A Light on Lake Erie

Back in late June, Tiny, Hammerhead, Meanie, and I rode our bikes to Huron, Ohio to see the lighthouse and find good food in an anti-tyranny restaurant. It was one of those hot summer days - baking sun, clear skies, and of course hot motors. We hit the road in the early morning, somewhere around nine at Dunkin in Hubbard. They let customers in without problems and masks, so kudos to them (Starbucks won't, so fuck them)!

I took us around Warren on OH-82 west and got us on to OH-303 west. I didn't really want to go near Akron or Cleveland, and 303 travels somewhere in between heading toward. We stopped in Streetsboro and Tiny got one of his favorite things: an ice cream sandwich! He looks like a happy kid, huh? LOL

Most of the route I planned went well, but there was a detour on part of 303, which we took and it led us north to OH-82 again. We followed that and eventually got back to the route. Most of the roads were nice, some a little iffy with filled in patched spots, but overall good. By the time we got to Huron, we were hungry, and there were two restaurants I had looked at. We chose the Main Street Tavern and were so glad we did!

This place was really cool, and the waitresses were cool, and the drinks were cool. We ordered from the amazing burger and sandwich menu, and after a short time, received some smokin' hot food that we'd go back for any day! I had the Notorious P.I.G. sandwich which was loaded with three kinds of pork. I love pork! The guys had burgers and fries.

I had this: Notorious P.I.G.

Meanie's Dog Holiday Burger

cheese sticks

Buckeye pretzels with cheese

Bellies full, we went back up Main to find a parking place. That was not easy, but a bit easier with motorcycles. It's a really long pier that stretches out into Lake Erie, and at the beginning is home to boat docks and their boats. I couldn't believe how many people own boats!! The place was packed, the water was so busy.

Fat guys don't much like long walks, but these guys did it. Interesting things to see along the way were a small beach, a section on the left that was home to vegetation and snakes wriggling in the water, and two historical marker signs telling all about the pier and lighthouses (of which I think it said there were three over the years) beginning in the mid-1800s. The current lighthouse is really far out and not within reach by foot. There were a lot of people fishing on the right side where the boats entered the dock area.

Off to a good start

Almost there, and pooped out; they needed something to lean on!

Out there over the water, the sky was the clearest, brightest blue, and it made the water look deep blue with aquamarine depth and brilliance. It's probably quite a sight to see the shoreline to the east and west from the top of the lighthouse. And at night I read the light can be seen all around.

This is at the end of the pier, and is the foundation of the old pier watchhouse.

Seriously, just look at these colors!

The ride home was just as pleasant, and I got to snap some photos using my phone in the Ram mount. Next riding goal: video of me singing while riding in the mountains!

If you need a place to ride to, or a place where to find a great burger, be a good biker and head to Huron. No tyranny, just fresh air, big skies, broad waters, and a nice small town.

Off to more blogging and more riding!

~ Stitchblade

Moundsville, WV - and FOOD!

"It is important to emphasize that the Adena culture is not the name of any American Indian tribe. We do not know what these people might have called themselves, or how they defined their societal or cultural groups." - Ohio History Central

On any given Sunday, we go for long rides on the motorcycles. On Sunday, June 14th, it was Tiny, Hammerhead, and me that took off for the day. Meanie had a bum motorcycle in the shop, so he couldn't go. 

We took off from our house, and headed toward Struthers to get on OH-170 south. Taking that to OH-14 east and then PA-51 east, we snaked our way to PA-18 south to the ever-popular, always-delicious, better-make-it-two footlongs stop of Bert's Hot Dogs in Burgettstown, PA! Boy, this blog didn't take long to get right to the first food part, did it? 

I don't care what's in a hot dog, these things are freaking desirable and mouthwatering. And when you are traveling with 300+ pound guys, only the most publically-bashed foods are going to be the most wanted! Tiny and I had to make sure that Hammer indeed ordered two footings this time (they both did) because the last time we had to hear Hammer whine the rest of the trip about having ordered only one, and man, shut up already crybaby! LOL

We paired our dogs with delicious chocolate milkshakes; smart move. And the weather was really nice, so it wasn't like, oh, I shouldn't have had that milkshake. It was a pure treat!

