Asterisk Opening

My friend Ben(and often riding buddy) had an art opening at Asterisk Coffee Bar in Cuyahoga Falls on Saturday. They were photos that he has taken while out exploring on his bike. Lots of great images of the abandoned and off-the-beaten-path parts of the Akron area. Ben has shown me a lot of these places and it seems we follow the same abandoned RR tracks and routes as the graffiti artists and homeless. Anyways - get down to Asterisk for a coffee drink or an adult beverage and check out the show - it is worth it.

Drive By Moms at Birchwood Supply Co.

On Saturday evening Jason at Birchwood held an open house at his shop above Bounce downtown Akron. Jason builds custom furniture and sells vintage wares. At 8PM our buddy Greg played with his new band Drive By Blessing of the Moms. Only having some string lights on to set the mood I grabbed a flashlight from Jason and wrapped it in a shop towel to get a bit of light on the band(mostly Greg) and with the ridiculous low light abilities of the Canon R5 was able to get some good photos. It was a fun night hanging out with friends in an awesome space.

The Queers at the Rumba Cafe

 

A couple friends hit me up saying they had tickets to see one of our favorite bands from when we were younger down in Columbus - they had an Air BNB, the ride and everything planned - I just had to hop in the car. The band rocked but it was even better to hang out with some friends I don't spend enough time with. It was a quick over-nighter but totally worth it. I only snapped a few photos in these tough lighting conditions but some still turned out pretty decent. 

Krampus Kross: The Ohio State Championships

On Sunday I rode out to Camp Manatoc in the Cuyahoga Valley to watch some cyclocross racing. I didn't make it for the earliest races but still saw a lot of great action on a very challenging course. The weekly Yeti Ride from Dirty River Bicycle Works also rolled out to the races so I got to hang with a lot of friends from there and a few of the Yeti's jumped into the last race. One of the bike shop's reps actually won the Ohio State Championship so that was cool too. Cyclocross is a lot of fun to watch live - I'm kind of bummed the local season is over.

Philadelphia

I hadn't seen my friend Eric since before the pandemic started so when he hit me up about catching Bob Dylan somewhere I was in. Our timing worked out for Philadelphia. Eric lives in Boston but was home in Youngstown for Thanksgiving so I picked him up on the way Monday. We got in town late afternoon and went out for food and drinks. The next day we did a little exploring and saw the show. On Wednesday I met up with a cycling buddy and we rode 45 miles around the city before meeting back up with Eric in the evening. I didn't take a ton of photos on the trip as it was mostly about catching up and riding but I of course still snapped a few. There will be a riding video on the YouTube channel on Monday. I really enjoyed Philly and definitely hope to go back, take more photos and see more of the sights. The people were so friendly and for such a giant, historic city it felt fairly chill.

Black Friday

My family doesn't shop on Black Friday - we brewery hop. This year we started off in Cuyahoga Falls and then worked out way downtown Akron. I had the Tree Lighting Ceremony at Lock 3 to photograph so I missed out on a few of the stops this year. I didn't snap that many photos but here are a few good ones. I'll have a separate post for the Tree Lighting images.

Bent Ladder

Bent Ladder Cidery at Rittman Orchards is one of the best places around to hang out and watch a sunset. We started our day at the Yeti Ride with Dirty River Bicycle Works before riding down the Towpath and over to Kevin O'Bryans for lunch. We then took a country road route out to Bent Ladder. Another perfect Fall day in the saddle.

Connecticut by Bike

After Nutmeg Nor'easter the crew split up and went their separate ways. Ben and I took off on our bikes to tour CT for a few days. First we rode to Chester to see the castle, ride the ferry and have some lunch and then on to East Hartford where we had a little motel. The next morning we rode into Hartford for some breakfast and then on to my friend Pat's house up in Collinsville. We spent the day hanging out and hiking while Pat showed us his area. In the morning we rode down the whole state through a nor'easter to Bridgeport on Long Island Sound where we had an Air bnb. The next morning we cruised the coast and city a bit until Erin picked us up and we started heading toward Rochester, NY and then back home. Connecticut was beautiful and we had a blast riding the country roads and trails across the state.

