Ride Details

Wednesday Ride, Oct 25 – Brush Creek to Bergholz Diner

Tomorrow looks to be a nice day for late fall – 70 degrees, but cloudy. I’m thinking our route down around the Brush Creek Wilderness Area will give us an opportunity to take advantage of the fall colors, beautiful reds and yellows, that are still out there. We will take SR 14 to Salem, and 9 and 644 to Salineville for our rest stop at the Marathon station, arriving there around 11:30 AM. Then we pick up County Road 55 just south of Salineville and make a loop east to Hammondsville, south and back west along the rim of the Brush Creek canyon to Township Road 218, a great little canopied downhill road, then south around Jefferson Lake State Park and take several more small forest roads to Amsterdam. From there it’s only 5 or 6 miles north to Bergholz and the Bergholz Cafe, a small family run enterprise. If you order pancakes at the Cafe I suggest ordering only one…

I’ve got a special little route planned for riding back to Cleveland. I’m going to take SR 524 and small roads to Minerva then SR 183 north to Rte 14. Route 524 is only 19.89 miles long and is the shortest state highway in Ohio.

See you tomorrow at Bobs in Macedonia. Breakfast at 9, ride departs at 10 AM.

Wednesday Ride, Oct 18, 2023 to Deli on the Square

I think fall is usually a great time to explore back roads to check out the beauty in the changing colors on the sides of the roadways.

So this week we will check out Routes 14 and 9 as we wind our way to the Deli on the Square in Carrollton. We did find a few small areas of construction on the pre-ride Sunday and the trees were just beginning to change. Hopefully a couple days of fall weather will help brighten up our journey.

See you at Bob’s at 9 for breakfast and we should be wheels up at 10.

Mike

Wednesday Ride, Oct 11 – Sandusky, Shoreline Park

Wednesday’s ride will follow a route we have used previously, but with a new destination – Shoreline Park in Sandusky. We will ride through the Cuyahoga Valley National Park to Bath, west to Abbyville Road and north through Grafton to our rest stop at the Marathon on SR 301 on the northside of Lagrange. We should arrive there around 11:15 AM. From Lagrange it’s west a few miles to County Line Road and north to Vermillion River Park, then west on Darrow Road to SR 2 at Huron and on to Sandusky and Shoreline Park. It will be close to 1 PM by the time we get to the Park.

This is a “pack your lunch” ride for eating in the park. Or you can pick up something at the Lagrange Marathon, buy a sub (pricey) at Great Lakes Grinders in the park.

Departure from Bob’s in Macedonia at 10 AM. Breakfast at 9 AM.

This will NOT be the last organized ride of the season because we have two more Wednesdays. We will continue to meet at Bob’s every Wednesday of the year (except Christmas), and will often ride to lunch depending on the weather and inclinations of those present, but won’t be sending out the weekly emails with routes attached.

See you Wednesday….

Wednesday Ride, Oct. 4 – Grand River Wine Tour

The grape harvest should be underway by now in the Grand River Valley wine growing region, and with the weather forecast for Wednesday warm and sunny it should be a good day to tour the valley and have lunch at the Ferrante Vineyards restaurant. We will ride I-271 north a few miles to the Harvard Avenue exit, then take County Line Road all the way up to Chardon Road (US 6) where we will take small winding roads through the “high rent district” of Waite Hill and Kirtland to the Holden Arboretum for our rest stop. We should arrive there around 11:15 – if you plan to meet us there tell the gate attendant that you want to only use the restroom and they will let you enter. After a few more secondary roads we will take SR 585 north and South River Road west through the Grand River wine region, and if it’s not too windy we should be able to breath in the sweet scent of ripe concord grapes. This route has some cool hills and curves I think you’ll enjoy. We’ll cross the river and come back west on SR 307 to have lunch at the Ferrante Winery on SR 307 around 12:30 PM. It should be a nice day to eat out on their covered patio or one of their gazebos.

Departure from Bobs in Macedonia at 10 AM sharp. Come at 9 AM for breakfast.

