Bike Medina County wraps up its Slo Rolls for the season

BRUNSWICK — Cyclists biked from Plum Creek Park to Brunswick Lake to close out Bike Medina County's 2026 Slo Roll program on Thursday. Throughout the summer, community members went on slowly paced group bike rides throughout the county in places like Lake Medina, Buckeye Woods Park and Cy Hewit Park. Bike Medina County First Vice President Tim Smith said the organization tries to pick ride locations with bike trails in place. "It's a great family ride because it is a Slo Roll, so we don't go very fast," he said. "Elderly people come, middle-aged and younger people come, and a lot of times people bring their kids because we're not going that fast. It's more to enjoy an outing, get some exercise and see these great trails that we have in Medina County." This year's Slo Roll program was the most successful one that Bike Medina County has had so far over the years, with between 15 and 20 riders participating at a time, Smith said. "On behalf of me and (President) Beth Schnabel and all the other board members, we really appreciate you guys coming on all these rides this year," he said. "We want to keep building things up." Bike Medina County was founded to encourage safe cycling, which includes wearing bright clothes and a helmet and having front and rear blinking lights on the bicycle, Smith said. Another reason was to promote having more trails for people to walk on or ride their bikes on in the county. "Anybody who wants to join us, we'd love to have new members come on board," he said. "You don't have to be on all the rides we have, and you can just show up. The rides are free, and anybody that wants to help us promote safe biking in the county is welcome." Contact reporter Madisyn Woodring at (330) 721-4049 or mwoodring@medina-gazette.com.