Bicycles offer fun, freedom and fresh air. Beyond an evening pedal or serious exercise, cycling can also be a practical mode of transportation. Riding a bike offers the benefits of burning calories, saving gas, spending time outdoors and, perhaps the biggest perk: convenient parking.
Hassle-free commute
Though a licensed driver for nine years, Erik Thomas of Toledo is not as young as you’d expect. At age 39, Thomas has always kept his residence within close proximity to his place of work, Toledo Bikes! He probably still wouldn’t have a vehicle were it not for a job that requires hauling a ladder and tools.
“I try to bike as much as possible,” Thomas said. “Before (my current job), there wasn’t really a reason for me to even need a car.”
“Everyone cites gas prices as a reason to bike,” Thomas paused, “If you live in the Toledo area, you can go to a grocery store, your school and your job all within five miles of your house, you don’t necessarily need a car.”
Living the lifestyle
But what about the person who drives, say, from Sylvania to Downtown Toledo? Is it realistic to think someone can plan to bike 12 miles, packing a change of clothes and carrying a laptop, and then need to freshen up when they arrive?
“It’s a little bit of a lifestyle thing, and a little bit of a cultural thing, and it’s not something that’s going to change quickly,” Thomas said. “People are now used to the idea of living in the suburbs and having a commute— that’s normal for them. Now there seems to be a shift back to people living closer to where they work, and having more amenities closer to work. That kind of thing takes a cultural shift.”
From an early age, Thomas has always preferred pedaling wherever he needed to go.
“I rode my bike to school,” he said. “In college, I added baskets on my bike to go to the grocery. Today, I do a lot of my short errands by bike. Here in Toledo, the idea of going downtown, I would never drive there. I can ride to the Mud Hens stadium and lock my bike right outside the gates.”
The way Thomas sees it, commuting is simply lost time he’ll never get back.
Putting the cycle in recycle
Toledo Bikes! encourages bike use through a bike recycling and education center, last year the group refurbished and donated 120 bikes to low-income residents. Some Toledo Bikes! volunteers receive free bikes as sweat equity, contributing their time to help to fix donated bikes that are then resold or donated.
“They’re earning this bike, so it’s appreciated and treated as something of value,” said Thomas, part-time shop manager and education coordinator.
The four part-time employees at Toledo Bikes! also accept donations of any bicycles and bike parts – working or not – which are then reworked and resold in an effort to help pay rent and to support the organization.
Toledo Bikes! is a bike lover’s paradise, with tools, oils, cleaners, bike stands, and a friendly environment fostering learning with other cyclists. The cost for a basic membership and access to the shop is $15 per year. Slightly more costly options also offer formal instruction.
The group partners on several large events each year, including a fall Irish Hills bike tour and family-oriented rides in the Metroparks. It has plans for group rides, catering to families, starting from its Washington Street shop..
Toledo Bikes! is looking for interested individuals to serve as board members, monthly meetings.
Pushing the pedals
Each May, TMACOG is the local sponsor of National Bike Month, promoted nationally by the League of American Bicyclists.
The League points out that 40 percent of all trips in the U.S. are less than two miles, and from 2000 to 2013, the number of bicycle commuters in the U.S. grew by more than 62 percent.
“This year for Bike Month, we’re trying to [encourage] using bikes as an alternative mode of transportation,” said Dasher. A calendar of various local biking events is available via the TMACOG website.
TMACOG also partners with bike shops throughout northwest Ohio and southeast Michigan to offer free bike checks to prepare cyclists for a safe ride. Checks take a few minutes with an inspection of tires, brakes, chains and cranks. Participants will also receive a copy of a guide to using a bicycle for commuting and everyday transportation.
Get your bike road ready
Toledo Bikes! will offer their Basic Maintenance Class twice in May: from 1-4pm, on Sunday, May 15 and Sunday, May 29. The three hour workshop will provide basic maintenance tips and repairs. Learn how to clean your bike, make simple adjustments, where and when to lubricate, tire and tube services, chain cleaning, checking for loose bearings, break and shift adjustment, size and fit, safety inspection, and more. $50, or free with a supporting membership.
Sharing UT’s Rocket Wheels
The University of Toledo unveiled Rocket Wheels last fall, a campus bike share program to foster a stronger and greener UT. The program has 50 bikes for rent 
through several locations on campus.
The rental process is simple: registered users swipe their student ID/Rocket Card, at bicycle racks at three campus rental spots. Bikes are free for daily rentals, but there is a fee if the rented key and/or lock is lost. The rental machine provides a key; users then unlock the bike and can ride for up to six hours, before the bike must be returned to the same location.