P.S. This route has some nice big hills and curves I think you’ll enjoy.

Wednesday Ride, September 27, 2023 – East Main Kitchen in Baltic

Destination is Baltic, and the East Main Kitchen, another of our favorite lunch spots.

The route will take you through the Cuyahoga Valley to SR 93 south of Akron, all the way down to Baltic.

There is no GPS file for this ride – Sir William will be sure to keep everyone together.

As usual, meet at Bobs in Macedonia – 9 AM for breakfast, and 10 AM ride departure.

Wednesday Ride, Sept 20, Mohican State Park

Most of you have probably heard by now that our dear friend and Wednesday Ride mate, Steve Clarke, died in a motorcycle accident last Friday while riding with club members at the RA Rally in West Virginia. A deer jumped in front of him, pushing him into the lane of oncoming traffic where he was struck by an oncoming car and died instantly. Steve’s passing leaves a big hole in our club, and especially in our Wednesday Ride group. He was always such an enthusiastic participant, adding to the fun and excitement of our adventures, ready for any kind of ride.

Since he lived way over on the west side Steve didn’t always make it to our Wednesday breakfasts, but when he did it was a treat – everyone was glad to see him. Sometimes he would meet us at the rest stop when our rides were more in his area and ride with us to lunch. So I thought it would be nice to do a ride this Wednesday that Steve would show up for, waiting at the rest stop with that great big smile on his face, all ready to go. Mohican State Park has been one of our favorites, and this week we’ll do it in memory of Steve.

I’ve made a few changes this time. We will take I-271 and I-71 down to Love’s Travel Center at the SR 83 exit on I-71 a few miles south of Lodi. We should arrive there soon after 10:30. From there we will take Overton Road down to Wooster, and instead of riding west on the Old Lincoln Highway we will take small roads along a fork of the Mohican river to Loudenville, our second rest stop. Following our usual tour through Mohican State Park we will drop south to SR 514 and pick up Wally Road (yea, that’s right!) which follows the Mohican river back up to Loudenville for lunch at the Black Fork Bistro.

A couple of things… once we get off the interstate the roads will be small. They are all paved, but there are some sections of patched asphalt making for a few bumps along the way. It is totally rideable on any bike, but if you prefer smooth blacktop and wide shoulders this may not be to your liking. And this will be a longish ride, probably getting to the restaurant around 1 PM. But the weather will be glorious, and Steve will be along with us in spirit, so it should be a memorable ride.

Ride departs Bob Evans in Macedonia at 10 AM sharp. Come at 9 AM for breakfast and conversation — I’m sure many will want to share their memories of Steve.

Hope to see you Wednesday! Wally Gingerich

Saturday Ride Sep 16, 2023 to Carrollton, Ohio

Going back country roads to Carrollton, Ohio.

Latter parts of this track yet to be ridden. Rt183. Discovery arranged by Uncle Garmin.

Lunch at Carrollton County Airport. Gets high trip advisor ratings. Country motor biking, country airplanes.

(OR There is also Que Pasa Mexican restaurant in Carrolton. Nice place, large helpings. Mexican murals on everything)

Slightly different route than you have ridden before.

See Track in BE Mac to Carrollton gpx file.

66 miles, 1hr 48min each way. You’ll like it!

Matt Walker leading the way.

GPS file HERE

Wednesday Ride, Sep 13 – Route 164 to Scio

The weather forecast for Wednesday is partly cloudy (no rain), so I locked it in. Guaranteed…

With temps in the 60s it will be a good day to ride SR 164, one of the best roads within reasonable riding distance of Bobs in Macedonia. We’ll spend 45 minutes on I-77 to Canton and where we will pick up SR 41 to Waynesburg. Our rest stop will be the McDonalds in Waynesburg – we should arrive there a few minutes before 11 AM. From Waynesburg we’ll head south on SR 542, a lightly traveled curvy road that skirts the east end of Atwood Lake and then takes SR 212 to Leesville. At Leesville shortly we pick up SR 164, one of the premium roads in this part of Ohio with great sweepers along ridge tops all the way east to Amsterdam. From there we drop south to SR 646, another great curvy road and head back west to Scio for lunch with Joann at the B&F Dairy Bar, arriving around 1 PM.

