Think Spring? Think Gears!

...Or just one gear, if that's your thing.

Okay Cleveland, let's talk about bikes.

I feel like things have changed for me and this blog, a little bit. While this blog quickly became about Cleveland's food scene, there's really so much more to Cleveland than its restaurants. I've been riding my bike more, and have (for the most part) become a year-round commuter, so that's a big part of my life. I recently became an Administrator of Cleveland Critical Mass, a social riding group that meets on the last Friday of every month at Public Square for a ride around the city. We end up at a local bar or restaurant. CCM's March ride ended at The Nash on 80th. We had 147 riders, which was amazing for a chilly "Spring" evening!

For those not familiar, Critical Mass rides take place worldwide on the last Friday of every month. It's purpose is simply to get outside, ride bikes, and have fun. There's no political agenda, and anyone can join in. We have riders of all skill levels and ages, and it's always a good time.

I also participated in my first bike tour of the year, the Chili March Metric which was put on by the Lake Erie Wheelers. There were two rides offered, a 32.7 and a 64 mile ride - I opted for the shorter of the two, but rode it quickly. The weather was beautiful, and approximately 250 riders showed up for the day. If you are interested in bike tours, this page has hundreds all through Ohio, year round.

Cleveland has a lot of great resources for cycling and outdoor pursuits in general. While I am very in love with the restaurant scene here, it's also important to get outside and breathe in the fresh air. Cleveland has a lot of bicycle shops, such as Joy Machines (over near the West Side Market), Cain Park Bicycle (Superior/Lee) and the Ohio City Bicycle Co-Op - which offers social rides if you're looking for more ways to get out and ride. There are many more out there, and I welcome you to post your favorite bicycle shop if I didn't mention it already!

Back to restaurants for a minute, Nano Brew is a restaurant/bar brought to you by the same people that run Market Garden, Bier Market, Speakeasy and Bar Cento (all fantastic places, might I add). These folks are avid cyclists that partnered up with Joy Machines to provide a bike tune-up stand and tools to fix you up. They even offer you half off your first beer with your bike helmet, and the beers are very tasty!

If you haven't heard, Bike Cleveland is out there doing great work to advocate for the rights and equality of all cyclists. You can purchase a shirt, or better yet - join Bike Cleveland (it's only 30 dollars per year - 20 dollars if you're a student or have a limited income). Membership will get you discounts at some local shops, too! They also offer volunteer opportunities, if you're interested in becoming more involved in the community.

If you don't know where to go in Cleveland and would much rather have someone tell you/show you where you should visit on bike, you can check out the Great Lakes Bike Tour Co. (Bike CLE) - which offeres bicycle tours, rentals, and helpful guides to the parks in the area where you can ride. Check out their website for more details, or to sign up for a bike tour.

Century Cycles also offers their Night Rides on the Towpath Trail series all summer, and they end up being 12-15 mile rides. Last year they had a pajama ride (which I missed!).

Really, I could go on forever. Other cities are taking notice, too. The more people that become involved in the cycling community - the better it will become. Hopefully the weather is finally turning, which means that it's time to get your bike out (if you haven't already) and ride. If you don't have a bicycle yet, you should get one - there are lots of places to do that, and lots of people who would love to go on a bike ride with you!

Shifting Gears in the 216

Some people have referred to the group as "Terrorists on bicycles". During July's event, two riders were ticketed and threatened with jail time. The officer told the pair that he was "sick of this group".

Who are these people, exactly? Are they a rowdy bunch of rough, tough bikers with a penchant for terrorizing our fair city?

The "plague" sickening the law enforcement officials of Cleveland consists of bicyclists; and if the Critical Mass rides in June and July are any indication, they are strong in numbers - and I'm one of the many.

I commute to work by bicycle most every day. The HealthLine is slow, and I can't seem to go on a single bus ride where someone isn't dramatically pulled from the bus for freeloading, so I ride. As a commuting cyclist, I can attest to the dangers of Cleveland streets. In many areas, the roads resemble spent minefields, scattered with holes and large pieces of glass. The roads, combined with your average motorist can make even a 5-mile commute a truly horrifying ride.

On the last Friday of every month, Critical Mass Cleveland meets Downtown at Public Square at 6:00, shoving off at 6:30 for an uncharted and leisurely ride through Downtown and surrounding areas.

What's the point? In a way, it's social networking on two (more or less) wheels. We ride, we talk, and we end up at a bar. Sometimes, cake is involved. Another important purpose is to show people what it would be like with a significantly higher number of cyclists on the road. Yes, we're slower than your motorized vehicles but we also have every right to be on the roads.

