 6/23/13

The Portage River Bike Tour will take place June 23 in Elmore, Ohio. Registration is from 7 a.m. to 11 a.m. at the park of Woodmore High School. Riders can opt for the 10, 31, 62, or 100 mile routes along the Portage River to Lake Erie. Helmets are required. Lunch will be provided to riders at the Portage River Festival in Elmore's Ory park. Information on pricing, registration and other tours can be found at the Maumee Valley Adventurers website.

New 'Chessie Circle Trail' - 6/4/13

Toledo is one of five partners helping to develop and maintain the long (11.6 miles) bike and walking trail that replaced the old CSX railroad. The trail starts in north Toledo and ends in Perrysburg. It will touch, in some fashion, 14 school districts and connect both UT's campuses. A large chunk of that trail winds it's way through District 5. You can learn more about the trail and the continued development.

Courtesy of Tom Waniewski

New permits lets bicyclists ride trails after hours - 6/3/13

Biking on Toledo's trails at night is now viable. The Metroparks of Toledo Area is offering free permits to allow bicyclists access to trails after curfew for commuting purposes. Read the Blade article.

Ride of Silence - 5/15/13

The National Ride of Silence will be held on May 15th and we are organizing a local ride starting and ending at the UT Parking Lot 1 North, located at the corner of Bancroft and North Towerview Blvd.  The ride will be slow-paced (12 mph Max.) covering 7.8 miles.  We will be  escorted by Toledo City Police, Ottawa Hills Police and UT Police on  route.  Helmets are required. This event is free and open to the public.  No registration necessary.  For posters, maps and more, view the event page.

2012

Rail-Trail Upgrades

11/28/12 - Lucas County has received nearly one million dollars to resurface the University Parks Trail and reseal sections of the Wabash Cannonball Trail.  See Blade article for more info.

The Capital of European Biking

11/16/12 - In Amsterdam, the Bike is a Logical Choice for Commuters where 43 percent use it for their daily commute!

Bicycle Superhighway

Check out this bicycle superhighway in Copenhagen, Denmark where 1 out of 3 trips are taken on a bike.

New Bike Trails

5/30/12 - Check out these new trails coming soon to Northwest Ohio...

• On June 5th at 11:30am, there's a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the first phase of the Sylvania River Trail.
• According to the Toledo Business Journal, a 4.76 mile portion of the North Coast Inland Trail will be completed by the end of summer.  This segment will go from Clyde to Bellevue and "will complete the North Coast Inland Trail in Sundusky County," said Steve Gruner, director of Sandusky County Parks.

May is National Bike Month

Check out the TMACOG web site for information and events.  With the nice weather, it's a perfect time to ditch the car and start biking to work.  Here are 10 reasons you should bike to work.

RoS 2012 - Thanks!

Thanks to everyone for making the event so special.  We would like to thank Toledo, Ottawa Hills and UT Campus Police for their excellent support, HI-Toledo, Maumee Valley Wheelmen, Toledo Area Bicyclists, TMACOG and many, many more!  Find event photos here.

 Toledo Ride of Silence 2012 - Wednesday, May 16 @ 6:45pm

Please join us this year as we work to raise awareness that cyclists have a legal right to use public roadways. We will also remember and honor cyclists that have been injured or killed while driving their bikes. Click here for more details.   

Photo courtesy of The Blade

Bike Thefts in NYC

3/12/12 - Check out this article+video on the challenges of securing your bike in New York City.

2011

Historic Agreement Preserves Trail Route

November 11, 2011 -- U.S. Rep. Marcy Kaptur Monday announced that a group of public partners, including Metroparks, had closed on the 11-mile Westside Corridor, a CSX right-of-way that will one day become a multi-use trail. The historic agreement preserves a route that will eventually connect north and south Toledo, and Lucas and Wood counties with a greenway similar to the University/Parks Trail, which is managed by Metroparks. The Park District owns more than 1.5 miles of the trail, from Glanzman Road to the Maumee River. [Full Story]

Summer Events 

August. 1, 2011 -- Lots of cycling action this summer.  Here are just a few events happening this week:

• 8/1 5PM - The Safety Committee of Perrysburg City Council will discuss the bike trail that is being proposed by TMACOG.  Come and voice your support for this great project.
• 8/6 Saturday - Take part in the Mad Anthony River Rally (MARR). It's not a race, but a fun, family-friendly bike tour with food stops.  Check it out on the Toledo Area Bicyclists' site.
• 8/7 Sunday - Sylvania Cycling Classic.  Come watch the professionals race in this 0.7 mile loop.  More info at Maumee Valley Wheelmen's site.

Toledo Bicyclists take part in Annual Ride of Silence

May 21, 2011 -- Toledo Blade Article, by Carl Ryan

Ride of Silence

2010

New Bike Path under I-280 and over Maumee

November 11, 2010 -- Read the article in The Blade and watch the video on 13abc News.  Check out this letter to the editor from Nov. 19th!

Mountain Bike Trail in the News

October 3, 2010 -- Read the article in The Blade and watch the video on WTOL-11.

Grand Opening of Mountain Bike Trail 

September 5, 2010 -- Did you ever want ride singletrack in Toledo? Now you can! Thanks to the City of Toledo and some awesome volunteers, we now have a mountain bike trail at Jermain Park (near the Toledo hospital). The grand opening is Saturday, Oct 2 from 12pm - 4pm. Park by the tennis courts off Upton, just south of Monroe St. For maps and more info, check out the Toledo Free Ride web site.

Mtn. Biking in Wood County

July 7, 2010 -- The Wood County Park District (Perrysburg, Grand Rapids, BG, etc.) is thinking about building off-road trails for biking. Great, as there are few mtn. bike trails in NW Ohio. However, they held 2 meetings and ZERO bikers attended. Contact the Park District to let them know that we need more mountain bike trails in NW Ohio!

TMACOG Surveys

June 18, 2010 --  TMACOG is soliciting input on which transportation projects should receive millions of tax dollars. Help them decide to spend the money on cycling infrastructure! The surveys at TMACOG error when you press Submit, so follow these instructions:

1. Open the files: 1) March 2010 Survey.doc & 2) Suggested Changes.doc
2. Complete the surveys (pay special attention to the 'bike' projects)
3. Save them to your hard drive
4. Email both files to onthemove@tmacog.org

North/South Bike Trail

May 24, 2010 -- Toledo desperately needs a north/south trail and this dream may become a reality over the next few years.  Read this article about the 'Back Side' trail which will start at Bowman Park in West Toledo, go south through Ottawa Park and UT, and continue all the way to Perrysburg.

May is National Bike Month

May 13, 2010 -- The League of American Bicyclists encourages everyone to ride their bike. May 17-21st is Bike to Work Week and Friday the 21st is Bike to School/Work day. Visit the TMACOG web site for a list of local events.  

2009

Motor City to Cycle City?

July 07, 2009 -- Check out this article in the NY Times about our neighbor to the north.

Bike Tax

March 27, 2009 -- Would you be willing to pay a tax for better bike trails and lanes?  Check out this CNN Video from March 9, 2009.

Cycling Accident

March 27, 2009 -- It's only January and unfortunately we already have a fatal cycling accident.  Flemming Williamson was run over and killed by a hit-skip driver on Sunday, Jan 25th.  See The Blade article.

Lance Armstrong

January 30, 2009 -- Did you see Lance's return to professional cycling in the Tour Down Under?  It was his first road race in 3 1/2 years.  He finished 29th -- just 49 seconds behind the winner.  Not bad for a 37 year old.