Saturday, May 31, 2008

Lake Erie Winery Run

What a great run, and an opportunity to meet new friends and swap stories. But it was questionable whether or not it would even happen! At 4:00am, I was awaken by tornado warnings, and a tornado watch remained in effect long after we left. As Henry rode about 1 mile to my house, a cloudburst occurred. It lasted only a few minutes, still soaking him to the skin. Then after we left, about 6 miles down the road, his bike needed to have a part tighten. So we stop and he tightens it in just about 5 mins. But then, as I try to start my bike, I get nothing...nothing at all. So we took the side off my bike to check fuses, then the seats to check the battery. Luckily, after 15-30 mins, we narrowed it down to a loose battery connection. So we headed off and still made it to Bucyrus just a couple mins late.


In the picture below, we all gathered in Bucyrus and posed for this pic. From the left it is Henry (a friend of mine), April and Brad, Theresa and Jeff (friends of DavidRN), DavidRN and Maura. Remember to click on the picture for a larger version!

We headed to the wineries, but made a pit stop in Castalia. 30 years ago or so, there was a Road Side attraction called Blue Hole. It was billed as a bottomless pit fed oxygen-less water that gave an illusion of infinite depth and water clarity. Now, that water is the source for a trout farm run by the state. Dozens, if not hundreds of fish are in the creek and stack to have people feed them bread or popcorn.





After we hit the wineries, Jeff came up with the idea of stopping at Big Boppers for a hardy lunch. Here are all the bikes, lined up in front of the restaurant. You can find the establishment at 7581 E Harbor Rd, Lakeside Marblehead just outside of Port Clinton.

What great food – from breakfasts of sausage gravy & biscuits, to lunch of award winning chili ("Real Chili should never have beans in it") or a fried walleye sandwich. And with a bunch of new friends to share it, what could be better?


But like all good rides, there is a time to start the return route. With DavidRN and team living east, they opted take a more direct route home. But with all the chili and beans that he had to eat, poor Maura was going to have a challenging ride home. Not one to let an opportunity pass by, he also opted to light up a stogie to add a little more aroma for that trip home. And, if things worked out just right, there might be enough heat to spark a methane blast!

So April and Brad, Henry, and I headed down Rt 53. We fought wind gusts all the way home. Had to have been upwards of 35mph or more! Felt like it was going to rip the helmet off my head, and leather jacket off my body. On the way, we ran across these Prop planes that we were told flew in the Pacific theater and the European theater in WWII. You can be the judge of that, I just thought they were cool! And with Kermit (my bike) alongside, you can see the size of these giants.



Saturday, May 10, 2008

Day in Findlay


Took the afternoon off today, and went for my first "ride" of the year. Not the longest, but well over 100 miles anyway. Rode up to Findlay, and met a few friends at CoffeeAmici (http://www.coffeeamici.com/). It is a nice coffee house in downtown Findlay. It is very nice place, owners are bike owners. I get up there every chance I get.

I stopped over to a local restaurant. Got the worse beer, but the best quesadilla. It looked like a normal family restaurant. BUT I was the only guy there, and I saw one of the girls pull her top over her head showing just her bra! She was really cute too. Before she left, I ordered a beer for her and talked with her. She swore that it was an accident, but I am not sure - both she and the waitress were giggling about it!

After that, I had some free time, and rode over to a lake. Nice place to spend a few minutes walking around, thinking about things. I decided to lay down for a few minutes, just to close my eyes. Guess I fell asleep! It has been a tough week...

Rode back on a different road for about 1/3 of the way. It is amazing what you can find in rural Ohio. Anyway, got back home, and then took the kids out for some ice cream. Not a bad Saturday, if you ask me!!!



Wednesday, May 7, 2008

Lake Erie Run

Here is what I am thinking of for a Lake Erie run.

Thinking of meeting up at the Delaware Reservoir Dam on Rte 23 just north of Delaware, then hitting Bucyrus for the Mural. A couple wineries on the near the lake, stop at the beach at Lake Erie, hit an Irish pub for lunch, and then back. Round trip, around 250 miles. Plenty of stops, mixed riding (some highway, some backroads). Plan for a full day.

Here is a map of my current thoughts on the ride (click on image for larger view):

Here is a closeup map of the lake area for the ride (click on image for larger view):

Thursday, May 1, 2008

Dang, foiled again

Planning for a great weekend ride....but thunderstorms are coming, cold temps. Just not what I want to ride in for the weekend. Arghhhhhh......