We're here, we're geared... Get used to it!

The mood however, isn't so militant. Through the bicycle bells you will hear riders wishing onlookers and passers-by a "Happy Friday". If someone rides by on a bike in the opposite direction, Critical Mass riders will often clamor for that person to join in the fun. Sometimes, at least once in the ride - it works.

Riders of all skills and types are welcome. There is no charge to ride. The most important thing is to have fun, and make friends. Check out the Facebook page or the group's Twitter. I hope to see you there this coming Friday!

Pedals and Pancakes and Pizza... Oh My!

Jeff and I have been going to spinning classes on Saturday and Sunday mornings. He bought me a membership to Urban Active for Christmas, and ended up getting a free 30 day trial membership in the process. He liked spinning so much, that he got a month-to-month membership. He says he'll keep it until spring.

After doing several cycling tours in Northeast Ohio, I realized that I needed to do something to become adept at tackling the hills of our rural roads. The company I work for has a cycling team that commits to do Pedal to the Point every year, and many people take a spinning class in Strongsville that 1. I have no way to get to and 2. It starts before I even get off of work. Urban Active had a holiday special where you could get an 18 month membership for $299 and after I noticed their spinning classes on weekends, I decided that I wanted the membership and I asked "Santa" for it.

First of all, you won't believe how people became outraged that my own boyfriend bought me a membership to a gym. "Aren't you offended?!" asked one co-worker. Nah. Going to the gym with a BF (or even your BFF) is like having a date/outing where you just happen to get in shape. Urban Active (like many other gyms) has a cardio "theater" where you can hop on a treadmill, elliptical, arc trainer or a stepmill and watch a movie. I also started the "Couch potato to 5k" program this week in hopes to run in an alumni race for my high school in Dublin. Now, I am hardly a potato but I am no runner. The next several weeks will be interesting, to say the least.

After spin last Sunday, we stopped by Lush at Beachwood Mall and picked up some goodies and then headed to Woodmere to have breakfast at the Original Pancake House. When you've been spinning and shopping for stuff that smells good - Sometimes all you want is a plate full of carbs. And those carb-frisbees can be stuffed with coconut (my pick), strawberries (Jeff's pick) or even bacon. Yes, OPH makes a pancake even Michael Symon would love, and he'd only have to walk across the street to get it. The food is inexpensive and good, and in some way it kind of reminded me of going out for breakfast on a Sunday morning when I was a kid, even though I'd not been to an Original Pancake House before last week.

We went to Sur La Table afterwards, and bought a molcajete, much like this one and a new corkscrew (with a bottle opener on top, perfect for opening Mexican Coke found at Alesci's and Marc's!). We also stopped by Trader Joes, and I was very sad to see that they've evidently stopped carrying honey chevre. Does anyone know of a place to find it? I cannot wait for the Sweetfire chevre at the Shaker Farmer's Market. Come on, Spring!!

Once at home, I made a sandwich fit for a Superbowl. Using a loaf of Italian bread, hot capicola ham, salami, hot pepper rings and provolone (all from the West Side Market) I put together something the exponentially outclasses Subway or any other sandwich shop I've been to. The meats and cheese cost about 10 dollars, and the bread was a couple of bucks, but we have enough deli cuts to make two sandwiches and then some (hey, guess what we ate tonight?). After using olive oil and red wine vinegar on the bread and sprinkling some oregano on top of the cheese, we piled on the meat, peppers and cheese and stuck the whole thing under the broiler for a few minutes. Yum.

I actually don't have a lot to say about pizza, except that since we bought a pizza stone we hardly go out for it anymore (Angelo's is the exception). With the closing of Vidstar Video in Coventry, we got set up with Netflix and will be having a date night (in) while watching The Dark Knight and making good use of our pizza stone. Tomorrow will involve a pineapple, ham, and bacon pizza.

What do you like on your pizza?

Hike it out, b****.

It is a soft, rainy morning with only a scant amount of sunlight. It is nearing the weekend. The neighborhood is in a collective deep sleep and the day has not the wherewithal to rouse them.

Aaaaand....Scene.

It has probably been about eleventy billion years since I posted last, Twitter has really been my only link to some of you for a while now. It's been really hectic, and I'm still settling into my new life as a cohabitant.

Early August was for a trip to the Adirondacks. The weather was mostly beautiful, but I think it rained more than any of us would have liked. The Adirondacks are a beautiful place to be. It smells good, it looks good, and most of the tourists/hikers/cyclists that are there are just so glad you're there right along with them, that you're part of it too - you know what they know.


