Slow Roll Week Two: Gordon Park

Gordon Park was created more than 130 years ago as a gift to the city by grocery and iron ore magnate William J. Gordon, who bequeathed his 122-acre estate on the condition that it forever remain free and open to the public. Today it represents a complicated challenge.

The park, which formerly stretched to the shores of Lake Erie and includes parts which are now incorporated into the Cleveland Lakefront Reserve, was once a popular location for swimming and included a large public beach, a favorite with locals. Post-war pollution put an end to that, along with the construction of a dredge disposal site just east of the park. Re-alignment of I-90 in the 60s literally cut the park in two; today only a narrow pedestrian bridge connects the northern part of Gordon Park to its southern half. Its main attraction, the old Cleveland Aquarium, moved to The Flats decades ago and continues to crumble and rot. Generations of urban planners have struggled with questions about how to reconnect the land and restore Gordon Park's vitality and importance to the city.

This coming Monday we'll start a ride from Gordon Park for the first time ever and give you a peek at a fascinating if often neglected piece of our urban quilt.

We'll gather at 6 PM for a 7 PM ride, as usual but for the first time this season, in the park area south of the Gordon Park ballfields, next to the main parking lot which you enter off of E. 72nd Street.

If you've never been to a Slow Roll before, you don't need much: your bike, your helmet, and yourself (and a spare tube that fits your bike, if you have one.) Prepare for a 8-10 mile ride with an average speed of 7-8 mph. Everyone is welcome, as long as they aren't riding a device powered by a combustion engine.

If you're new or haven't registered yet, please click on the following link and fill out our waiver. You'll only need to do it once, and then you're set for a full season of rides:

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

As always, there is never a charge to ride with Slow Roll Cleveland, although we do accept donations and sell t-shirts at our events, so stop by our booth to see what we have available.

We thanks our partners at Beat Cycles, Bike Cleveland and Knabe Law Firm for helping us put on these events.