Women on Wheels
 

Story by Sharon Schnall

In keeping with our annual women’s issue, three Northeast Ohio female cyclists were interviewed regarding their riding passion. Their insights are characterized by self-deprecation, humor and pragmatism, so much that even a steadfast pedestrian might ignore self-imposed hurdles and mount up.

 

Transportation Commuter

Jennifer Stuart Lesch laughs as she recalls how she formerly equated cycling to "Lycra and skinny tires." It was 1990 and Greg LeMond was a three-time Tour de France winner. Lesch was dating "a total racing geek," a guy with an Italian bike. Lesch bought her first bike for $200 along with a helmet and lock, and pursued cycling as something she and her friend could do together.

Sixteen years later, Lesch uses the bicycle for commutes to work, the hardware store, and around Northeast Ohio. In fact, she did not buy her first car until she was 24 years old.

"It’s (bicycling) how I got everywhere, met friends after work, met a friend for the day in Solon," she says. "There would have been a lot I never could have done if I only had access to a bus."

Her evolution from owning the "typical blue Huffy that a lot of kids had" to being a cycling advocate and educator was cumulative. She began by asking questions, then getting acquainted with other riders, started touring in groups, and eventually completed longer rides on her own.

Confidence came with each step, each accomplishment.

Along the way, she took a course in bike repair, through the Ohio City Bike Co-op, and says she can fix just about anything. She is now a Co-op board member, and League of American Bicyclists certified instructor. Last summer, she taught bicycle repair to middle-school girls; for younger children, she taught basic riding lessons at Cleveland Recreation Centers in 2004. Both programs were Co-op initiatives.

"I never get bored talking about it (cycling)," she says. "It all just goes back to it’s so much fun, and it’s so much fun with other people."

 

Distance Rider

From childhood on, Laura Chapman has always ridden a bike, first her own, later borrowing friends’ bikes as she moved around the country.

"I just remember summer nights and riding a bike, or going here and there to a friend’s house. Having a bike was your ticket to freedom," she recalls.

While dating a "serious biker" who participated in triathlons, she was exposed to another type of cycling – distance riding. Her first long trip, a 20-mile trek, included a stretch along Chagrin River Road. After her relationship with the cyclist ended, she sought other "sturdy workout companions" for long-distance biking, and rode with different cycling groups.

These days, her riding companions are the Western Reserve Wheelers. The cyclists go at their own pace, with different cutoff points along the route, but finishing at the same point.

Chapman says riders can choose from A, B and C loops. These loop letters represent short, medium and longer rides, level of ride difficulty, and/or ability levels, explains Diane Lees, owner of HubBub Custom Bicycle Shop in Chesterland. Selection is done at the discretion of each riding group.

"When I go on a long ride, there’s always a feeling of, ‘Am I going to be able to do this?’ and there’s always a feeling of accomplishment," Chapman says. "What’s nice, though, is how you choose to accomplish it."

Chapman also enjoys riding solo, savoring sights and smells.

Locally, she enjoys Waite Hill’s back roads, which remind her of roads in France, as well as riding to Peninsula, with a cut off to Hale Farm, and the route along North Marginal Road and being close to Lake Erie. Her group trips have included just over 80 miles in one day en route to Bryce Canyon in Utah, biking through Tuscany, Italy, and biking around 80 miles to Sandusky.

"Every ride’s an adventure," she says. "You don’t know what you’re going to see."

 

Cross Trainer

Dana Andrassy had been a casual biker, traveling long distances with her husband. But, that stopped before the arrival of her first son, eight years ago.

She had maintained a running regime for the past 15 years, setting aside early mornings to run in the Cleveland Metroparks Rocky River Reservation and along Lake Road in Bay Village, four times a week for a total of 25 to 35 miles.

Yet it was running, and an overuse injury, that got her back on the cyclist’s seat. Last summer, a friend referred her to trainer and physical therapist Deborah Marotta, owner of Start to Finish Fitness in Cleveland Heights, initially for strength training and later, marathon preparation.

"She (Marotta) pointed out that riding develops different muscles," Andrassy says. "It’s very complementary to running. It rounds you out more…so that you aren’t just focusing on developing one set of muscles."

And that’s not all. Marotta suggested Andrassy try indoor bike training, and by May, Marotta and Andrassy were cycling outside. Her first long ride was 25 miles to Bainbridge Township in Geauga County for lunch and back to Cleveland Heights.

Initially, Andrassy doubted that riding could get her heart rate going as running had, but doing it has made her a believer. Now she rides two to three times a week, 20 miles or longer each time, on the same routes she once saved for running. Before riding, she does an active isolated stretching routine, learned at Start to Fitness Finish, in which a stretch is held two seconds and repeated 10 times.

Most importantly, Andrassy is running, three or four times a week for a total of about 18 miles. Cycling remains a critical part of her workout regime.

"It’s a whole new sport for me," Andrassy says. "I’m kind of re-energized. It was not a good thing when I could not run. This (cycling) gave me time and distance, and a needed cathartic effect.

 

Inspired by these women’s cycling sagas, writer Sharon Schnall headed to the towpath, and "pleasure" biked a modest 10 miles. She saw four herons, two rabbits and one turtle. She can be reached at schnallwriting@yahoo.com.

 

Practical Advice on Bike Shops

Dana Andrassy sought a bike shop that would provide a good fitting bicycle, and not more than she needed. She bought her bike, this year, at Spin in Lakewood. She discovered that the staff are riders, and have hands-on experience with the shop’s equipment.

Similarly, when repairs are needed, Jennifer Stuart Lesch does not want to be oversold. She says a loose spoke should be fixed instead of being sold a new tire. When she can’t do the repairs, she takes her bike to Fridrich Bicycle in Cleveland.

As Laura Chapman rode longer distances and up steeper hills, she decided she wanted a custom-built bike. The staff at HubBub Custom Bicycle Shop in Chesterland encouraged her to test ride a demo bike, which Chapman did for 20 miles. The staff designed her bike not only to body shape and size considerations, but also personality and riding style, taking time to ask lots of questions.

Getting Started

Useful Links

http://www.ohiocitycycles.org/ - Ohio City Bicycle Co-op

http://www.camba.us/ - Cleveland Area Mountain Bike Association

http://www.ohiobike.org/ - Ohio Bicycle Federation

http://www.bikeleague.org/ - League of American Bicyclists

 

2^nd Annual All-Ladies Bike Trip

Start to Finish Fitness of Cleveland Heights is leading a low-key, 20-mile bike tour. The trip leaves the Ohio & Erie Canal Towpath Trail, near Canal and Rockside Roads, in Valley View, at 10:30 a.m., Friday, October 6. Cyclists will bike through the Cuyahoga Valley National Park to Boston Township, and enjoy a picnic lunch before returning. For cost, route and registration information, call 216-397-0600 or visit http://www.starttofinishfitness.com/.