Syracuse & Rochester

So we bookended our Connecticut trip with stops in New York State. On the way out we stopped in Syracuse and on the way back in Rochester. I already knew that I liked Rochester but Syracuse was new to me and it turned out to be pretty cool as well. We went to a bike shop that also had an amazing café for breakfast there. We also rode around their lake and hit a few breweries of course. In Rochester we met up with a friend and hit a couple breweries in the evening and coffee shops and bakeries in the morning. This was probably the second longest vacation I've taken since starting this business so it was a nice break. I'll have one more post from this trip which is me and Ben's bike tour of CT.

Nutmeg Nor'easter V

Nutmeg Nor'easter is a cycling event that takes place on Cold Spring Farm in Colchester, CT. The event is put on by Ronnie "Ultra Romance" and his partner Arya - they call it the "non-competitive alt cycling world championships"! The event started on Friday with camp setup, dinner & speakers then campfires. The next morning was breakfast and the opening ceremony followed by a number of ride options. There was dinner and more programing before a dance party and the event ended the next day with the Scorcher Single Speed Race. Everything about the event was pretty much perfect, the place, the routes, the food, the people and all the rad bikes. It was a super chill environment and the whole thing was put on with no corporate sponsors. I also scored a Ideale Saddle leather saddle at the swap meet. More on all of this in the photos and captions below.

Heck of the North

On Saturday morning I dragged myself out of bed and up to Cleveland for the Heck of the North cyclocross race hosted by Joy Machines Bike Shop. Whiskey Island is the perfect spot for a race with Lake Erie, Downtown Cleveland, and The Flats as the backdrops. The course was pretty rad too. ....and as you can see there are varying levels of seriousness of the riders - from all out trying to crush it to in costume drinking beers. It was a fun day up in Cleveland - I'm glad I went - maybe next year I enter?

The Otis-Roubaix

Dirty River Bicycle works brought back their annual Akron hill climb challenge called the Otis-Roubaix. Basically the shop owner, Otis, plans a route taking in all of Akron's gnarliest climbs. Its more of a group ride than a race but everyone challenges themselves on the climbs - they are so steep they are challenging at any pace. A lot of people turn up with the goal of just finishing. It was a fun day out!

Actual Form & Venus Twins

So last night I parked my bike outside High Street Hop House and ducked in to grab a quick drink to decompress from a photo shoot. I started chatting with friend/bartender Emily and then with the guy next to me. Before I knew it I was a few deep and learned there was a show downstairs at Musica and one of the bands were all friends of mine. So of course I ended up chatting dancing and photographing the rest of the evening. I've seen Actual Form a number of times and they are always entertaining but this band from Texas - Venus Twins - were amazing as well. Accidental rage that turned out pretty great.

Fall Ride

Yesterday's idea was to ride somewhere and do something real "Fall-like". What's more Fall than riding to an apple orchard to eat apple pies? We rode out to to the River Merchant in Kent first and had an amazing brunch. They have an awesome patio that looks over the Cuyahoga River. We then headed on to Beckwith Orchards for the Fall treats. It was beautiful weather and another perfect day on the bikes.

Yankee Pedaling

Last weekend Erin wanted to go to the Yankee Peddler Festival at Clay's Park Resort. It is kind of a New England craft show with food, crafts, exhibits and music. The ride down was mostly the Towpath Trail to Canal Fulton and then a little bit of country roads. After that we rode back towards Akron and then turned and went out to Kent for their Oktoberfest celebrations. It all made for a fun day on the bikes.

Kodak Portra 400

Kodak Portra 400 seems to be the things all the kids love these days so I thought I would see what all the hype was about. Well - I'm not sure. I understand it is supposed to be a more subdued film than some of the stocks I like - but it really came out over-exposed and under-saturated. This is kind of my problem with color film - did I over-expose, was it developed bad, did my scanner not like it? As washed out as these look I actually did darken them a bit and add some contrast in post. I don't know - I have a decent amount of color film left in the fridge but after that I think I'll stick to B&W. I can just control all of the processes so much better and have a much better eye for comparing them. I still dig some of these photos even if it looks like they were shot on expired film.

Free Black! at Dirty River

On Friday Dirty River Bicycle Works had an outdoor concert with Free Black! - they played their new album. Free Black is Flocco Torres and drummer HR3. It was a great show and a fun night with lots of friends and bike friends who rode there and after.