I had wanted to have lunch at The Restaurant in the old hotel but they are closed on Wednesdays and Lexi, the owner, recommended the B&F Dairy Bar – she said Joann taught her everything she knows. And Lexi knows a lot – her fish on Fridays is out of this world but get there before she sells out. The B&F Dairy Bar has a large menu of sandwiches and sides along with ice cream, and provides outdoor seating. It should be fun!

Scio via Atwood Lake.gpx GPS file HERE

Wednesday Ride Sept 6th. From Bob Evans to Jolly Rogers in Port Clinton

Hey everybody

I’m taking Gretchen to Jolly Rogers Port Clinton for her pre birthday ride Wednesday. Please join us. Bob Evans Macedonia To Rocky River along the lake. It will be a hot one Wednesday but maybe a bit cooler by the lake. Then to Vermillion and stop at speedway before we hop on Rt 2 to Marblehead and Port Clinton. Kick stands up at 10:00 am, come early 9:00 am for breakfast at Bob Evans Macedonia.

Let’s ride. Michael Nahas

GPS file HERE

Wednesday Ride Aug 30, 2023 SCOOTER RIDE

It’s that time of the year again! Get out your PC150s, your Yamaha Vinos and dust them off for a shorter ride on mainly secondary roads.

We’ll head across the scenic Cuyahoga Valley National Park to head west through Bath and on to Medina Line Road to Silver Creek Park. Summit Metroparks has converted all traffic through Silver Creek to a one way traffic pattern so the entrance is now further down . We will proceed through the park for our rest stop at the Circle K on Eastern Road just west of Route 21. The route is changed again on Eastern Road due to road construction so the detour will take Taylor Road south to Vanderhoff and then on to our usual path on Cleveland Massilon Road to Canal Fulton where we pick up Route 93 to Beach City where join Route 212 to our lunch Stop at Sublime BBQ in Bolivar.

The updated route avoids most of the well travelled highways and tries to focus on back roads with speed limits of 45 or lower. We pass quite a few gas stations so there should not be a problem with the smaller tanks on the little ones. The scenery is great and this should be a fun casual ride – even for the big bikes.

All bikes are welcome so show up at Bob’s in Macedonia for breakfast at 9 and be ready to ride at 10. Mike

GPS file HERE

Wednesday Ride 23Aug23 to Utica and Ye Olde Mill at Velvet Ice cream

This Wednesday’s forecast is calling for partly cloudy with a high of 83 – a perfect day for a ride to Velvet Ice cream!

We’ll start out at 10 with the route heading through Cuyahoga Valley National Park and then on to Wooster for our rest stop at the BellStores at the intersection of 3 and 95. From here we proceed south on 3 and then shortly pick up route 226 towards Shreve. The trip continues through Shreve on to 514 for hilly and rolling country sides on our way to Utica and Ye Olde Mill at Velvet Ice cream. I’m not sure what’s on the food men but the ice cream is great!

See you at Bob’s for breakfast at 9 and we’ll be on the road at 10.

Mike

GPS file HERE

P.S. Next week it’s Scooter Ride! Get the little ones out, dust them off and fill the tanks up for our back-road tour to Bolivar!

Wednesday Ride, August 16 – Guilford Lake, Mark’s Landing

We haven’t been to Mark’s Landing for more than a year! Last time, as I recall, the fish sandwiches were big and yummy, although service was a little slow. But the view overlooking the Lake is very nice, and there is outdoor seating if we want. To get to Mark’s we will ride through West Branch State Park, take a rest stop at Love’s on SR 255 at I-76 (arrival: 11 AM), cross Lake Milton and then angle SE toward Canfield before dropping south to Guilford Lake about 6 miles west of Lisbon. We should arrive at Guilford Lake around 12:30. Mark’s Landing is on SR 172, which makes a nice route home going due west to Canton. I haven’t been on some of these roads for a while, so we may need to detour but that is never a problem – always an adventure.

