cyclocosm

When I go cross country skiing at Chapin Forest, it's nice to take a break at the overlook, which is at the edge of a sandstone cliff with a view of the Lake plain. On a clear day, you can see downtown Cleveland, which is about 18 miles away.

Today, I saw it with a new perspective. I think "Cleveland" is a little like the idea of the Roman Empire in the dark ages. Rome was a looming presence in the mind of the people even though the Empire was dead for so long it wasn't even dust anymore. In Northeast Ohio, our favorite pastime is to discuss what's wrong with Cleveland and how to fix it--with a bus lane, for example. From now on, I'm going to refuse to talk about Cleveland's problems. Maybe I'm the Northeast Ohio equivalent one of those Italians in the 15th century who woke up to the fact that the idea of Rome, and the Zombie institutions of the Empire were holding Italy, and the rest of Europe back.

Northeast Ohio is a decent place to live. From a cyclist's point of view, it is really pretty great. I thought of a posting on Dave Steiner's blog back in 2009 from this new perspective. The series of races that the folks at Lake Effect started could be more important to the quality of life in Northeast Ohio than Browns stadium, for example. Something like the NEOCX series, or the Westlake training series, or Jim's TT series could be the difference between some young person deciding to move or stay in the area, and maybe that gets them to invite friends to move here because the cycling scene is pretty damn good, then one of them starts a business, yada yada yada. Cycling can be a basis for people here making connections with their fellow cyclists in Detroit, Pittsburgh, Buffalo, Toronto, too.

To stick with the historical analogy, that would make Northeast Ohio cyclists and their friends and family the equivalent of the humanists in the renaissance. Back then, a few people decided to change the world with new ideas, and just went and did it. Today, a few cyclists and their friends and family can just go ahead and transform Northeast Ohio by stringing tape at CX venues, sitting at registration tables, or turning lap cards at Westlake. That's pretty cool.