Caught Hammer pulling a Ginger! (inside joke)

It's a beautiful ride from Burgettstown into West Virginia. When you pull out of Bert's heading south again, you turn right on the very next road, Cross Creek Road. We followed that along to PA-231 left, and then followed Painters Hill Scenic Drive at the Y on 231. Since the ride was a month ago, I can't remember exactly where we got lost, but these are the driving directions I had printed out (I always have it in a magnetic map tank bag in front of me).

• 7) Right on PA-50 south/west
• 8) Left on PA-231 at the Y, Painters Hill Scenic Drive
• 9) PA-331 west, Mt. Hope Rd
• 10) Left on Dry Ridge Road
• 11) Left on North Liberty Rd at the T
• 12) Right on US-40
• 13) WV-88 west, continue on Ridgecrest Rd
• 14) Right on WV-86, Grandview Rd1
• 15) Left on US-250 (takes you into Moundsville)

I'm guessing it was somewhere on Mt. Hope Road or Dry Ridge Road that we had to pull over along a scenic river, and see where we were. I don't know if we were ever on either one; I'm one hell of a road captain, huh? You can see we are parked in a pull-off, and to the right is a bridge we had just crossed. No cell phone reception whatsoever. But Tiny's bladder was working just fine! 

    

After regrouping, we got on the road and took a guess as to the right direction. We knew we had to go south in the end, so west and south we went. We did just fine, and finally found ourselves on busier roads with fewer and fewer trees until we came upon Moundsville. Our big destination was Grave Creek Mound. It takes up a huge chunk of land and has a museum (that's closed on Sundays) and with the horseshit going on, it's closed to the public until further notice. 

But it was a big, beautiful Adena culture burial site (that you couldn't enter).

Turn 180 degrees and you'll see the famous Gothic style West Virgina Penitentiary, opened in 1876. That was also a beautiful thing, a work of art. A simple, but large mound created to host the dead, and a fancy large prison to host the wicked and the bad. I doubt you can tour the prison right now either, but if interested, here's the link: https://wvpentours.com.

Take a gander at this stunning photography.

These two places to visit were in a dive section of town, so there wasn't anything else to see. We mounted the horses and left.
Across the Ohio river.
Up OH-7.
To Tiltonsville.
FOR PEPPERONI ROLLS! 

Don't you dare, if you go there, only buy one. Buy ten, buy a dozen, take them home - believe me, they survive the ride. Hand them out to friends. Hand them out to people you don't know and you'll have new friends!

This may be like the 20,000th time I've mentioned the pepperoni rolls, but hot damn, they are life changing. You can find out where they are here.

We loaded up on rolls, moved things around in the bags to get them all to fit, and hit the road. We left out of Tiltonsville for home. Which way did we go? I recall going some direction that eventually led us to Calcutta, and then OH-170 and it's fun curves back to Poland. Um, I'm pretty sure that's how it went. Eh, we got back after darkness fell over the Mahoning Valley. It was a great ride, as usual, with no real problems. 

Where have you been to this summer? Where's a good place to eat?

Make it safe, and keep yourself free!

~ Holly, a.k.a. Stitchblade

Winding Roads to Wellsville

One might not think much of purposely going to Wellsville, Ohio, located on the western edge of the Ohio River. But, on May 31st I had planned a ride southbound on OH-170. It was me, Tiny, and Goldilocks. Bryon's clutch hub went bad, so he had to stay home. Stay home? Not me, no way!

Well, the three of us headed out in the beautiful weather. Down through Lowellville, and out of there along Washington Street or something which I was supposed to take Lincoln or something, but Washington was a lovely tree-shadowed road leading to OH-224. It's a nice way to go if you want to avoid bumpy roads in Campbell and Strutters along OH-616.

