The Greatest Ride

I believe that north eastern Ohio may be one of the most underrated places in the country. This conclusion came to me several years ago when my wife and I had an opportunity to relocate to Los Angeles. Prior to opening her own business (La Maison Interior Design), her former employer wanted to open a second business near his vacation home in Palm Springs. O n an all expenses paid trip for us out there I of course arranged for some interviews. Wanting to be in the heart of where ground breaking architecture was taking place and not in the desert, there was only one city I could work in….LA. Living all our lives in Ohio, we went there with the impression that we could make it work, living halfway between those two cities and each of us commuting to work every morning. This plan quickly became flawed when we were confronted firsthand with the traffic in that part of the country. What would normally be a half-hour to 45 minute drive here would have easily been a 90 minute drive for us out there. After several successful job interviews and job offers, we decided not to relocate as the potential for professional and personal growth was just as high here as it was for us there, and we could actually afford a decent lifestyle in Akron. The other reason was the access to my outdoor playgrounds. Being a snowboarder and a cyclist, I’ve been spoiled by having the Cuyahoga Valley National Park in my backyard now for the past 12 years.

Why do I bring this up? Well, because if you haven’t had the opportunity recently to ride through the valley you should make a point of doing it sometime soon. I’m fortunate to live only a few miles from the heart of the valley. From my place, it’s a nice 20 minute ride down to my favorite stomping grounds there. What’s my favorite ride…..Sand Run Parkway. Riding through the parkway gives me the impression of what it would be like to ride through Vermont…narrow roads with a meandering river that seems to follow it at nearly every twist and turn, trees that seem to arch over the roadway to shelter you from the hot summer sun as well as all of the wildlife that scurries about. I was reminded last weekend of just how nice this ride was when I was finally able to venture outside after what seems like years of riding the rollers down in the basement. It was probably the sheer freedom I was experiencing as I was rolling along, but every sense seemed to be alive as I made my way up the gradual climb which leads me out of the valley. (Side note, this is the easiest way out of the valley for all those not necessarily interested in suffering on climbs like Everette or Ira road).

We all have these favorite rides which for one reason or another are more special than the others. These are the types of rides that for just that brief moment in time, we are able to forget about things like watts, speed and cadence and be able to enjoy things like the smell the leaves, the cool breeze across your face or sound of falling water.

brian