Century Cycles Logo
Issue: 28
April 2010
In This Issue
Thanks for a successfull Spring Break Sale!
More Upcoming Events!
2010 Bay Bike to School Challenge
Nwe Season, New Faces!
Our latest online poll
5 Questions: Bob Soroky
5 Tips: Climbing Hills
QUICK LINKS
Join Our Mailing List!
A dispatch from America's #39 best bicycling city!
 
Scott Cowan during a Night Ride on the Towpath Trail
Greetings!
 
Were you as excited as I was to hear that Bicycling Magazine named Cleveland the #39 best city for bicycling in the United States? It's awesome that we are being nationally recognized as a cool place to ride a bike. As I told The Plain Dealer, "We're finally getting the ball rolling. Rather, the wheel rolling!"
 
The Towpath Trail was one of the reasons cited in the #39 ranking and, in a feature last fall, Bicycling Magazine also anointed our Century Cycles Night Rides on the Towpath Trail as one of the nation's great local rides. As you can read below, we start our 15th season on Saturday, April 24, and everyone is welcome to join us!
 
As if all that good news wasn't enough, we've had record-breaking temperatures to get our bicycling season off to a great start. I hope you've gotten out on two wheels to enjoy it!

Cheers,

Scott Cowan, Owner
Century Cycles
Our Spring Break Sale happened the final weekend of March, where our customers soaked up the savings with our biggest sale of the year! We'd like to extend a big THANK YOU to all of our customers who helped to make it a HUGE success!

In addition to the latest bicycles, clothing and accessories for the new season, we also unveiled the latest color of our popular "Define your life. Ride a bike." t-shirt. Here's the crew in our Medina store showing theirs off:

Spring Break Sale at the Century Cycles in Medina

You can still get one of these shirts of your own for only $9.99, or FREE with any new bike purchase!

 
Night Rides on the Towpath Trail
More Upcoming Events!

Night Rides on the Towpath Trail - Back for another season, our Night Rides on the Towpath are FREE and fun for the whole family! Mark your calendars for the first Night Ride of the season on Saturday April 24. All rides start at 8:00pm from our Peninsula store. See www.centurycycles.com/for/nightrides for full details.

We've got two SPECIAL Night Rides planned for this year! As part of Cleveland Bicycle Week (see below), our Saturday May 15 Night Ride will be transformed into a Pajama Party Night Ride! Later in the season, NiteRider Technical Lighting Systems returns on Saturday August 7 for a NiteRider Demo Night

Cleveland Bicycle Week
Cleveland Bicycle Week - Century Cycles will help to celebrate and promote cycling in Cleveland on May 15 - 23 with several events, including a Pajama Party Night Ride, Ride of Silence, Bay Bike to School Challenge, and our Super Seven Sale!

See www.centurycycles.com/for/clebikeweek for full details about our events, and www.clevelandbicycleweek.org for more information about all Cleveland Bicycle Week events throughout Northeast Ohio!
Fix-A-Flat Clinics
 
FREE Fix-A-Flat Thursdays - By popular demand, we are continuing our weekly sessions where YOU can learn how to change a tire yourself, the most important maintenance skill that every cyclist should know!
 
Fix-A-Flat Thursdays begin at 7:00pm at all three of our stores (Medina, Peninsula, and Rocky River).
2010 Bay Bike to School Challenge
sponsored by Century Cycles and Chipotle
Dick DeLombard during Bay Bike to School Challenge
Last year, longtime Century Cycles customer and bicycling advocate Dick DeLombard brought his high-wheeler out to ride with (and cheer on) the 1,000+ students who biked on the first day of Bay Bike to School Challenge(BTSC). He's planning on coming back this year and YOU are welcome, too! BTSC kicks off at 7:00 a.m. on Monday, May 3. Both Bay Middle School and Bay High School are on Wolf Road, between Cahoon and Bassett Roads.
 
Century Cycles is your "Bike To School Headquarters"
 
Why is bicycling to school so important?
 
Because our children's health is at stake. More than 33% of U.S. children are now overweight or obese or at risk of becoming so. According to new research from the American College of Sports Medicine, children who cycle to school are more physically active and fit than those who use other modes of transport.
 
Because our planet's health is at stake. Back in 1969, approximately 50% of students biked or walked to school. Today, only about 15% do. Returning to 1969 levels of bicycling and walking to school would save 3.2 billion vehicle miles, 1.5 million tons of carbon dioxide, and 89,000 tons of other pollutants - equal to keeping more than 250,000 cars off the road for a year.