Overdeveloped at Brandywine

This was my second time developing Kodak Tri-X in Rodinal. I liked the results I got the first time but this time I think I overdeveloped the negatives a bit. I like the contrast-y look that I get from HC-110 and I did dig it the first time with Rodinal but this went a little too far. I think I absent mindedly agitated right at the beginning of development which I usually don't do. There were still some cool shots in here which is why I am sharing anyways - I just wish I had some midtones!

ACR Metric Century Ride

Akron Coffee Roasters hosted their Metric Century Ride last week and it was a great time. Good route, good people, good food and resupply stops. There was an after party with great food at Musica. This is one of the social rides I look forward to the most every year.

Akron Bike Party & Magic City

The other night a few of us rode to Magic City Brewing for some beers and dinner. After that we headed to join the Akron Bike Party group ride. Unfortunately we were late and missed the departure time - no worries - we found them out on the road and headed to Strickland's with the group. Perfect Summer Friday.

What We Do Is Secret - Friday Ride

Friday night ride and a few beers at the chill spot.

White Lighter

The novelty of seeing live music again still has worn off yet - lets hope those who refuse to get vaccinated don't ruin it for all of us again. Anyways - White Lighter played a show at the Matinee in Akron for our friend Alley's 35th birthday. They never got to play a show for their record release so this kind of worked for that too.  The Matinee is usually tough for photography but a little bounce flash and the fact that it was still light out made for some great images. Also - the R5 is just killer for this kind of thing.  

Downtown at Dusk 2021

I've been going to Downtown at Dusk at the Akron Art Museum as long as I can remember. I enjoy the live music but also the chance to be outside on a Summer evening and hang out with friends and run into acquaintances. Last night checked everyone of those boxes.

Tunnels and Fireworks

Our buddy Mike was heading back to LA after hanging out here in Ohio for about a month. We sent him off with some tunnel riding and fireworks. Video of the experience at the end of this post.

Riding Across Ohio

For the last 4 years I have spent 4th of July riding my bike and camping and the last three of them across Ohio. We have done the Ohio to Erie Trail and this was similar but we modified the route to skip some of the less interesting sections and to explore some new territory - towns, trails, parks and roads. We spent 5 days and rode 380 miles. A friend dropped us off in Cincinnati and we rode our route back home. We were in some heavy rain for the first few hours but other than that we had great weather and a great time. Bike camping is my favorite way to travel.

New Sign Day

My friend Mike Marras is a metal artist who mostly fabricates metal sculptures from pieces and parts of steel. He worked with my buds over at Dirty River Bicycle Works to design and install a sign on their new building. I wanted to document the process so I took some photos and made a video. Again - the Canon R5 impressed - the slow motion footage looks fantastic(bottom of this post).

Working in Louisville

A couple friends of mine work for a media production company and they needed a camera operator to shoot a TV pilot season in Louisville, KY. I was in! I've been to Louisville a couple of times and really enjoyed it and I also looked forward to the learning experience this work would be. Being a Canon shooter there was definitely a learning curve with the Sony FX3's but I believe I pulled it off. I brought my GoPro and Canon 5DIV along to shoot some behind the scene images and my evening outings. - my R5 was getting a warranty repair at Canon.

Yeti Squad

The Yeti Squad ride is a Sunday Morning group ride hosted at and by Dirty River Bicycle Works. I only make a few of them a year because Sunday morning is me and Erin's chill time - but I wanted to get out ot this one to see friends and meet some of the friends from the YouTube Channel. It was a great time and I'm glad I got up and made it out.

Toledo Weekend

Erin had a Farmer's Market to work at in Downtown Toledo so I tagged along and we made a cycling weekend out of it. We actually stayed outside of the city on the Maumee River and a Towpath. We had a great weekend with some awesome rides, beer and food.

Tri-X in Rodinal

I shot a roll of Kodak Tri-X last fall and early winter in my new(to me) Minolta XD11 - I just developed it in Rodinal. This was my first time using Rodinal for Tri-X - it doesn't look all that different from my usual go to HC-110(b). I like using one-shot style developers because it is so easy. I've read that these two developers render the grain differently but I need to put them side by side on the light table to really notice. I think I captured a lot of the great winter light in these - one of the few things I like about winter in Ohio - magic hour lasts all day. 