See you at Bobs for breakfast at 9, ride departs at 10.

Wed Ride, August 9 – Warsaw to Shokey’s Country Kitchen

‘ll be out of town again this Wednesday, but Ed Desimone has planned an adventure for you – a ride down to Warsaw for lunch “out in the sticks” at Shokey’s Country Kitchen, about 3 miles south of Warsaw. Shokey and his companion run the place – cooking out of what looks like a school bus and serving in a dirt floor “dining room” attached to the bus. The food is good, and the conversation with Shokey even better! Ed will be taking mostly state highways down to Warsaw, but knowing Ed I can’t guarantee there won’t be a little gravel, maybe in the sticks near Shokey’s.

The rest stop will be the Marathon on U.S. 250 in Mt. Eaton with arrival around 11:15.

Bob’s at 9 for breakfast. Ride departs at 10 AM.

Wednesday Ride, August 2, to Dog Tracks Diner in Wellington

Rich Frantz is going to be leading the ride this Wednesday, and he has a great one planned! Rich knows the roads in the environs around Medina and he has put a route together that includes a lot of curves and even some decent hills, including stretches on little roads that most of us have never ridden. It’s going to be fun.

The route takes River Road and Bath Twp Road over to the “west side” and then follows small roads (all in good shape) in a zig-zag to Pilot Travel Center at Burbank (I-71 and SR 83) for the rest stop, arriving there around 11:15 AM. Then it’s on west through West Salem and Homerville, and north past Findley State Park to Wellington. Wellington is 20 miles west of Medina on SR 18, so it won’t be a long ride back home.

Have Fun! I’ll be in Seattle so I’ll miss this ride, but I’ll ride it another day.

Bob’s at 9 for breakfast. Ride departs at 10 AM.

Wednesday Ride, July 26 – Conneaut, Breakwall BBQ

Tomorrow looks to be a warm and sunny day – perfect for a ride up along Lake Erie to Conneaut for lunch at Breakwall BBQ on the beach. We will take I-271 and I-90 north to Vrooman Road where we’ll exit north to SR 84, South Ridge Road, and head east to Geneva. South Ridge Road follows a ridge that was the shoreline of Lake Erie a few thousand years ago. Our rest stop will be the Circle K at SR 84 and 534, just south of Geneva. From there we head north a few miles to Geneva-on-the-Lake, always a fun place to “drag main,” especially in the tourist season. I don’t expect there will be many Harleys hanging out mid-day tomorrow. We’ll stay on Lake Road, SR 531, all the way through Ashtabula Harbor and on to Conneaut beach. There are nice lake views along Lake Drive and maybe we’ll pick up some cool lake breeze. Breakwall BBQ is right on the beach in Conneaut, offering good food with inside and outside seating. They are a BBQ joint, but also have a good Walleye sandwich.

Breakfast at Bob’s Macedonia at 9 AM. Ride departs at 10 AM.

Wednesday Ride, July 19 – Mosquito Lake Loop to Mesopotamia General Store

Our destination this Wednesday will be the End of the Commons General Store in Mesopotamia. We will take Pioneer Trail Road east from Aurora to Garrettsville, then SR 305 to Cortland, stopping on the way at the BP station at SR 45 and 305 for our rest stop (arriving around 11 AM). From there we loop around the southern end of Mosquito Lake and then head NE to Kinsman before coming back around to cross Mosquito Lake and end up at Mesopotamia. Bring your lunch or buy something at the End of the Commons General Store.

There are several Mormon historical sights along the Pioneer Trail Road dating back to the 1830s when the Mormons had settled in Kirtland.

This is one of our shorter rides, arriving at Mesopotamia on SR 87, 5 miles east of Middlefield, by 12:30.

