50 Shades of Red (Flannel)

The last organized ride in Ohio usually occurs on the first Sunday in November. This year it was moved up one week or it would have fallen on the morning after a red-letter day, Halloween.

Velo Junkie and I had been wanting to do this ride for several years but something else always seemed to happen the same weekend. Since we were going to participate this year we had to dress the part. I didn’t have a red flannel shirt but I did have a vermillion wool jersey. Perfect. Velo had a plaid jersey that was maroon so it had the appearance of being flannel.

The Lorain Wheelmen put on quite an event, and I have to hand it to them, attendance can be scarce depending on what Mother Nature decides. This year was perfect. As the saying goes, “red sky at night, sailor’s delight”, this time it was a cyclist’s delight. The scarlet sunset on Saturday night was inviting as Velo and I drove to northern Ohio.

After checking into our hotel we walked to The Harry Buffalo for dinner. Their taps were pleasing with a selection of seasonal Oktoberfest, Pumpkin, and Amber ales. I chose the Great Lakes Oktoberfest to have with dinner. The restaurant is called Harry Buffalo because they have bison on the menu. I didn’t want to eat a lot right before bed so I had a bowl of bison chili. Lean meat with succulent, dark red kidney beans may not have been the best choice. In other words, bison chili at night became buffalo trots in the morning…

After breakfast of oatmeal and cranberry juice we drove to the Oberlin Community Center. If it wasn’t for all the spandex tights I would have thought I was at a lumberjack convention. There was at least fifty shades of red flannel shirts and one group in their rose colored Dr. Dentons.

The start of the ride took us past Oberlin College, an old campus full of brick buildings the color of oxblood and stone structures in greys and tans. It wasn’t long before we started to see the autumn trees. There were so many vibrant colors it was almost an assault on the senses.  Sixty-four miles of crimson maples and auburn oaks; flame colored sugar maples and wine colored sweetgum trees; and the occasional amaranth colored Japanese maple. The red barns that dotted the surroundings were camouflaged among the copper, auburn, and cayenne leaves. We even visited with a big red bull.

Landscapes were adorned with mahogany tinted mums, coquelicot sumacs, garnet burning bushes, and ruby hydrangeas. Thickets of sassafras in hues of burnt sienna and mulberry lined the creeks.

There were only two rest stops on this ride but once you visited one you knew why. Homemade chilies and baked goods along with PB&J sandwiches, trail mix, and fruit made it easy to go the distance. Even when we made a wrong turn, went up a 14% grade we weren’t supposed to, and added four extra miles to our ride.

Velo had chili at the first stop in Mill Hollow, and black bean soup at the second stop in Milan, birthplace of Thomas Edison. I opted for peanut butter at the first stop (remember the buffalo trots) and then had the vegetarian recipe at the second stop. When we finished back at the Community center there were some home baked ginger snaps, my favorite.

I think I fell short of naming 50 different shades of red. If you watch the video and check out the pictures you’ll get the idea.

#redflannel #millhollow #assaultonthesenses #50shadesofred #bisonchili #bigredbull

Bike Fashion Faux Pas

After a champion’s breakfast of pumpkin pie, turkey bacon, and coffee it was warm enough to take a leisurely ride. The Reluctant Cyclist was actually looking forward to a hill to try out the new shifters. We have a 9% grade less than a mile from take-off and I was very pleased with the performance on the first incline. The Ultegra’s performance, that is, not mine. It is still a hill and I am still the Reluctant Cyclist.

WTH

But then, going out in public with wheels that don’t match is like wearing two different shoes. It’s a fashion faux pas like wearing white after Labor Day. Or like wearing a brown belt with black shoes, knee socks with shorts, flesh colored leggings, ….   You get the idea, think “People of Walmart”. One might be able to get away with it on their old, foul weather bike, but not on their favorite cycle. I had to ride it that way because my new wheels hadn’t been delivered yet, but there won’t be any pictures. Jim of Jim’s Bicycle Shop was kind enough to give me a loaner rear wheel so I could ride while waiting for my new wheels but Ermahgerd! It didn’t match my front wheel. I’m hoping the new wheels get here before the Red Flannel Ride Metric Century in Lorain, OH next week.

 I was riding my #1 bike – my Gunnar, affectionately known as “Gunnar”. We finally decided to buy a whole new group because I never could get the groove of shifting the front gears.  The SRAM front shifter was always difficult to move from the small ring to the big ring. I went with new Shimano Ultegra, I have always liked the way they shifted. Now my Gunnar, equipped with the Ultegra, shifts as smooth as cutting butter with a hot knife. The crank feels so much more solid and smooth, too. I would have snapped a picture of it but I’m still waiting for the new wheels.

Velo Junkie got a new toy, too and finally had it ready to take out. He had won a VeloOrange frame on ebay , although some may say he stole it he got such a deal, and was trying to decide what group he wanted to put on it. He built the wheels himself (they matched) and had an extra handlebar, seat post, and saddle. His decision was made easier when we decided to put the new stuff on Gunnar. He used my old SRAM Red group, purchased new brakes and handlebar tape. Then he foraged through drawers, boxes, hooks, and shelves and came up with enough old stuff to build the frame up with the left over components from other bikes. Here you can see him making some minor adjustments on the handlebar. The VeloOrange bike is going to be Velo’s winter commuting bike when he has to work downtown, so he didn’t want to make too much of an investment. At least his wheels matched…

A trip out and around Lunken Airport put us back at Brew River Gastropub at about 28 miles.  We were entertained by Todd Z Hepburn, owner of Todd Hepburn's Music Company, tickling the ivories and singing while I had a Dogfish Head Pumpkin Ale and a plate of chicken & waffles. There are so many good places in Cincinnati to grab a brunch and brew it can be difficult deciding. But Brew River is right along one of the main bicycle routes to the east side so you can almost always find at least one other cyclist there.