New Season, New Faces!

With the new year comes a few new faces on the Century Cycles staff. Say "Hi" to the following people the next time you stop into one of our stores:
Also, Laura returns for her second summer in the rental barn in Peninsula, and long-time veteran Aaron comes back to Rocky River, after a few years of living in Colorado. Welcome back!
April 2010 Poll imageOur latest online poll

Cleveland was just named the 39th best bike city in America by Bicycling Magazine.

Which of the Top 5 cities would you pick to spend a bicycling weekend?

Let us know by taking our latest online poll.
5 Questions: Bob Soroky

Bob SorokyBob Soroky, 44, is unlike other Century Cycles staffers for two reasons. The first is that he is our newest full time employee, having just joined the Medina store sales team on March 1. The second reason is that the Parma Heights resident is also the only Century Cycles employee with his own radio show. You can listen to Bob's weekly broadcasts of "Table Talk" online at www.blogtalkradio.com/tabletalkbs. Prefer your cycling advice to be written? Then you can read Bob's blog at www.cycleblogbs.blogspot.com.
 
Q: When did you take up bicycling?
A: I've ridden a bike all my life, but I got serious about it back in 1986-1987. I had been hit by a car when I was away at college and the doctors recommended cycling as a way to recover from the injuries to my leg. After I recovered, I took up bicycling as a sport and started doing tours.
 
Q: How many bikes do you own?
A: I have two. Since the late 1980s, I've been riding an old Raleigh Peak. It's a hybrid mountain bike-type bike that I've ridden all these years, even on long tours. I finally decided to get a "grown up" bike last year and I bought a 2009 Giant Defy Alliance from Century Cycles. I'm a familiar story - one of those really happy Century Cycles customers who became an employee! I was going to de-commission the Peak, but then I had the amazing mechanics here give it an overhaul and now I'm going to keep it, partly for sentimental reasons and also to do more casual riding with my girlfriend.
 
Q: I was going to ask you "road or dirt?" but I think I know the answer...
A: Yep, it's road. I never really go off-road. The Towpath Trail is as off-road as I get.
 
Q: What's your favorite bike ride around northeast Ohio?
A: Among organized rides, my favorite is the MS 150 Pedal to the Point. This summer will be my 15th year doing it. For 13 of those years, I did it on that old Raleigh Peak, so doing it last year on the Giant Defy was such a change. If I'm just tooling around near home, I always head to the Metroparks. I grew up in Parma and for as long as I can remember I've biked the Metroparks. I never rode the Towpath until I did a Century Cycles Night Ride last year. Of course it was one that poured rain, but now I really like the Towpath Trail, too.
 
Q: What's the best bicycling advice you've been given?
A: I got it when I started working here and now it's the advice I give most often - how to lean a bike up against something if it doesn't have a kickstand. You don't want to lean it against the frame, because it might scratch the frame. If you lean it against the front wheel, the bike might move and fall over, so the best solution is to lean it up against the back tire. Also, make sure not to lay the bike down on the derailleur side. It's basic stuff, but a lot of people don't know that.
 
You can read the rest of our interview with Bob on our blog.

 
Climbing Oak Hill Road in the Cuyahoga Valley
5 Tips: Climbing Hills
Whenever cyclists from outside our area visit our stores, one of the first things that they talk about is their amazement that Ohio could have so many hills! Whether it's the rolling open roads of Medina County, the winding Emerald Necklace of the Cleveland Metroparks, or of course, the steep ups and downs of the Cuyahoga Valley, Northeast Ohio provides no shortage of challenges to your pedaling power.

Seeing hills doesn't have to leave you shaking in your cycling shoes every time, though. Try these tips to attack those climbs with confidence and enjoy your rides more no matter where the terrain brings you.
 
1. Don't downshift too soon.
2. Ride with your hands on the brake hoods.
3. Soft-pedal as you shift into easier gears.
4. Keep one gear in reserve.
5. Stay seated as long as you can.
 
For more details on each of the above tips, see the accompanying article by Kevin Madzia on our blog
Century Cycles Logo

Define your life. Ride a bike.
 
Our Stores:
1079 N. Court St. (Rt 42, K-Mart Plaza)
Medina, OH  44256 map
Phone: 330-722-7119
 

1621 Main St. (Rt 303)
Peninsula, OH  44264 map
Phone: 330-657-2209
 

19955 Detroit Rd. (between Wagar and Wooster Roads)
Rocky River, OH  44116 map
Phone: 440-356-5705

www.centurycycles.com

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