under(water)pass
Cleveland, TN, Greenway/Bike Path - after the rain
Our local Greenway/Bike Path is one of my favorite ways to travel through the more congested parts of the City of Cleveland. That is, until we have heavy springtime rains. The path runs adjacent to Mouse Creek, with several street underpasses – all of which wind up underwater with even the slightest rise in the creek. I guess they had to build it somewhere.
Riding in the rain – I think I’ve finally perfected my rain gear combination: Gore Bikewear Alp-X Rain Shorts, Marmot rain jacket, helmet cover when I need it. The rain shorts deserve a prize — I don’t feel like I’m wearing a sauna-suit (which happens with full pants). Comfortable, great ventilation and great rain protection at the same time. Can’t recommend these highly enough. As long as my seat and thighs are dry, I find that I’m remarkably comfortable in a fairly wide range of temperatures.
I would love to find a rain vest (?) for warmer temps. I wouldn’t mind having wet arms, if I could just manage to keep my core dry.
It seems like the news is full of floods, wildfires, crazy weather. Can’t help thinking about changing weather patterns, climate change … and wondering: how badly have we messed things up?
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shebicycles 
Great site, Aimee. I’m moving back to Cleveland, TN later this summer and I’m thrilled to see that there’s at least one other bike commuter down there! I sold my car and took up bike commuting while living in NH, a place that, outside of blizzards, is pretty good for cycling. Even though I’m quite familiar with Cleveland (lived there for 8 years), I’ve been wondering what it’ll be like to ride those often shoulderless roads with drivers of mammoth SUVs who probably haven’t owned a bike since childhood. Any tips?
By the way, I’m totally jealous of your Surly Long Haul Trucker X-Tracycle. I’ve been coveting one of those for quite some time…
(I’m not Aimee; I’m Cassi (site owner of Shebicycles) 😉 – Aimee’s my friend.)
But, welcome back to Cleveland in advance! 🙂 I’ve found Cleveland auto traffic to be fairly courteous for the most part – but then, being silly woman, I suspect they give me a break most of the time! I think more and more people are discovering that it’s a decent place to get around by bike; I’ve definitely seen an increase in commuter-types. We are also fortunate to have some very supportive bike shops/advocates, who are getting more involved every day. There is now an official committee working on making the town more bicycle/pedestrian friendly, given that the fledgeling Greenway has been such a big success. It’s certainly not as lovely as NH, but …. 😉
Thanks for your nice comments on my LHT/X – I love that bike in a long-term-relationaship kind of way! 🙂 Keep in touch, and I’d love to meet you sometime (by bike!) when you arrive. Cheers!
Sorry about that, Cassi. I saw “Aimee” posted all over the site and leapt to conclusions…
But that’s great news that Cleveland is becoming a bike friendlier place. Also great news that there are supportive LBS’s. I’ve learned a ton from the guys at my LBS here, so I’m looking forward to cultivating relationships with the folks down there. I notice you have a link to Trailhead…that’s the one you recommend, yes?
I’ll be moving down there late July/early August, so look for me (and my wife) on the roads!
Look forward to meeting you both! 😉 Assume that career (Univ?) is bringing you back here? And yes – Trailhead is #1 on my list. The owner, Charles Nelson, has built nearly all of our family’s bikes (including 2 Xtracycles: the LHT and a Big Dummy) – can’t speak highly enough about him, and his wife Corrie. Definitely give him a visit (and you can tell him you know Crazy Cassi – he will laugh). Keep us posted on your move; we’d be glad to help in any way we can, and again, look forward to meeting both of you! (Btw, viewed your blog – your lovely wife got a very sweet engagement bike! 🙂
Yup, I’ll be a prof at Lee, and I’ll definitely stop in and check out Trailhead. I noticed that they carry some pretty great bikes–Surly, Salsa–great stuff! Thanks so much for the offer to help, too. We’ll be headed down in early July to find a house. We’ll more later in the month. Sarah loves her new Crosstown–it’s a great bike for a great price. I’m tempted to get myself one…
That’s wonderful. Just so you know, Charles and his wife Corrie are Lee alums. Not sure your age range, but they are (early) 30-somethings … Maybe you were all there at the same time? Please let us know if we can help when you arrive – look forward to meeting you (and your neat bikes!) 🙂
Huh. How funny. I’m guessing I probably know them. I graduated from Lee in ’98; I’m 32. I’m sure we crossed paths more than once. I’ll be in touch!