After brunch we had to go straight home. A list of chores ensued – picking up the kiddo, neighborhood Council Board meeting, Sunday night football, and laundry for the following week.

#brewriver #veloorange #gunnarbikes #lunkenairport #fleshcoloredleggings #ultegrashifters

Rollin' on the River in The Queen City

Rollin’ on the river – that was our goal for a beautiful weekend ride in and around Cincinnati. For anyone who is unfamiliar with the area, the Ohio River is a major thoroughfare for waterborne commerce and it flows right past Cincinnati. Winding through six states, barges carrying coal and other energy products make up the majority of traffic. The docks at the banks of Cincinnati were once bustling ports for trade and travel. Although several riverboats designed for dining and entertainment still call her home, most of the majestic vessels of a bygone era remain only in photographs. Below are several of many links to visit Cincinnati’s riverboat heritage.

 http://www.steamboats.org/traveller/ohio-river/cincinnati.html

http://www.cincinnativiews.net/steam_boats.htm

http://www2.cincinnati.com/tallstacks/history_2centuries.html

Recently major investments in the banks on both sides of the river have revived the River City in a major way. Two new stadiums, a slew of eateries, a magnificent park, and, what else, but a bike center for commuters. You can see a lot of these attributes in this six minute video.

About ten miles west of the busy downtown area one can ride through the sleepy community of Sayler Park and board the historical Anderson Ferry. Founded in 1817, the ferry has remained in continuous operation. For a mere $1.00 you can roll your bike onto the ferry and cross the river to the banks of Kentucky. This was where Velo Junkie and I were headed on this October afternoon.

We left home about noon and headed straight into a chilly wind coming from the east. I treasured it for the short time before we turned south to head to the river. In about five miles we reached the river and another five brought us right to the Anderson Ferry loading dock. There is a very steep grade going down to the bank to board the ferry. Reluctant to roll down between cars I dismounted and walked the Gunnar aboard. Not Velo. It would take a major event to make him walk his bike anywhere, and even then he would do it while kicking and screaming.  

The day was gorgeous and the Kentucky side held a trove of treasures for the senses. The palette of orange, green, and gold trees dotted with the occasional red barn gave way to marinas, a horse farm, a pumpkin patch, and a country farm store. We made it a point to stop at McGlassen’s Produce for some fresh-pressed apple cider. 

Had I remembered how rolling the terrain on KY 8 was I may have been a little more hesitant to embark. With grades upwards of 9% the Reluctant Cyclist in me grumbled but forged on, lost in the autumn folly.

Velo decided to give me a new nickname – the Reluctant Shifter. I admit I hesitate to shift to my small ring. I have been riding with an old SRAM shifter that has always had a problem moving back to the big ring, hence the reason I developed the bad habit of mashing it out to the top in the big ring. That is about to change. Immediately following our ride I ordered new Shimano shifters and Velo took the old components off of the Gunnar. I think it was really because he was tired of hearing me curse on hills.

We reached the end of the rural route and stopped for a quick snack and to rehydrate before heading back towards downtown Cincinnati. The long downhill coast into Covington was a sweet reward for the long uphill climb through Ludlow. The increase in traffic was inevitable the closer we got to the metro areas of northern Kentucky. 

There is something exhilarating about riding your bike across a bridge and Greater Cincinnati offers many opportunities. We crossed the Licking River into Newport via the 4^th St. Bridge, then the Taylor-Southgate Bridge carried us across the mighty Ohio.

OMG. We had scheduled our ride to avoid the race that was taking place in the morning, and we did miss the race crowd. But we were not prepared for what ensued at the end of the bridge. There were hordes of people trying to locate their groups, roughly 25 tour buses, and lane closures for said buses.

Every restaurant in the vicinity had a forty minute wait for food because all of these people converged on them at once. We were hungry so decided to wait it out at Jefferson Hall. Bless our server, he slid our order for nachos to the kitchen in front of a table of 24 so that we could get our food in about 20 minutes. The nachos and a Rivertown Pumpkin Ale were enough fuel to get us home. By the time we finished eating a lot of the foot traffic had dispersed so exiting the city was less stressful than entering.

“Over the river and through the woods…” We climbed back out of the river valley passing Great American Ballpark, Paul Brown Stadium, the Kroger manufacturing plant, and the defunct Lunkenheimer factory. And to think, all of this adventure in 42 miles.

"Through the hills of Kentucky 'cross the Ohio river

The old man kept talking 'bout his life and his times
He fell asleep with his head against the window
He said an honest man's pillow is his peace of mind"

                   Minutes to Memories, John Mellencamp

#rollinontheriver #cincinnatibybike #andersonferry #greatamericanballpark #paulbrownstadium #thebanks #taylorsouthgate #ohioriver