We finally got onto 170 south and scooted along that road, which is really nice with sweeping curves and smooth asphalt. I don't ride crazy or fast by any means, but those curves can make you do things. One of my favorite feelings is that of accelerating out of a curve. Bryon always taught me that when you can see where you are going, you can put more throttle into it. Sometimes I imagine leaving everyone in my rice-filled dust! I almost did when we took a right turn when I saw the Mail Pouch Tobacco billboard on the left. I did a dumb thing and pulled across the opposing lane and stopped off the road in the gravel. Why? Because Tiny likes to take photos of his bike with Mail Pouch signs! He had pulled off on the right into a lot wondering what I was doing, so I flagged him to ride over, and then told him it was a photo op. He obliged. And what a cool photo!

At Calcutta, we stayed on 170 to get to OH-7 south. Our food destination was the Riverside Roadhouse in Wellsville. We made our way there, taking a left down the mostly dirt, bombed-out road paralleling railroad tracks and the river sandwiched with the highway. It wasn't what we hoped for, and it was still take-out only, so fuck that, we turned around and went back toward the town.

The alternative I had in mind was the Someplace Else by the Paddle Wheel restaurant. As luck goes, Tiny spotted a sign in the window that said they were open, and there were cars in the parking lot. So we quickly made the decision to go there. What a great decision! The front of the restaurant is along the main street with parking on three sides. They are doing that thing where you enter in one door and leave by another, so we entered and took a table that had three seats. The waitresses were really nice and helpful. There were plenty of other people there (at every other table). We got our menus, ordered drinks, and looked over the list.

Along with my coffee, I ordered the chicken fried steak. Goldi-locks ordered half a sausage sandwich. Tiny ordered the meatloaf dinner. We weren't expecting what we got: it was so effing delicious! Huge portions! A biker's food paradise! The hunk of meatloaf Tiny got was huge, Goldilocks' sandwich could have been two, and my fried steak was smothered in a perfect white gravy! You have to go there sometime. They have one pound burgers too.

Looking out the restaurant windows, I noticed a bridge that crosses a stream, that in turn deposits right into the Ohio. I suggested we go for a walk after eating; it was still early in the day. Well, it it an old bridge that has sidewalks and the town has hanging flower baskets hung along the way. (Notice Goldilocks' name on her red hoodie sleeve; she was Mrs. Tiny before she earned her Goldilocks road name).

On the other side of the bridge was something unexpected, and even now I don't really know what the structure is, but it's a bit like a building or a bridge tresses or something. Anyway, the town at some point invested money into making it a work of art with a massive mural that is located on both sides of the main road. Don't let the bricks fool you - those are all painted on too! Hard to believe from a distance.

 

I liked the train station painting, and others. Each represented some aspect of local and American culture. I found it amusing that it looks like you can sit on the brick ledges, so I had Tiny take a picture of me in front of the Standard Oil gas station painting. I squatted down like I was sitting, it looks pretty darn real I think. Well, that started a trend.

One of the things that we didn't understand was the Saint Rocco's Festival mural. Just why is this dude lifting up his robe to show off a cut on his thigh? And why is everyone gawking? Who was Saint Rocco? (Nice leg, by the way). Apparently he gave up his good life to help the poor and is said to have been a curer of the plague in Italy. Well, we have plenty of plague to go around nowadays too, or so they've said. Maybe people should be dressing as St. Rocco instead of a plague doctor. 

After all the mural excitement, we walked onto the raised boardwalk that leads to a river overlook. Goldilocks noticed shards of broken plates in the water, and I believe Tiny said he had looked at a map of the area and there was a manufacturer of plates upstream and that the shards may be trash from the plate facility. 

We ended up taking some winding roads toward home, staying on side roads until we got back to Calcutta. I wanted us to ride OH-170 back, and I'm glad we did. Ohio has a lot of nice roads when you head to the southeast section. I don't know much about the Ohio routes west of Akron and Cleveland, so if anyone has any tips, I'd like to hear them. Always looking for new places in this great big nation. 

May your life be solid, solid as a rock.

- Holly