Great bike trails in Mentor...

Friday, July 29, 2011

I’m doing some work for Spirit of America…a Cleveland based non-profit organization working with the boating public on watercraft safety. Their biggest concern and push has always been to get boaters to use life jackets. I’m actually going on the water and charting life jacket use in all watercraft I see. I’ve enlisted my nephew, Nathan, an avid sailor, to pilot my efforts so I can count and fill out forms as I observe. We were scheduled to make our first outing Friday night, sailing around the mouth of the Grand River and inside the break wall at Fairport Harbor Beach. I called him ahead to assure we were on and try to get him to give me and my bike a ride home afterwards. “I’m going to ride over if you’ve got the time to take me home afterwards. I’m figuring it will be dark by the time we’re done sailing,” I said. He agreed readily.

The trip to Fairport takes some careful planning if you are to avoid heavily traveled roads…something I always attempt. I found the best way was to go through Waite Hill on Eagle Road and head through Kirtland Hills before making my way to Mentor via Hart Road. I ended up on Hopkins and was pleased to find a bike path on the shoulder of the road. This was my maiden voyage on a bike only trail…and I loved it. It was nothing more than a large shoulder, separated from the road by nothing more than a white line, but it had to be 3 feet wide offering plenty of room for two bikes. Like all road cyclist, I’ve spent a lot of time riding the shoulders of busy roads and always felt a little vulnerable to the traffic 12 inches from my handle bars. On the path, I could easily put 4 feet between me and the traffic…and I felt safe. Cars tend not to cross the white line of a bike path as they do on the roads, either. The trail took various forms…sometimes separated from the road by tree lawns…as I headed north to Lake Shore Blvd. Once there, I was pleased to find another bike path on the shoulder which went east to Rt. 44 before ending. In all, I think I went 10 miles on trails and I know there are many more in Mentor…congratulations to that community for promoting safe biking.

I arrived in the Marina after almost two hours of riding soaked to the bone. I knew the heat wouldn’t be an issue for long since I was headed out on Lake Erie whose temperatures had reached a near record 80 degrees and I would be swimming. We sailed out into the harbor and I dove in for a cleansing swim before beginning my life jacket usage charting.

For the next two hours, I diligently recorded 17 vessels from as they passed…sailboats, speed boats, cabin cruisers, skiffs, and jet skis. Jet ski operators are mandated to wear life jackets, but for all other boaters, wearing a life jacket is not mandatory…and no one was wearing. The national average is under 10% so this was no big surprise. Though I don’t have the exact statistic, I believe percentage of people drowning and not wearing a life jacket is above 90…hence the push to have everyone boating wearing one. The only way this will ever come to pass is if they are mandated…and I don’t see that happening. I think most boaters feel comfortable that they will stay in the boat and that if something comes up, they can quickly don life jackets…which have to be on board.

On a positive note…I was able to pull myself up onto the boat after my swim…something I could not have done before losing the weight and increasing strength from the Survival Workout. It’s great to get those little affirmations about your program to keep you focused.

Bike workout: One hour and 45 minutes.
Training Heart Rate: 130 bpm.
Calories burned during workout: 1,500.