Demo Derby Ride

It has become tradition for my Wednesday night bike friends to ride to the Summit County Fair and watch the demolition derby.....and drink lots of Bud Staw-Ber-Itas. Its a ride where we slow down the pace a bit and anyone how wants to can show up. I guess its kind of the Rubber City Ratz summer party. 

I brought my Canon 6D with the cheap 50mm f/1.8 along this year.

Christmas in July

On Sunday Akron Snow Angels held their Christmas in July event at Grace Park. Volunteers work to put necessities directly in the hands of the area homeless - lunch, haircuts and other services are also provided. If memory serves I have shot the event all four years - Snow Angels is one of my favorite non-profits to volunteer my services to. 

Bikes, Boats, Beers & Ducks

Erin and I loaded up our bikes Saturday afternoon and spent a few days in the Sandusky area. We stayed in a cabin at Camp Sandusky which served as a great home base for exploring. The first day we rode into Downton Sandusky for dinner, the second we rode down Catawba and hopped the Ferry to Put-In-Bay, and the last day we checked out an awesome brewery/farm market and went for a dip in Lake Erie. It was a nice, short get away and we were very lucky with some great weather too. 

Akron2Akron: Middlebury

This month's Akron2Akron walk focused on the oldest part of Akron - which wasn't actually originally part of Akron at all - Middlebury. Middlebury was already thriving when Akron was just a plan on a map that General Simon Perkins had drawn on land he owned. Middlebury's huge industry was clay products and the business was so thriving many thought the village would outpace Cleveland's growth the become the region's largest city. The fortunes changed though when Perkins convinced the Ohio Legislature to put the Ohio & Erie Canal through his property. Akron took off and eventually annexed Middlebury. On the walk we not only saw the history of Middlebury but examined its current status and businesses. 

End of the Line

My friend Ben and I packed up our bikes and decided to find the Southern end of the Towpath - which we did - both the official end and an un-official end a little further beyond. We camped at a very cool campsite outside of Massillon on the first night and a few of our friends joined us that evening. In the morning we all said our goodbyes as Ben and I continued on south and everyone else headed back north. The next night we camped at a family campground about 5 miles down country roads outside New Philadelphia. In the morning we rode the whole way back - 70 miles for me from the campground to my door. It was a blast and I learned a ton about bike-packing. More details on our stops and experience follow. 

Bike Packing

Bike camping is something I have been interested in for a while but have never done. Lately I acquired some of the gear I needed and also built up this bike. This is an old French bike that I inherited when my close friend Josh died. Originally it would have been a cheapish steal road bike, when Josh bought it it had already been converted to some kind of hybrid, and now I've frankenstiened it into a gravel/touring bike.