The view from our condo balcony

The plan was to hike two high peaks this year, but my foot didn't seem to want to let that happen. A couple of months ago I was diagnosed with plantar fasciitis which is not fun to have at all. I have a brace that I am supposed to wear at night that stretches my foot out, and there are exercises I can do as well. It started happening when my running regime got above three miles or so. Needless to say, this made hiking difficult and I was too much of a puss to go the distance. I turned back from our first hike (Blueberry Mountain - not a high peak) about a half mile in. I went to a farmer's market instead.

I hiked to Marcy Dam with Jeff and then turned around while the rest of the group went on to Avalanche Lake (and got caught in a rainstorm). This hike ended up being about 5 miles for me, and it really wasn't all that bad - hence the phrase "Hike it out, bitch." was born. Walking that distance over rocky and not-so-flat terrain actually helped with my poor inflamed plantar.

We left the Adirondacks on a Friday. The following day was the Pedal to the Point cycling tour. I had every intention of doing the full 175 miles (100 on day 1, 75 on day 2) but when we ended up getting home at 2:00 am and I woke up at 5:00 am- I figured doing 100 miles of cycling in 90+ degree weather with no shade on three hours of sleep was a noble enough cause. I called Jeff from Sandusky and asked him to pick me up.

That night, I slept better than I ever have in my life. So you heard it here: If you want to sleep better than you ever have, just ride 100 miles on a bicycle! It's that easy, liketotallysweartogod.

(Ask me about my odd calf tanline later!)

Aside from that, it's been deliciously routine as of late. I have been spending a lot of time with my best friend. We cook, we bike, we do all that stuff that makes some people roll their eyes and feign nausea. Such is my life, and I can't complain. I am planning a tattoo, another century ride, and a trip to Columbus. I will post my review of Etna in Little Italy later - But I will tell you all that you should really check out this place. It's inexpensive and like nothing else I've ever had. Also, the house wines are 5 per glass.

These could be tweets, but they're not.

Jeff and I have been cycling fiends. We rode in the ABC Ride with the Akron Bicycle Club on Sunday. Jeff rode the 100 mile route and I did the 62 miler. Both were very intense, but quite fun. The nice thing about a good cycling tour, is that you sleep EXTREMELY well the following night or two. (Sadly, my bib number was not 666. Would have been cool too, since a stretch of the course was on "River Styx Road")

We made chocolate no-bake cookies the other day (these are the perfect accompaniment to a bowl of popcorn on movie night). I can't bring them to work anymore because people eat them all. You should make them, because they're EZ-PZ.

I haven't been posting a lot, because things have been kind of crazy. My mom is in the hospital, and should be coming home in a few days.

I solemnly swear that I will try to post more (gee, this sounds awfully familiar)...

Jeff is running in the Great Lakes Relay and is leaving on Thursday. If anyone fancies a bike ride or a night out this weekend, let me know!

We're looking for an apartment in Little Italy and parts beyond - Something close to Case.

I'm going to be cool like K & J and post some music videos of a band that everyone should check out. They are Woodpigeon, and as I've said before we found their CD in a resale shop in Canada for two Loonies. They're probably one of our favorite bands.

I am looking to fulfill a secret lifelong dream. I'm looking for an indie/rock band to join. Crazy, huh?

Oh yeah, the videos!

The Power of Melt Compels You

Two weeks ago, Jeff and I went for Round 2 at Light Bistro. I won't post as lengthy of a review since I regrettably cannot recall everything that everyone had. I'd really like to hit up a happy hour sometime, it sounds like it'd be really good. K & J - yes, you must go!!

Melt found its way to our computer earlier this week, and thus we found our way to Melt last night. June is coming to and end, and so is their June special sandwich - The Pig Roast. Pulled pork, fried sweet potato, slaw and cheddar-jack cheese. Mmm. Jeff got the platter with the roasted garlic corn on the cob and I just ended up getting the fries with mine. The sandwich was amazing, and easily the best thing I've ever eaten at Melt. Do yourself a favor and make a special trip for this sandwich. The corn, which Jeff was gracious enough to let me sample, was almost as amazing as the sandwich.

"We're going to make corn on the cob like this" I said to Jeff. (Note I didn't ask!)

We are going to be doing some more cycling tours this summer, you should definitely come along. We're looking at the ABC (Absolutely Beautiful Country) Ride and possibly the Sweetcorn Challenge (VERY hilly) which will both lead up to the 175 mile (100 mile day 1 + 75 miles day 2) Pedal to the Point in August.