Departure from Bob’s at 10 AM. Breakfast at 9.

Wednesday Ride, July 12 – Mosquito Lake Loop to Mesopotamia General Store

There are several Mormon historical sights along the Pioneer Trail Road dating back to the 1830s when the Mormons had settled in Kirtland.

This is one of our shorter rides, arriving at Mesopotamia on SR 87, 5 miles east of Middlefield, by 12:30.

Departure from Bob’s at 10 AM. Breakfast at 9.

Wednesday Ride, July 5, 2023, Log Cabin Inn, Harmony, PA

Bill Penney will be leading the ride this Wednesday to one of his favorite lunch spots, the Log Cabin Inn in Harmony, PA. We will take SR 14 and 45 to Lisbon where we’ll pick up SR 154 and the riding gets really good. In PA we’ll take SR 168 and 588 to New Harmony, and north on US 19 to the Log Cabin Inn.

This is a longish ride, about 2.5 hours riding time, so we should arrive at the Log Cabin Inn a little before 1 PM. Rest stop is the Circle K south of Salem where SR 45 makes a right turn heading south on S. Lincoln Ave.

Breakfast at 9 AM at Bobs in Macedonia. Ride leaves at 10 AM. See you Wednesday!

Wednesday Ride, June 28 Old Port Washington Rd

This is a good time to ride the Old Port Washington Road since we’ve had some rain and it shouldn’t be so dusty. If you’re not familiar with the Old Port Washington Road, click on the link above and check it out. In a nutshell, it is a trip back in time riding through the backcountry of Amish settlements from Millersburg to Baltic, and on to Port Washington. About half of the road is paved and half is well maintained gravel and dirt roads. I’m including two routes, one which takes the original road and one which takes PAVED roads alternative to the gravel sections.

We’ll leave Bob’s in Macedonia at our regular time, 10 AM sharp, and ride I-271 and I-71 down to Burbank, and then take 83 south to Millersburg. Our rest stop will be the BP in Wooster where 83 and 250 split about a mile south of US 30. If west side riders want to join us en route, please meet us at the Wooster BP rest stop – we should arrive there right at 11 AM. Please DO NOT attempt to meet us at the start of the Old Port Road in Millersburg as there is no place to wait to join the ride.

There are no restaurants in Port Washington, so we’ll have lunch at the park in town. It is a nice stop with shade trees and, if we’re lucky, the rest rooms will be unlocked! Bring your lunch or pick up something at the Wooster BP.

I haven’t ridden this road since last year so there could be some detours, but that will only add to the “adventure.” You don’t need an adventure bike to ride this road – if you’re comfortable on gravel an RT or GT will do just fine.

I’m also including tracks of the Old Port Road itself if you’d like to load those into your GPS to make sure you are on the correct roads in case your GPS messes with the route.

Hope to see you Wednesday – this is always a great ride!

PS. The GPS files have been given to Wed Regulars, not the route we rode last year.

Contact Wally for the files if you want them wallyging@gmail.com

Wednesday Ride, June 21 to Wooden Wheel in Quaker City

The Ride is one of Wally’s favorites-the Wooden Wheel in Quaker City. I scouted the route last week and the twisties of the Tappan-Moravian Trail Scenic Byway are in great shape. In fact, the last 12 miles from Antrim to Quaker City are newly repaved (no edge lines yet).

The routing takes us south to the US 77 turn-off to Highway 250 and the rest stop at the Marathon (RH side) in Uhrichsville. From there we travel OH 250, 800 & 513 through the villages of Deersville, Londonderry, Freeport, Atrim and our lunch destination at Quaker City’s Wooden Wheel Amish restaurant.

Come early to Bob’s! Breakfast orders are taken at 9 AM and we ride at 10 after a short briefing.

