Posted by Mike M on January 11, 2002 at 15:28:42:
Given the excellent but lengthy rides that Intruden and Joe took us on, I thought it might be easier to keep this going with a new page.
I live about 1,500 feet south of the Lake Erie shore, 22 miles east of Cleveland in Mentor, Ohio. Many riders in this area were still on the road through mid-December due to the extremely mild fall and early winter. On December 29th we received 2 feet of snow in my neighborhood, and that has brought a halt to most riding. We do get temporary breaks when the roads are dry, the sun shining and the temperatures reaches in the low 40's. I took advantage of that on January 5th but just went far enough to get the bike completely warmed up.
Anyway, we go south from my development about 0.4 miles to Lakeshore Boulevard, so named for obvious reasons. At this point, we can choose from 4 primary routes, each with several variations. We will go the longest and most scenic way, but even so, the trip is only 10 miles. We head west on Lakeshore which is a 2 lane road passing through Cleveland's eastern suburbs. The speed limit is only 35 mph, but there are few lights and the traffic often flows between 40 and 45. The first major landmark is Osborne Park on our right, between the road and the lake. My daughter lifegaurds there in the summer. Shortly thereafter we come to the Lost Nation Road intersection. We are going straight but if you turn onto Lost Nation, you lead to 2 of the other routes I mentioned. As usual, I'm running late, so we won't stop at Skinner's Bakery, which is the 3rd business on the west side of Lost Nation, accessible from Lakeshore also. If you're not in a hurry, go into the parking lot off Lakeshore and enter Skinners through the back door. You will briefly feel like a burglar, but the owner actually expects you to do this since you can't park on Lost Nation. So far we've gone 2 miles and just passed through the northern end of Willoughby. We are heading into the community of Eastlake by powering through a sweeping curve to our left with an open view of Lake Erie on our right. The area we are riding through contains mostly single family homes, many right on the lake, sometimes a few small side streets between us and the lake. The route is tree lined for the most part, but with enough breaks to get good glimpses of the lake as we ride. The houses range form bungalows that were once only summer cottages to modern, angular architecture with many windows overlooking the view. The shoreline is a bluff in these parts, ranging from 20 to 70 feet high. We hit 2 lights after about another mile. You will see several gas stations and fast food joints. If our little Savage gas tank is on reserve, this is a cheap place to fill up. Gas is currently $1.05 per gallon. We then proceed to the top of a small hill overlooking the Chagrin River. Jefferson Elementary School is on our left – pay attention to the 20 MPH speed limit when the lights are flashing. I counted 4 marinas here and have used the launch ramp at one of them, the East Bank Marina. We go down the hill and cross the river – currently frozen. The Chagrin River tavern is about .25 miles ahead on our right. Good food at a decent price. Fancier menu than it looks like on the outside. We now head back uphill past the Eastlake City Hall. There is a park on the left that is locally known for it's display of 500 American flags (raised 1 a day through the Iran Hostage Crisis, then rounded to 500) and for weekly Saturday night cruise-ins for classic cars all through the summer. At the top of the hill is the intersection with Route 91, another of the alternate routes. We continue on Lakeshore past the little communities of Timberlake and Lakeline. These villages consist of a few small residential streets tucked between Lakeshore Blvd. and Lake Erie. No idea why they are independent entities. As we approached, we saw the 2 stacks of a coal burning power plant hard on the bluff in Timberlake. The road is becoming more urban as we enter into Willowick, about 7 miles into our ride. We pass Vine Street with Shoregate Towers highrise apartments on our right and a shopping plaza on the left. The road becomes 4 lanes here. Ease into the left hand lane as we are about to turn left on East 305th St. About .2 miles on our right is Lakefront Lodge, part of the Lake Metroparks system. I’ll come back here for lunch at a picnic table overlooking the lake on days when I can spare the time. We turn left heading south on East 305. We proceed through a residential neighborhood, under a major freeway (Route 2) and across 2 sets of RR tracks. Up a short hill to Euclid Avenue where we turn left, backtracking to the east now. We go about .5 miles to the light on Campbell Road. Before we turn, look up to your right past the intersection and you will see a 5 acre sheep farm right smack dab in the middle of the commercial and industrial section of the city of Willoughby! Big story here, but this note is already too long. Head north on Campbell and my factory is on the right, the entire length of the road up to the RR tracks we crossed earlier. We enter through the north gate and park in a spot with a sign labeled "Motorcycle Parking Only." How cool is that!
Sorry the note was so long. I didn’t describe even 25% of what I could. Amazing what you see when you actually look.