We will be going to the Waterloo Arts Festival this weekend (yay!)

Pick of the Week: "Sweetfire" goat cheese from the Shaker Square Farmers Market. Get it!

The Devil Went Down to Burton

This is a short post, mainly because we're currently making pizza and preparing to go see Up at Shaker Square....

But Jeff and I rode in the Sunday in June tour in Burton, Ohio yesterday. Jeff rode the 62 mile route, and I took the 50. Do you know what my bib number was?

666.

Booya.

Also, as soon as my name goes up - check out the "Dish, Make Me Over!" post at Tricia's Dish. If people vote for me, I could get a makeover and I think we can all agree that I need one REALLY BADLY. (Amirite?)

I will post our second review of Light Bistro tomorrow!

Edit: Holy crap, I'm a feature here! Go go go!!!

Bicycle! Bicycle!

You know those buttons at the crosswalks you press to activate the crosswalk? (For those of you not in Cleveland - ours talk...) I have the strongest desire to karate kick one to activate it.

Jeff and I are hitting up the West Side Market this weekend and going to India Garden again. Any ideas/recipes to make? We had such luck making this amazing lemon pasta with chicken and cream last time.

DC is next week and I feel like a kid getting ready to go on summer vacation. I don't even want to work tomorrow, but if I didn't I know that'd be a little obvious that I wasn't sick. I skipped on the gym tonight in hopes to go on an evening ride (I was going to attempt the Euclid Corridor) but someone has my floor pump and I have a flat. I have a 2008 Specialized Dolce road bike that is my baby. I won't ride it to work in the Spring/Summer since it would totally break my heart if it got stolen. I'm looking for a bike in the $50 to $100 range to get to and from work. It's not that I'll miss riding the HealthLine... Boy, do I have some stories about that bus.

Tonight, I am being a lazybutt and ordering pizza/soda because it just feels like one of those nights. Sorry Alexa... I wussed out on the anchovies this time. I was going for a sure thing.

Columbus has a neat little cycling group that rides on Sunday nights and they were really fun. It was all ladies, and we'd go for a short 15 mile ride through the city. It was a little less fanatical than Critical Mass (I just signed up for Critical Mass here, though) but we looked out for each other. It was a good time. I left the group really quickly, because I moved to Cleveland really quickly. That's a story for another post. I really miss riding my bike. I am so anxious for touring season (Coming soon!).

Cara and the Amazing Technicolor Peacoat

The title refers to my multi-colored attire while hiking. Olive green, fluorescent orange, purple, gray and denim blue. I announced to Jeff that I looked like a homeless woman. He denied it.















This is a pretty dark picture, but it fits the mood. It was one of the first significantly snowy days in Cleveland and the darkly-lit La Dolce Vita was perfect.

It was icy tonight, so much that on several occasions I feared for my life while walking home. I feared for my safety due to other drivers, not myself with treadless shoes.

Jeff and I are going to L'Albatros tomorrow night. I'm curious about this restaurant, mostly because I've managed to survive 30 years without ever having any French food. I will post a review with pictures tomorrow night.

Jeff and I went hiking with some of his family members the day after Thanksgiving. It was a nice little hike, though I have to admit I was a little hesitant to hike considering what an ass I made of myself on Cascade Mountain in August.

We had a blast and the weather was great. This horse seemed to pose for me when I took this picture. It'd be a good hike when the leaves were changing.

Being in places like this make me wish I lived farther away from the city. I really do like Little Italy, however. There's something about it that I'm sorry to say I'll be tired of at some point, but that's not for many years. I hope I don't live here long enough to take it for granted. It's bound to happen at some point, but I enjoy the fact that I still see this little stretch of road through the eyes of an enlightened tourist.

I beg my mother to come here and visit. I tell her she'll love it.
She tells me that Cleveland is intimidating and that I shouldn't have moved. Do I have buyer's (renter's) remorse? No. Not in the slightest. Even though riding the RTA is an adventure in itself, and sometimes I feel almost painfully alone - I really do like it here quite a bit.

I'm doing a two-day 150 mile bicycle tour in August with the company I work for. I am really looking forward to it.

I remember the first week I lived here. I strolled down this street and sat on the swings at Brush Park and felt like a little kid. I was thankful to have friendly neighbors and people to watch over me. I live in a house (though it's not all mine) that is free of insects and filth.

I think I've finally started to find my niche.