Tallahassee, FL

A friend of mine gave me a call a week ago Tuesday and asked what I was doing over the weekend. My schedule was fairly free. He said there was a gig he got asked to do on that Friday but he already had a shoot ....but it was in Tallahassee, Florida! Thursday afternoon I found myself on my way to FL. The video shoot took up the first half of Friday and then I was free(besides checking in on my files uploading). Late Friday afternoon I grabbed a rental bike(Giant Revolt) and explored the city a bit and grabbing some food and beers. I was super surprised to find out the capitol city is actually quite hilly - especially compared to the rest of Florida. Saturday morning I was up early and off on a rail trail to St. Marks. I ended up also hitting some gravel/dirt & mountain biking trails. It was nearly record breaking cold(32F when I left) but it was still nice to be somewhere without 2 feet of snow on the ground). The bike had to be back at the shop at 4:30 so the rest of the trip was on foot or in a Lyft and I flew out Sunday at 3:30. It was a great little get-a-way all in all and the job more than covered it.

Ice Ice Gorge

The part of the Gorge in the downtown Cuyahoga Falls usually puts on a nice show in the winter when the weather conditions are right. It was actually quite a tourist destination over a century ago. I rode my bike down to capture a few photos of the icicles and snow earlier today. Not the perfect light for this but a few still looked pretty cool.

Outside Birthday

With the omicron surge we celebrated Brad's Bday socially distanced and on the bikes for the second year in a row. This year we rode out to Taca Tontos in Kent and drank some beers outside while waiting for our food which we then took to MadCap Brewing. MadCap has their side room with lots of space with a German Beer Hall feeling. Lastly we made a quick stop at Missing Falls Brewing who also have a side room with space. Another year of making the best of a strange situation. The light was great for photos again though!

Yeti Squad Ride for Bob

On the Sunday Yeti Squad shop ride that Dirty River Bicycle Works hosts we remembered a friend who passed away from Covid complications last week. We went to one of his favorite spots to ride and also to our/his favorite stealth beer spot. We had a toast and told some stories. Bob was a great guy that I have never heard a single bad word about. He will be missed by the Northeast Ohio cycling community - and I can't imagine what his close friends and family are going through. I didn't take a ton of photos but have a video of the ride at the end of this post.

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.