Whether it’s a cross-country ride or just a cruise through Buhl Farm park, Parke Wentling said there’s something open and communal about bicycle riding.

“Having the opportunity not to have the glass around you, or the metal shell,” he said. “You’re exposed to the environment. You can talk and communicate with people.”

Wentling, 35, of the Greenville area, has been riding and racing bicycles for 12 years. With the weather warming up, he’s begun endurance training for an overnight cycling trip set for this weekend.

Wentling is due to pedal 105 miles each way from Columbus to Portsmouth, Ohio.

And with May in full bloom, Wentling’s not the only one pedaling around town. As soon as the ice melts, Buzz Lazor, 60, says he’s on his trail bike, usually making a circuit to the F.H. Buhl Club in Sharon and back to his Sharpsville home. He uses the bike mostly just to get around.

Doane and Karole Bailey, both school teachers, made circuits through the park with determined expressions and cyclist sportswear.

Bailey said he’s been cycling for 34 years. “I finally talked her into joining the fun,” he said of Karole, and now it’s a hobby they share.

They were training their endurance for a cross-Michigan bike trip, putting in about 75 miles a week before ratcheting it up the next week to 100. “Which isn’t a lot,” Bailey said. “But it gets us a good base for the trips.”

Not everyone’s cycling for the sheer thrill or economy of it, though.

“I needed to get some exercise, so I started riding,” said Sam Bowser, 22, of Sharon. Bowser, like many cyclists, started young and took a break before getting back into the hobby.

He said it was in April that he broke down and bought a mountain bike at The Bicycle Store in Hermitage. “The sidewalks, the way they are around here, you almost need a mountain bike,” he joked. That, and the bike he got at Wal-Mart wasn’t holding up very well.

The Bicycle Store’s owner, Michael Kavulla, said business is thriving and he’s putting in a lot of hours. “I noticed this year we’re up in parts, repairs and orders.”

What’s causing the bicycle boom? Three things, Kavulla said: Pent-up cabin fever, high gas prices and economic woe, and more health consciousness.

“One lady said she’s going to bike to work at least one day a week to cut down on gas consumption,” Kavulla said.

In other cases, he said families are getting bicycles so they can just pop them into the back of the family van and go on shorter, closer-to-home vacations instead of driving cross-country or flying somewhere.