Geneva-on-the-Lake

It was another good day to ride yesterday, so we headed to Geneva-on-the-Lake in Ohio. Hot but nice, the air cooled down as we got closer to lake Erie. The ride was enjoyable; we took Rts. 7, 193, 88, and 534.

We rode by the Hopewell Therapeutic Farm, which is a place for people to visit or stay if they have mental health or other related problems. Good idea. I want to go visit too, but not for any instabilities!

We got to GOTL and parked the bike, then walked over to the leather shop, which was closed - booo!! So we headed over to the lakeside benches and sat in the wonderful breeze blowing across the lake. What a pretty, endless, borderless horizon! The bench we chose was the one we sat on the first time we went to GOTL last August on our first date :-)

After cooling off we got a drink at Sportsters, chatted with the bartender who wants to ride motorcycles and is intending to take the Harley riding course, then we headed down the road to The Pavilion, an outdoor bar with two levels. There were pics of biker chicks showing their boobs all along the bar header (not the sexiest sight in the world, but whatever!). Just glad nobody wanted to see mine :)

We rode off to have dinner at the Old Mill Winery in the town of Geneva. It was great! We had their wine-marinated grilled cheeseburgers with chips and waffle fries, as well as some - you guessed it - cheese sticks! Being a red wine fan, I just had to try some of their Cabernet Franc. Delicious and peppery, a nice dry wine. I wanted to take some home, but we didn't take luggage, so we'll take a road trip someday to hit the wineries across northeast Ohio. It truly was refreshing to have good, fresh local wine instead of the cheap commercial stuff sold in stores.

We rode home just in time before it got too cold. We hadn't taken our leather jackets, and once the temperature gets below 80, it gets chilly very fast moving at 40-50 MPH on a bike. Just before home we stopped to see my sister and niece; it was a nice finish to a really nice day!

- Springer Queen

Day Ride to Wherever!

Not sure where we're going today. It's been rainy and sunny all day, so eff it, we're riding anyway.

UPDATE: We ended up riding out on Rt. 62 toward Mercer, PA and went all the way to Franklin. On the way we stopped at The Yellow Creek Inn in Jackson Center, PA. We had eaten not too much earlier at Dunkin Donuts, so we ordered finger foods: onion rings and red wine for me, and cheese sticks and Mt. Dew for who other than Mr. Cheese Sticks!

Two bikers walked in covered in water saying it was raining out. Boooo!! So we sat there a little longer, which unfortunately allowed me to see a hand-written menu board listing the day's desserts: blueberry, peach, and peanut butter pies, and cheesecake (normal or fried), brownies and ice cream, apple dumplings, ack!!! We ordered blueberry and peanut butter pie slices. Delicious!!!!! And their all homemade, can't beat that!!

The ride from there was great, no rain, sun and winding roads, a state mental facility, corn fields, and a strong running bike.

- Springer Queen

Night riding

We went out for wings and a ride. While at The Clark House, I had hot wings and The Hamburglar had, well, a hamburger. It was all good! But we felt sorry for a skinny biker dude who had shown up on an old Harley nucklehead; when he and his old lady were going to leave, that's when things got embarrassing. The bike had a kick starter, and this poor guy just couldn't turn the engine over. After about 10 minutes, it finally started and everyone who was on the patio whooped, hollered, and applauded!

We left a little later and took a ride on the back roads around the lake. That's when all hell broke loose. In the middle of a dark, rural, tree-lined road, a rainstorm hit! The rain was unbearably heavy and the wind kicked up like a mini tornado!!! Neither of us could breathe, it literally took our breath away! The Hamburglar was amazing at maneuvering the bike in the zero visibility under the pressure of not being seen from behind by any cars that would have come from behind (as there had been before the storm).

I kept whimpering out loud to pull over once we emerged from the dark road into an area of houses and driveways. We dis for a moment to catch our breath, then kept going until we reached a Dairy Queen with a known shelter. And at that moment the rain stopped. Hahaha!!! Gee, thanks!

Soaked to the bone, we got back on the bike and took a slow ride home. It was dangerous, fun, scary, and wild - and it was the kind of ride you just can't make up.

-Springer Queen

Bike Repair