Slow Roll Week Four: Kirtland Park (Asiatown)

Goodrich-Kirtland Park is one of the neighborhoods in our city most likely to elicit a confused look and a shrug even from locals. Would it help if we told you it's also called Asiatown? The area has a rich and fascinating history. Did you know Asian-Americans originally moved to Cleveland from the West Coast to escape the racism they endured after being enticed from their homelands to work on building the nation's railroad network in the 19th century? Cleveland has a long, proud tradition as a safe harbor city, and we honor it.

This Monday, join us (6 PM gather, 7 PM ride) in Kirtland Park, the area's namesake, which today sits in a sort of nowhere zone between the neighborhoods to the south it and the freeway and sea of cars to the north. The park itself is a green oasis, little noticed by traffic rushing east or west along I-90, but home to an amphitheater and grove of trees and a lovely new playground of recent origin. We'll explore several layers of Cleveland's history along this route, which will cover ground from downtown to midtown.

One more reminder that if you haven't filled out our registration form, you can do so at the following link. It's free, it's simple, and you only need to do it once all year:

https://forms.wix.com/f/7056353964656165582

We're probably still a few weeks away from anything approaching "balmy," but recent rides have been clearly taking a turn for the warm lately and Monday should continue this trend.

One other trend we've been paying attention to: the increased number of flat tires we're seeing as our crowd sizes increase. Please make sure your tires are properly inflated before you ride! This can't be emphasized enough; proper inflation is the number one defense against a flat tire. Also, find out what kind of tire your bike uses, and obtain a tube that you know works with it. We carry tubes with us to assist riders, but we can't possible cover the entire gamut of emergency situations and we don't want to leave you stranded. Last night we had a rider who went flat on both tires at once; don't let this be you!