“Students were pushing for [a bike share], we just had to come up with a feasible program that the University could start,” said Diana Watts, Rocket Wheels coordinator. “So, we developed this program as a pilot and we will measure the demand and use.”
So far, the response has been favorable: About 350 people are signed up, and by request, the program is now also open to faculty and staff. Rocket Wheels is operated by UT’s transit services department, which also runs the campus bus program that averages over 300,000 rides per year. The idea is that Rocket Wheels, patterned after programs at Michigan State and New York University, will alleviate traffic along the main travel arteries of campus while offering an eco-friendly, alternative mode of transportation.
“The mission at UT is to provide a better, cleaner, healthier campus for everybody, and bikes are a part of that,” Watts said.
The university’s duo-wheeled fleet includes two bike brands, but for rider simplicity, all bicycles are one-speed cruisers, which are easier to maintain and repair.
For now, interested users must pre-register for the program at bikeshare.utoledo.edu, Registration is usually approved within a day. UT hopes to offer further flexibility as the program evolves, with plans to add the capability to return bikes to different rental spots and to lengthen rental periods.
Happy trails to you
Toledo has plenty of great bike trails to explore. Most of the area metroparks have either all-purpose trails, bike-pedestrian paths, or exclusive bike trails, and some of the parks connect to three regional trails.
The University/Parks Trail, connects the University of Toledo with Wildwood Preserve, travelling about six miles from the UT campus through Ottawa Hills to King Road in Sylvania. The Towpath Trail runs eight miles and connect Farnsworth, Bend View and Providence Parks. The region’s longest off-road bike trail, the Wabash-Cannonball Trail, links Side Cut Metropark, Fallen Timbers Battlefield and Oak Openings along its ten miles.
A fourth trail called the Chessie Circle Trail, which is opening in stages, will connect north and south Toledo along a former rail line.
Five free self-service bicycle repair stations, located in the Metroparks and accessible during park hours, include all the necessary tools to perform basic bike maintenance.
Bike share in Toledo?
There are discussions of establishing a bike share program, which would operate like Rocket Wheels, in downtown Toledo, a concept now offered in comparably sized cities, such as Dayton and Madison, Wisconsin.
“I know there’s been a lot of talk at TMACOG (Toledo Metropolitan Area Council of Governments) and with groups in Uptown Toledo… about having some kind of bike share program, but they haven’t developed how it’s going to work. (UT) did have some meetings with the city and discussed how we can partner, but the start of [Rocket Wheels] rested on UT’s shoulders,” Watts said.
TMACOG transportation planner Lance Dasher envisions Downtown Toledo with a bike share program, saying “it would be feasible in Toledo, and one of the things is that you have to have the right partners on board.”
Dayton’s program includes a dozen prominent sponsors and two founding sponsors. Bikes are rented on a daily, monthly or yearly basis, starting at $5 for 24 hours, with 24 bike rental stations plotted throughout its downtown.
For now, Bike Month–celebrated each May– is an important reminder of the opportunity for bicycle transportation in Toledo.
“I like to think it makes a difference, though there’s no real way to measure it,” Dasher said. “(TMACOG) held public meetings throughout the area, and people expressed the desire for more facilities like paths and more bike lanes, because of the safety factor.”
Fun Facts
- Anywhere from 6 to 20 bikes can fit in a single parking space in a paved lot.
- Only 11% of cyclists cite commuting to school or work as their primary reason for biking. (2012 National Survey of Pedestrian and Bicyclist Attitudes and Behaviors)
May Bike Month Events
- May 4: Bike to School Day
- May 6: Brake For Fun, Celebrating National Bike Month during First Friday Art Ride. 5-8pm. Downtown Sylvania. Redbirdarts.org
- May 6: Family Bike Night, 6pm in Side Cut Metropark.
- May 8: Bike & Bird Adventure, 7pm in Pearson Metropark.
- May 15: Fête d’Eté-Toledo, 5:30pm in Downtown.
- May 16-22: TARTA reduced fare, 25 cents for cyclists.
- May 18: Ride of Silence, 6:30pm, UT Bancroft St. entrance
- May 20: Bike to Work Day
- May 21: Bike Day at the Farmer’s Market, 9am-12pm, Erie St., downtown.
- May 21: Metroparks Outdoor Adventure Expo, 10am-4pm, Side Cut Metropark
- May 22: Sylvania Slowryders Ride, 4pm, Sylvania Public Library
