Biking and Bike Laws (Cleveland, Lorain: school, live in, restaurants)

[saraperez]

I'm moving in just 13 days and am considering biking to school (it's less than two miles from where we'll live in OC to Cleveland State U). I just spoke with one of the registrars at CSU and she recommended against this--she said biking downtown was not user friendly at all.

I'm coming from Portland and biking is super friendly out here to those that use it. Is it like this downtown--in other words was she just unfamiliar with the biking situation or is it really "scary" as she put?

Also, which route is the best way to go? I was thinking Detroit/Superior then Euclid. Or maybe Lorain/Carnegie to E 22nd?

Finally, I read somewhere that Cleveland city proper requires bicycles to be registered and licensed? Is this the case and does anyone know where I can get more information on how to do this?

Thanks again everyone!

[orion1778]

Originally Posted by saraperez

I'm moving in just 13 days and am considering biking to school (it's less than two miles from where we'll live in OC to Cleveland State U). I just spoke with one of the registrars at CSU and she recommended against this--she said biking downtown was not user friendly at all.

I'm coming from Portland and biking is super friendly out here to those that use it. Is it like this downtown--in other words was she just unfamiliar with the biking situation or is it really "scary" as she put?

Very over-hyped - "scary" is not a word that comes to mind when I think of it. There are a decent number of bicycles downtown now. Some of the take-out restaurants have bicycle delivery kids and there are some people who do bicycle courier service who I see on the streets all the time. Most of the cyclists downtown do seem very confident and they're always blending in and out of traffic at pretty high speeds - I guess this could come off a "scary" to someone who doesn't know the intricacies of cycling.

There probably isn't any city in the United States that is as bicycle friendly as Portland, so you have to lower your expectations (a lot). There is a seriously lack of bike lanes on Cleveland's streets (that will start to change when Euclid Avenue is fully built) so a lot of riding has to be done in the street with traffic. On the bright side, Cleveland also has very light traffic relative to other cities. Since most of downtown's workers still live in the suburbs, they don't even consider anything other than driving an option.

RTA makes it fairly easy to bring a bike with you when you ride, although recently I've seen a lot of buses that have two bikes on the rack, which could be a frustrating situation due to the infrequency of some routes.

Originally Posted by saraperez

Also, which route is the best way to go? I was thinking Detroit/Superior then Euclid. Or maybe Lorain/Carnegie to E 22nd?

Try both when you get here and decide what works for you. Some people prefer one, others prefer the other... depends heavily on where you're coming from and going. If you ride them on a Saturday or Sunday morning, you will basically have the streets to yourself, which can be great for picking and choosing routes.

Originally Posted by saraperez

Finally, I read somewhere that Cleveland city proper requires bicycles to be registered and licensed? Is this the case and does anyone know where I can get more information on how to do this?

I do not know - I've never done any of that with my bicycles?

[Huckleberry3911948]

i love commute biking and i regret i live on the coast. but after my own experience of 3 weeks ago and other bicyclists in the area who have posted on CDF, i have put up my bike until the auto drivers calm down. one almost nailed me, foot to the floor board and a cell phone in his ear at an intersection. i make the mistake of trying to cross sitting on the bike. never again.