To every season turn, turn, turn.

That’s how we feel about this spring. The time change has hit and we are slowly but surely feeling the change in temperature, sunlight, and day length.

As mind-sets start to naturally be more positive, a renewed sense of hope tends to fill our thoughts as we witness new life open up in the nature that surrounds us. We too, have new opportunities we want to share with all of you.

The first is surrounding safety and cycling. WaveCel technology, have you heard of it? It’s being coined “the biggest advancement in the protection against cycling concussions in 30 years.”

WaveCel has been described as “a revolutionary helmet safety technology.” Standard foam helmets were designed to protect against direct impacts. But the WaveCel technology accounts for how most cycling accidents actually happen: ungracefully, with twists, turns, and angled impacts.

These WaveCel road, mountain, commuter, and e-bike helmets are remarkably effective at preventing concussions caused by common cycling accidents. A head impact without a helmet leaves you unprotected and with an almost certain chance of a concussion. Standard foam helmets greatly reduced your chance of concussion, but still didn’t take into account for angular impacts.

More recent technological advancement to helmets came around in 1996 from Sweden. That technology was called MIPS and was licensed through Giro helmets before expanding to several manufacturers. It lowered your chances of concussion to 50 percent odds.

Helmets with this technology have been selling well over the past few years and are still available through different helmet manufacturers. Now with this year’s introduction of the WaveCel technology, the chance of a concussion upon direct impact decreases to less than 1.2 percent!

Nearly 99 out of 100 times, the WaveCel technology is effective at dispersing the energy from an impact, according to third party testing! You only have one brain. What is it worth to you?

These newer helmets currently licensed exclusively through Bontrager come in $150 and $300 versions, however, we assume to see others buying into this technology soon.

If you consider what that amount of money will buy you in terms of medical attention, you won’t even be able to pay the ambulance to come find you on the side of the road. Most of our insurance deductibles are more than the helmet cost.

So what’s it worth to you to decrease that chance of a head injury? It’s a ‘no brainer’ — pun intended. To learn more about this new technology, search youtube for “What is WaveCel.”

The second topic of excitement to share is the upcoming MS150 charity bicycle rides in our area. The closest one, “Escape to the Lake” takes place in June 8-9, starting at Moraine State Park, riding to Erie.

Riders complete 75 miles per day and minimum fund-raising starts $200 to participate in a single day, proceeds going to fund research for Multiple Sclerosis.

Charity rides are a wonderful opportunity for the following, beyond donating to a charitable cause: goal setting, providing something to train for, a sense of comradery amongst a group, meeting new like-minded people, overcoming a fear, improving strength and endurance, and the list can continue on for the many reasons that motivate individuals to sign up

We love to participate in charity rides and one of our favorites is for children’s cancer research, but there are many to choose from each and every year. Our reasons for participating are many, and we can share from experience that the fulfillment gained on the day of the event lasts us for months after.

If you’re interested in a charity event and want more information, we will be holding a free seminar at the Butler YMCA in April about preparing for your event. This seminar will be open to both members and non-members. Look for information on the Butler YMCA facebook page.

Our final mention of things exciting us this spring are our group mountain bike rides taking place right here in Butler at the Alameda Trails.

These beginner-friendly group rides are meant to help those new to cycling find enjoyment, confidence, friendship, and learn the trail system and how to ride them. The Trek of Wexford facebook page will be listing our rides, once a month at Alameda Park and once a month at North Park trails.

Ride gatherings will be at 6 p.m. on Tuesdays, but check the events on Trek of Wexford facebook page for actual ride dates as they are not every week.

Our local Alameda trails contain roughly 10 miles of trail, machine-built, providing smooth, open lanes of dirt to ride on. Gravity is your friend on several fun descents and switch backs make for fun skill building both descending and climbing back up.

These are also kid- friendly and family-friendly trails, so overall just a fantastic local trail opportunity for mountain biking, hiking, or running.

Stay safe, invest in your noggen, join a group ride, a charity ride, or attend a free informational session with us this spring. So many opportunities to be excited about!

Travis and Julie Saeler are cycling columnists for the Butler Eagle