May 29, 2025
By Tom Ewing
Fifty years ago, math teacher Julius J. Bitter rode to and from his school everyday, a thirty mile roundtrip, from his home in Sylvania to Perrysburg. According to a widely circulated profile in Ohio newspapers, Bitter praised the mental benefits of bicycle commuting: “You can see more of the world and enjoy the surroundings more…And it’s not all that much slower than by car.” Bitter ride his 10 speed bicycle across heavily trafficked roads, although he had never had a problem, which he credited to greater awareness of cyclists as more took to the roads: “I’ve found that if you obey traffic laws and handle a bike with the same care you should do with a care, then there’s no problem.” Bitter rode in all kinds of weather, including xtremes of nearly 100 degrees and 12 degrees below when he left in the morning: “I didn’t get cold but my toes were tingling a bit when I reached school.” Bitter began riding regularly six years earlier, when he recalled seeing almost no bicycles on the roads: “But today you see them everywhere, which may mean that people are recognizing that bikes are not only healthful and economical, but they’re fun, too.” (Marion Star, May 29, 1975, p. 27)
During the 1970s, Bitter regularly led students on long distance cycling trips. Several trips led by Bitter were covered in regional newspapers. In the summer of 1975, for example, Bitter, another teacher, and six boys spent two weeks riding through Iowa, Minnesota, and Wisconsin. Bitter explained that the trip began in a bicycling class at the school, and then the lessons continued on the road: “We didn’t just sit and talk about safe cycling, we actually did it. We took the class out on rides. There is a lot more to be learned in going out and doing it.” Bitter continued with his generally positive view of motorists: “One in a thousand (drivers), or one in ten thousand, will lay on the horn or curse you as you are going by. It is really not as bad as it used to be…I think people recognize that there are more bicyclists, or many of the drivers are riding themselves or their children are riding them. They are becoming more tolerant. They are a fact of life. Drivers have to get along with them.” In this article, Bitter promised that these efforts would continue: “I’m always planning bicycle trips. That is how I teach math. We figure out how many miles and how much equipment we would need to go out West.” (La Cross Tribune, July 19, 1975, p. 2) This goal was accomplished when Bitter and students took a bus to Oregon and spent five weeks riding back to northern Ohio.
In 1984, Bitter was again profiled by regional newspapers, as he continued to ride regularly from his home in Sylvania to the school in Perrysburg. He maintained his positive outlook towards motorists, declaring “people have been courteous and considerate…with a few exceptions.” After sixteen years, Bitter had shifted to less frequent rides, avoiding snow and rain, except when the weather changed suddenly. Bitter declared that he was looking forward to retirement, when he could devote his time to two preferred activities: beekeeping and bicycle riding. (Daily Sentinel-Tribune, December 5, 1984, p. 13)
Cycling has developed considerably in the fifty years since Bitter’s daily commute attracted regional attention. The city of Perrysburg now has designated bicycle lanes, although advocates continue to urge more steps to make safe routes more available and accessible. A route map from Sylvania to Perrysburg, Bitter’s daily commute in the 1970s, now indicates that about one-third is on bicycle paths or routes. Efforts to improve bicycle riding owe a debt of gratitude to rides like Julius Bitter who helped establish cycling as an accepted form of commuting, recreation, and long distance travel almost a half century ago.
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