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Doctor sets pace for Tour de Solon bike event
(by Sue Reid - May 28, 2009)
Doctor sets pace for Tour de Solon bike event
By SUE REID
South Russell resident Dr. Richard Kratche's commute to work at the Cleveland Clinic's Solon Family Health Center is ideal for the avid biker, he said.
Three days a week beginning in the spring, the family physician rides his bike to work, increasing what would be a 20-minute commute to one that is 30 to 35 minutes. The extra minutes do not matter, Dr. Kratche said, as he is able to enjoy the route, which winds through the Cleveland Metroparks.
"It's nine miles door to door," Dr. Kratche said. A shower at his work makes it possible to make the ride, he said.
Dr. Kratche, who serves as medical director of the Solon and Chagrin Falls Cleveland Clinic family health centers, said he has been making the commute via bicycle since 1992.
"I don't do it every day, and I don't do it from Dec. 1 to April 1, but from April to December, I try to get three days a week in."
A graduate of the Ohio State University's Medical School, Dr. Kratche's love of biking began early in his life, he said. As a child, he took part in a summer camp bike program for two weeks. That led to day trips and a one-day bike tour in Ohio "and I was hooked.
"I've loved bicycling ever since," he said. While in medical school, he rode his bike once from Seattle to New York.
"In my student days, it was inexpensive," Dr. Kratche said of biking. And, it doesn't require a whole lot of planning to go for bike rides," he said. In addition, "there is incredible freedom" that comes with biking, as well as the fact that it is great exercise.
"You get to see quite a lot on a bike compared to going for a run where you're limited to a handful of miles," he said. One can cover a lot of territories on a bike, he said.
Dr. Kratche takes part in a one-week bike tour each year, where he and three of his friends carry sleeping bags and camp at wherever is the chosen destination.
"We've done tours all over the United States and Canada, and we just go on our own," Dr. Kratche said. "It is so much fun." Dr. Kratche's son, Zack, 17, a student at Chagrin Falls High School, began to accompany him on his yearly trips about three years ago, he said. His wife, Robin, also loves to ride, he said. The couple also have a daughter, Brooke, 15, who attends Chagrin Falls High School.
"You get to see so many areas on the bike," Dr. Kratche said, "and people are really nice to you on a bicycle."
As Dr. Kratche has been commuting to Solon through the years, he said he is pleasantly surprised to see the city working to add bike paths and bike lanes throughout the town.
Dr. Kratche hopes to familiarize the community with these paths when the first Tour de Solon bike event takes place June 20. Proceeds from the event, which begins with registration at 7:30 a.m. that day at the Cleveland Clinic Solon Family Health Center, benefits the American Heart Association and Healthy Solon.
Dr. Kratche said the hope is the event will become an annual one. The idea for Tour de Solon originated when the wellness committee on which he serves at the Solon Family Health Center brainstormed ways to help the well-being of both the employees there and the community. Dr. Kratche proposed a bike ride, he said, and presented that idea to the Healthy Solon planning committee. The Cleveland Clinic, along with the City of Solon and Medical Mutual of Ohio have sponsored Healthy Solon, a three-year health initiative to improve the health and wellbeing of those who live and work in the city.
"I brought the idea back to them of a run or bike ride and they latched on to the bike ride immediately, and it was born," Dr. Kratche said.
The ride will consist of several courses of different lengths, five-mile, 10-mile and 26-mile loops. Riders must be 8 years of age or older and bicycle helmets are required. Young riders must be supervised at all times.
"It's not a race, but a ride," Dr. Kratche said. "We wanted it to be open to people of all ages."
Those interested in participating can call (216) 839-3069. Pre-registration is required by June 12. The ride begins and ends at the Solon Family Health Center, 29800 Bainbridge Road. Parking is available at the same location. The ride will begin at 9 a.m.
"We will be distributing maps to everyone who rides," Dr. Kratche said.
Participants can pick whichever ride they want, he said. On the front of the map will be their loop and on the back is the entire City of Solon with all of the different bike routes. The Solon Police Department has approved the routes, Dr. Kratche said, and will assist the riders in and out of the parking lot. All three of the loops will head out of the same section of Family Health Center facility.
"We were not sure how familiar people are with the routes" in Solon, Dr. Kratche said. The ride will seek to "familiarize some of the locals.
"Most of the rides will be on designated bike routes, many of which are bike lanes or bike paths," Dr. Kratche said. "Some of the ride will be on streets that are not designated bike routes, but not much of it."
To participate in the ride, there is a $5 registration fee per person, with a maximum of $20 per family. Everyone who rides gets a T-shirt.
"We wanted to be very inclusive with no barriers to participation," Dr. Kratche said.
Volunteers will be on hand that day, Dr. Kratche said, and Solon businesses have agreed to serve as sponsors. There will also be a disc jockey and supplies for the kids to decorate their bikes prior to the ride.
"We want to make it a fun atmosphere for everybody," he said.
The event will be held rain or shine. "We're praying for sunshine," Dr. Kratche said.
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