By CARL E. FEATHER - Staff Writer - cfeather@starbeacon.com
ASHTABULA — It will be some time before Chris Martello forgets what she saw on the Western Reserve Greenway Trail earlier this month.
A cyclist just a few feet in front of her, crossed one of the intersecting byways without bothering to stop and look for traffic. Somehow, cars coming from both directions managed to avoid hitting the cyclist.
“I thought, ‘Oh my God, somebody was watching over him,’” said Martello, coordinator of the Bike Patrol volunteers for Ashtabula County Metroparks.
Martello wants to make sure somebody is watching out for all cyclists on the Western Reserve Greenway Trail (WRGT) this riding season and to that end, she is organizing a Blessing of the Bikers event for 11 a.m. May 2 at the Lampson Road staging area off Route 45. The rain date is May 9.
The Rev. Fred Grimm of St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Jefferson will provide the blessing. Scott Treen will play the bagpipes. The Metroparks will provide bicycle safety information. Martello says it will be a short program, but she feels an important one, to get bikers off to a safe start and keep them riding that way.
The blessing is a first for the WRGT. Martello said there have been others held around the county, and she did some research on the Internet and decided Ashtabula County should hold one, as well.
“We can use all the blessings we can get,” Martello said.
All ages are invited. Martello said she especially would like to have in attendance family members of any person who lost his or her life in a cycling accident.
The event is especially appropriate for the group Martello heads up. The 35 volunteers in the Bike Patrol provide a monitoring and assistance presence along the entire trail. Volunteers are required to spend at least four hours a month on the trail, but in practice, most give many times that.
“They are there basically to be a representative of the Metroparks, a goodwill ambassador,” she said.
The volunteers pass out maps, provide assistance and answer the two big questions: “Where am I at on the trail?” and “How far is it to the next restroom?”
Information on joining the patrol is available at the group’s headquarters, a small building just north of the Route 307 parking lot. Each new volunteer completes a short orientation with Martello before beginning service with the group.
WRGT is now paved throughout Ashtabula County. Martello said debris left over from the paving work in South County needs to be removed before mowing can start in that area. Volunteers are needed to assist with that cleanup project, which will be held after the blessing event.
For more information, call Martello (294-2555).
