Quick Trip to the Queen City

Erin had to head down to Cincinnati for work so I tagged along. We got in on the later side, had some dinner and then headed to our Air BnB. The 'beeb was really cool so I snapped some photos. We were in the Over-the-Rhine neighborhood. In the morning we went to a couple bakeries and then Erin went off to her work meetings. I rode my bike and made a video.

Grand Island

After our bike event we headed up to the Hiawatha National Forest. It was very pretty up this way - everything just feels different from home. We stopped in Munising at a brewery before jumping on the ferry and heading to Grand Island. Grand Island was recommended to us by a few friends who had been up this way before. We arrived in the early evening and rode to our rustic cabin. We got settled in and then walked down to the beach. The water in Lake Superior is stunning and I was snapping a bunch of photos before we walked back to the cabin and had a fire. In the morning it was drizzling but we still went out for our ride around the island. The ride all the way around the perimeter is about 20 miles. 

White Lighter

Any frequent flyers on this blog will have seen many photos of White Lighter playing live. They are good friends and the drummer used to be a singer in my band. ....and I just like their music. This show was at The Cave in Akron - a few of my other friends run this DIY venue. Of course Ben and I rode our bikes through the snow to get to this. An awesome night!

Krampus Kross

Krampus Kross is a cyclocross race at Camp Manitoc in the Cuyahoga Valley. I rode my bike there to meet some friends and watch the racing. Some of the race categories are very serious and others are a little more loose and fun. We drank beers, cheered and heckled. One of these races/years I'll jump in and compete.

Black Friday

A number of years ago my family started a tradition of brewery crawling on Black Friday - no real shopping for us! This year we stuck to the Akron area. I carried my camera all day but only thought to take a few photos. Its funny how much more chill I've become about that. Before I was full time I would have been snapping all day - now I do allow myself to just enjoy things and leave my camera in the bag. My friends and I actually rode our bikes to all the stops this year. Some people joined up at different portions of the day too.

Thanksgiving Football

Thanksgiving morning football has been a part of my for a long, long time. I can't remember when I joined the Milo family's game but I know I still lived at home(down the street from them). A couple of us even went out to toss the football around in the pandemic years to keep the streak/tradition alive. This year I was unfortunately sidelined with my sciatic nerve pain but it did allow me to capture some great photos.

Hikes & Beers

A hike back on the blog!? Yup. It didn't feel like a good day to ride so lets get back to our roots here. Ben Erin and I went for a hike at the Pine Lane Trailhead in the CVNP right outside of downtown Peninsula. A trail I have only hiked a couple of times but does intersect with a bandit trail we cross on our bikes. After the hike we went to Hudson for lunch then out to Hinckley to try a new brewery. So yeah - this blog could have been written 10 years ago - but my photos are better now.

Cinci Fail?!

I went down to Cincinnati with Erin for her work retreat. Well - I wasn't really there for the retreat but I was there to photograph the retreat. I took portraits of all of the employees. Since Erin had a hotel we thought we would spend the next day exploring - but there was a really wet snow and neither of us felt like drinking(we are cutting back a bit). We had brought the bicycles all the way down there for nothing. It was still a paying gig and Erin had to be there - but after some coffee and a walk we decided to head back to Akron. I did capture the above photo of Erin and the below photo of this mural by one of my favorite artists(Ralph Steadman).

Kill the Hippies

This was a pretty amazing night. A band that I have been friends with forever(and who helped my band along the way) was playing in Kent(their original hometown) at a place called Bar Lucci. The interested thing is Bar Lucci used to be a run down, hole in the wall, DIY venue called The Mantis. You would never know it in its current, modern, cocktail bar iteration. A buddy from the music seen owns it now too. Anyways - when we met Kill the Hippies they would book us as their opener in the old place. So lots of memories - and then on top of it all my old friends(and bandmate) Pete moved back to town and made it out to the show. Lots of familiar faces in a legendary place.

Heck of the North

Heck of the North is a cyclocross race hosted by Cleveland bike shop Joy Machines. Even though there are always serious races(ers) at these events this one has taken on the reputation for being a little more fun. Their "main event" was fat bike race which definitely had the mullet vibe - business in the front, party in the back. Costumes, beers, Lake Erie views - another great day in the Northeast Ohio cycling community.

The Fall Trip

For the second year in a row we went out to Connecticut to ride an event called Nutmeg Nor'easter. The event is almost all the way on the coast(Long Island Sound) so it is to far to travel and not make more of a trip out of. So we packed a number of other rides and stops into a full week of travelling. It was peak Fall color in New England and we had a great time. As a cycling trip I did focus more energy on the YouTube video than the still but I did snap some that I really like - follow along below.

Higher Ground Hundo!

Last weekend I drove to Johnstown, PA for a cycling event run by Hope Cyclery. I had signed up for a 73 mile ride that had 8200 feet of climbing - more than I had ever climbed before. When I arrived in town I went to the bike shop and Crust Bikes was hosting a "happy hour" party. My buddy Dylan and his friend Ed showed up from Columbus - I was proud of myself for planning something solo but also glad to see familiar faces. After the party it was over to a city park to set up camp. In the morning we were off on the beautiful but tough ride. I really enjoyed the extremely challenging ride. I was absolutely whooped when I got back to camp. There was food, beer and a fire and just hanging out and talking to other cyclists was how I spent the afternoon/evening. I did not capture a lot of photos but did shoot a lot of GoPro footage - check out the video HERE. I plan to be back next year!

Bandit Cross!

A friend of the Youtube Channel was hosting a bandit cross event near Cleveland - me and a few friends rode up to check it out(it made for a 99 mile day in the saddle for me!) The idea behind a bandit cross event is that it is a cyclocross race but completely unsanctioned and with no permission asked. (not that we were disrespectful in any meaningful way). It was fun to shoot some photos and see the Joy Machines crew. I actually interviewed Jon, the organizer, on a livestream. It did make for a long ride home to Akron in the dark though!

Canton Day

Erin had an old friend hit her up about some bicycles he was trying to get rid of before moving. They were a couple interesting older mountain bikes so we went to grab them. Since he was near Canton we brought our own bikes and decided to make an afternoon out of it. We parked in Downtown and rode to a coffee shop we had heard about - Walkie Talkie - which was great. We then found our way to Covered Bridge Park, which is distinguished by a notable lack of a covered bridge, and picked up the West Branch Trail. We then worked our way back into downtown and hit a couple breweries for lunch and drinks. The day was a good reminder that you can have a lot of fun exploring close to home.

The Mom's & The Bone Zone

Ben, Brad and I went out past Kent on a bike ride - we drank a couple beers at one of our favorite secret spots. After we rode back to Dirty River Bicycle Works in Akron where The Mom's were playing an outdoor show.

What's the Cordelia?

For Erin's birthday a group of friends rode up to Cleveland to have lunch at Cordelia - a restaurant run by a friend which is absolutely amazing. I had a gig after brunch so I wasn't able to ride up there(of course I still brought my bike and cruised around a bit before they arrived). I snapped a couple photos of their arrival.

Akron Pride

It was a beautiful summer day to be out cruising around on my bicycle. It was also Pride in Downtown Akron. This was the second year they held it downtown and I think it works awesome in this location. There was a massive turnout again and I saw a ton of friends. I wasn't working this year but I had come from another event on my bike so I snapped some photos to document.

Asterisk Turn the Big Three!

Here are some images from Asterisk Coffee Bar's third anniversary party!