Ohio does make the everyday commute very challenging to say the least. You have to be an all weather cyclist if you wish to ride year round. Being a native of Los Angeles California where enjoyed commuting everyday with very little special gear to tackle all year riding. Now that I moved to Ohio 15-years ago and here the weather can change 20 degrees in 8 hours makes for interesting preparation. As far as my commute I only live about 7-miles away from work one way if you take the main streets but, I opt to take the bike paths (Trails to Rails program) that take me 6-more miles out of my way. I only have 2-miles of streets to contend with and the rest is all bikeways. I had to make my own lighting system because there are no lights on the paths. Sometimes the tree canap? makes for a really dark ride. Branches and glass is the only real debris that I have to contend with. The extremes: A foot of snow, Flooding, black ice, 50 mph wind, 100 degrees with 90% humidity. Then there are those days that it is just right.
I have been cycling all my adult life and got my with to ride along with me on our tandem, Cannondale upright and recumbent Sun tandem.
to many for this space.
I would like to see more programs that help other commuters get to work safe.