Bike Medina County celebrates 10 year anniversary

Bike Medina County started 10 years ago to increase the number of cycling opportunities in the county, and it is looking to advocate for even more interconnecting trails in the future. Elizabeth Schnabel is the president of Bike Medina County. Schnabel served with the Wittenberg English Ministry in Germany for many years. While there, she developed a goal to bike the 538-mile trail that spanned across the country, and she biked sections of the trail in 2014 and 2015. She came home to Medina County in 2015 and wanted to keep cycling daily, but she had to use roadways because there were only short trails at the time. As a result, she drove to other areas that had longer trails. "We're missing this in Medina County," Schnabel said. "There were small links, maybe at most 5 miles, but if you're wanting to get from point A to point B some distance away, you need connectors." Schnabel spoke with former Medina County Commissioner Pat Geissman about the lack of longer trails in the county, and Geissman suggested she speak at a commissioners meeting. She gave a presentation in fall 2015, and former Medina County Commissioner Tim Smith offered to work with her on the initiative. Those who were interested began to gather, and the name "Bike Medina County" was created for the group after a few meetings. The mission statement was "steering for safer interconnecting bicycle trails and routes for alternative transportation and recreation." Before the end of 2015, a board was developed, officers were selected and Bike Medina County became a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. The following people are the other current members of the board: First Vice President Tim Smith Second Vice President Lynne Nawalaniec Treasurer Suzanne Swain Patti Himmel Bruce Lundmark Anthony Ratajczak John Watkins Nicole Wilmoth One of the initiatives Bike Medina County started was placing pass 3 feet minimum signs for cyclists on the roadway throughout the county. Schnabel said she attended township meetings to spread the word, and Murray Van Epp paid for the signage. "I pleaded the case that it seems like citizens of Medina County were really wanting to find ways to use their bicycles instead of always being in a car," she said. "They benefit in two ways. They save money, and it's healthier." Bike Medina County has also put on many events such as its Lake to Lake bike tour and its slo roll rides, which are slow-paced bike rides that take place in different parts of the county. Schnabel described slo rolls as a social opportunity for people to meet up throughout the summer, and attendance has increased each year since it started around five years ago. "Slo rolls have sparked a lot of interest because they're escorted," she said. "They're mostly on trails now because we've got trails. When they started, they were more on township roads." The organization also sets up educational bike safety displays at different events in the county and received the citizens promoting bicycle safety award from Medina County Safe Communities. The Medina County Park District and the cities of Brunswick, Medina and Wadsworth are working to expand the number of trails within the county, Schnabel said. Connecting Medina County to neighboring counties through trails is one of her goals. "Connecting trails are now what the cities and the county are really backing," she said. "The need within our county is to get trails that are existing connected, and I'm seeing that. I'm very hopeful in seeing that in the future." Contact reporter Madisyn Woodring at (330) 721-4049 or mwoodring@medina-gazette.com.