North Bend Rail Trail

On Saturday I had a photo shoot along the Towpath at FT. Larauns near Bolivar for the Ohio & Erie Canalway - I decided to leave at 6 am and ride my bike there(50 miles). After the shoot I rode over to Dundee, OH to a HipCamp site Erin had found. Ben rode down and joined us after work - it was a beautiful spot. In the morning we headed to meet the gang in West Virginia to ride the North Bend Rail Trail. We had an absolute blast. I only carried my Canon with me on the first day because of the weather but at the end of this post I have GoPro footage from most of the trip. 

April Snow at Lock 2

Well, I'll take those 80s we had just a bit ago - but between two shoots today this little walk at Lock 2 was undeniably beautiful. Also - snow is white not grey ...and though I shot these with my Canon R5 and 35mm f/1.4 lens even if you just have your phone make sure to "over-expose" your photos. Your mushy, dark snow photos suck and they don't have to. 

Massillon by Bike

My friend Zack and I rode the Towpath Trail to Massillon to meet some friends for lunch at Paradigm Shift. They had camped the night before in Bolivar. We headed back North all together hitting the Muskingum Trail and a few more brew spots. 

Oregon Space Trail of Doom

On Saturday afternoon I went for a gravel ride with a bunch of camera stuff: I had my drone, 2 GoPros, Canon R5 & of course my phone. These are the images I shot when I got to Dirty River Bicycle Works to see Oregon Space Trail of Doom and then when we went to Magic City Brewing after.(at the bottom is the video with the other gear). Anyways, it was so great to see some rad live music again after a year and people in general. 

Spring Riding

Well the first day of Spring did not disappoint. Erin and I met Ben at the shop to get her Crust set up tubeless and then we met a couple other friends who were heading out in the same direction. We hit some of the industrial gravel before connecting to the Freedom Trail to Kent where we stopped for some beers in the sun. AJ & Micah kept moving and we took the Hike & Bike back with one more outdoor beer stop. 

I was shooting with my Canon EOS 6D and a 24mm f/1.4L lens.  

Single Speeding

I used a bunch of parts that I had sitting around and a few that were given to me by Dirty River Bicycle Works to build up my first single speed bicycle. Ben also built himself one but the opposite way - out of all new parts. For a first ride we went out to the old roundhouse in Kent and had a few beers. Erin was also on a new bike - her first gravel bike - a Crust Bombora. I had my Canon 5DIV with me and snapped some images. 

Wheel Build

Erin has been building her own new bicycle - a Crust Bombora. The other night we went to Dirty River Bicycle Works and the owner, Otis, taught her how to build a wheel. I was super impressed. Wheel building is something that I have never attempted as I have a hard time even trueing a wheel(straightening it). I'm excited for Erin to finish her bike and for the adventures we will undertake with it.

Birthday in the Sun

It was Brad's birthday on Sunday and we decided it was nice enough to get together outdoors and social distance. It was great to actually ride with other humans and see some faces. We had brunch on the patio of Magic City Brewing, then took some crowlers to an abandoned bridge before ending the day at our friend Kenny's brewery - Missing Falls. The winter light was perfect and I took a ton of photos - here is a sampling.

In the Sun

It felt nice to get some sun over the weekend....and it was just warm enough to be able to hang outside a bit. On Saturday I went for a ride towards Kent and took some new roads and trails. I was working on a video and stopped at a bridge to try out some filming techniques. I also took some still photos with my Canon EOS R5 and vintage wide-angle Minolta Rokkor 28mm. Check out the photos & the GoPro video.

Vintage Lenses, Modern Camera

I bought an adapter for 15 bucks from Amazon that allows me to put my vintage Minolta Rokkor lenses onto my Canon EOS R5. I'm surprised how well built/machined it is at that price and the lenses and adapter all fit together nicely - not too loose, not too tight. There are no electrical contacts so it is basically a piece of plastic with metal mounts on each end. The camera doesn't even realize there is a lens on so you have to go into the menus and set it to let you fire the shutter without a lens. Then everything works as it would with a manual lens - except for the auto-diaphragm. Basically you set the aperture on the lens, manually focus and set everything else in camera. I don't see why the camera couldn't confirm focus like it does when a regular Canon lens is on the camera in MF mode but it doesn't - so focusing can be a little tricky as it is purely visual. That being said since it is a mirrorless camera you can zoom in. Nothing about this set up is quick - but it is just a fun way to use some of my favorite lenses for hobby work.