There will soon be a new connector to the University Parks Trail from Reynolds Road, just south of Central Avenue. Please join us in thanking Promedica who owns the land and is paying for the improvements to connect the Wildwood Complex to the U/P Trail. Based on the activity, the project will complete within May and provides a formal connection to Reynolds south of Central.

Many thanks for the great resources produced by Keri Caffrey and the folks at Cycling Savvy. This is a 2-minute video that every cyclist should watch...please watch it!

What Cyclists Need to Know About Trucks from Keri Caffrey on Vimeo.

Large vehicles present special hazards you need to understand.

The simple but essential rule is:
never ever… ride along the right side of a large truck

Do not pass a truck on the right.

If a truck passes you and then slows, or stops next you at an intersection, do not stay beside it. Do what you need to do to not be there.

To explain why, we’ll show you how trucks turn, where their drivers must look, where they can’t see, and how large vehicles hide you from other drivers. In order to keep the trailer from rolling up over the sidewalk, truck drivers must start from farther left, then pull forward - sometimes having to drive into the oncoming lane for the cross street. This initially makes it look like the truck is going straight. As the truck is making the turn, the driver must watch any pedestrians on either end of the crosswalk, as well as the vehicle at the front of the queue for the cross street. A bicyclist riding along the curb or in a bike lane would most likely be in one of the trucks huge blind spots. Sadly, too many cyclists that get into the situation never see it coming. The off-tracking trailer comes across very quickly, and the only escape is to immediately jump off the bike and run to the right. Hanging back will keep you out of this danger zone. But while a cyclist who hangs back isn’t trapped in the sweep of the trailer, she would be screened from view of any on-coming drivers preparing to turn left.

The savvy cyclist will move to the left side of the lane behind the truck, so she has the best vantage to see and be seen by other drivers.

Toledo Metroparks has received great news about grant requests to advance three important trail projects. The Ohio Department of Natural Resources has awarded the following, pending final approval:

• $214,098 from the Clean Ohio Trails Fund toward the cost of extending the University/Parks Trail 0.6 miles from King Road to Silica Road. The three-phase project will eventually extend the trail all the way to Sylvan Prairie Park in Sylvania
• $143,040 from the Recreational Trail Program toward the cost of constructing a trailhead parking lot and restroom building along the Chessie Circle Trail at Copeland and Detroit avenues
• And $16,056 from the NatureWorks program toward the cost of building a trail-head in Fulton County for the Beach Ridge Trail in Oak Openings

We anticipate that the projects will complete by end of 2018 but look for more details as they become available. And for mountain bike enthusiasts...

Mt. Bike Trail Progressing Quickly
The Oak Openings staff, with the help of volunteers, has roughed in the entire Beach Ridge singletrack trail. Over the winter and next spring, they will install several boardwalks, bridges and signs to complete the project.  Praising the crew and management by Craig Elton, Joe Fausnaugh said that not only did the work get done faster than he anticipated, but it was done "at such a high level of quality that this will very quickly become the best mountain bike trail in the state.”