As far as bicycle enthusiast Dr. Theresa Loftin is concerned, Cherokee County has wonderful places to ride.

With more people coming to the area, lugging kayaks and canoes and now bicycles, Loftin thought it was time to promote those places to pedal. At the same time, she wanted to increase safety awareness. With two bicyclists killed recently in Tulsa by a drunken driver, safety concerns rose to the forefront.

Four large, yellow reflective signs with a bicycle were donated by Loftin to the county commissioners Monday morning. Loftin and her husband, Shawn Rhodes, who races and repairs bikes, enjoy riding the county roads where they grew up.

“Cherokee County has all these back roads and we enjoy the great outdoors,” she said. “We want to designate some established routes on county roads that are good places to ride and let motorists know there could be cyclists.”

It would seem 25 or so cyclists in skin-tight Lycra would be hard to miss, but sometimes, single riders like to venture out.

“You don’t have to have a designated cycling area, but the signs will be posted on ride routes we’re developing,” Loftin said. “Bikers observe the same rules as drivers, but I see people riding on the wrong side of the road and with no helmet. Safety is so important.”

She sometimes sees cyclists on the bypass, but hopes to coax them away from heavy traffic areas to designated county roads. Currently those include Mud Valley, Manard, Steely Hollow, Stick Ross Mountain and Jones.

“We hope to foster a cycling community in Tahlequah to bring tourism and other cyclists,” she said. “Mountain biking is also popular here.”

Tahlequah Velo (that’s French for “cycling”) is the club they’ve established here. Tuesdays and Thursdays, anyone who wants to join a group ride is welcome to meet at Paceline Cyclery at 6 p.m.

“A Tuesday night ride is traditional in cycling communities,” she said. “We’ve found a cycling clique wherever we went. It’s not just a hobby, it’s a culture.”

The Tulsa club, Sound Pony, rides in this area, she said, because “they like to get out of town to ride.”

“More people will bring their bikes here to ride once they know there’s established routes,” Loftin said.

When Loftin was interning in Austin, Lance Armstrong was a cancer patient, without a good prognosis.

“He brought his bike to the shop where Shawn worked to have his bike repaired,” she said. “We felt a kinship and connection.”

His recovery was a miracle, Loftin believes.

“We always follow him,” she said.

This week, they’re cheering again for Armstrong, who’s in the Tour de France that started Saturday.

The Cherokee Nation sponsored some kids who recently embarked on the Trail of Tears journey, Loftin said.

“We helped them get started and with training,” she said.

Bicycling is a good way to relieve stress and stay fit. A runner in high school, Loftin found bicycling a healthy alternative after damaging her knee.

“I can participate without further damaging my orthopedic condition,” she said.

Their sons, ages 11 and 7, ride bikes, too.

“We don’t push them to ride the rides we do,” she said.

The group rides are 18-25 miles, she said, lasting two to four hours.

“There are the faster guys and then people like me who just bring up the rear,” Loftin said. “Cycling is a health and wellness aspect of my life.”

Bicycling also helps with disease prevention.

“A sedentary lifestyle pushes kids into early diabetes,” she said. “But cycling is for young and old.”

One success story she shared was of a boy who lost 50 pounds.

“He’s now a very fit teenager, from an obese child,” she said. “He races now and is interested in a college with a cycling team. It was a transformation for him.”

The boy started riding with his dad.

“He exemplifies what can occur,” she said.

Loftin provides some uniforms for the Tahlequah cyclists team, with a turtle logo on the shirts.

“Turtles are Native American symbols for health,” she said.

And cycling is a green activity.

“We don’t pollute the air or destroy the environment. You renew your own body and it’s good for the psyche,” she said. “We hope to introduce more people to cycling.”

The next major bicycling event in Tahlequah will be a Twilight Race downtown on Sept. 17.