The GPX file HERE

Wednesday Ride, June 14 to Jolly Rogers in Port Clinton, OH

Bob Evans Macedonia to Jolly Rogers Port Clinton is Wednesday June 14. leaving Bob Evans at 10:00am. Come early at 9:00am for breakfast. The route is posted in GPX files on the BMW club site. We will take rt 303 and back roads until we pick up Rt2 off Tiffin rd. There is a shell gas stop off rt 113 at Loraine rd. Then continue back on rt 113 west. We should get to Jolly Rogers around 1:00. C U Then.

Wednesday Ride, June 7 – to Brush Creek

We will be heading down to the Brush Creek Wildlife Area southeast of Salineville for our ride this Wednesday, and then south skirting Jefferson Lake State Park before heading north west to Carroll County Airport for lunch. Our rest stop will be the Marathon station in Salineville – we should arrive there around 11:15, and we will get to the airport around 1 PM.

Brush Creek is a rugged and relatively undeveloped area. We will ride mainly county and township roads from Salineville on, but they are in nice shape and rideable by any kind of bike. Lots of curves and elevation changes, and an unusually charming canopied road (Township 218) down off the south rim of Brush Creek “canyon.” Another delightful small road (Township 219) will take us through a heavily forested area along the south boundary of Jefferson Lake State Park. This is one of my favorite rides.

Leaving Bob’s promptly at 10 AM.

GPS file HERE

Wednesday Ride 31 May ’23 to the Warehouse in Roscoe Village

Join us this Wednesday for a trip featuring plenty of scenery and greenery and very few intersections, stop signs or traffic lights.

We start off with a brief run north on route 8 to pick up 271 for Wally’s route to Wooster.

After a brief stop at the Minit Mart at the intersection of 250 and 83 we will proceed south on the rolling hills and gentle bends

of route 83 to our lunch stop at the Warehouse in Roscoe Village.

We had some traffic in Millersburg during the check ride and a few buggies after that but very few stops!

Route 93 is usually a great way back home but a detour just south of Dundee presented a challenge.

If we can figure out the correct way through we could stop at Just Ice Cream in Brewster.

See you at Bob’s at 9 for breakfast and be ready at 10 for a brief preview an then on to Coshocton!

GPS file HERE

Wednesday Ride, May 24, ’23 – East Palestine, OH

Several of you expressed interest in riding to East Palestine, site of the Norfolk and Southern derailment 3.5 months ago, and that is where we will be headed this Wednesday. The derailment zone runs from the eastern part of East Palestine to the Pennsylvania border, about a quarter mile in length. Clean-up of the south track has been completed and it is in operation in both directions. The north track has been removed and the contaminated soil underneath it is being excavated and replaced with clean dirt. The road alongside the derailment zone is being used to haul the contaminated material away and is closed to normal traffic but we can look down the tracks and see some of the activity when we cross over them in the eastern side of East Palestine.

So that is the destination, but we’ll take an interesting route to get there. From Bob’s we will head east through West Branch State Park and on to our rest stop at Love’s Travel Stop at SR 225 and I-76, arriving there a bit before 11 AM. From there we will be taking small roads south through the lowland area between Salem and Columbiana and then head east cross country to East Palestine. We’ll take a brief look at the clean-up zone as we cross the tracks in East Palestine, and then make our way to The Original Roadhouse for lunch where Bill Penney and I met the governor a few weeks ago when he was having lunch with local officials to discuss clean-up efforts. We should get to the Roadhouse between 12:30 and 1:00 PM.

The weather is looking good – sunny and cool. It should be a great day for doing a little exploring and enjoying Ohio’s lush countryside in the spring.

GPS FILES HERE

Departure from Bob Evans in Macedonia promptly at 10 AM. Come early for breakfast.

Wally

Saturday Ride East May 20th

Ride for Pie at Mary Yoders in Middlefield!

Saturday’s ride will take us through the Chagrin Valley with some potential detours due to road construction on the southern end of Chagrin River Road but, YOU ARE NEVER LOST ON A MOTORCYCLE!!

A rest stop will be at the Holden Arboretum and then routing through northern Geauga County roads through Hartsgrove, Mesopotamia and finally Mary Yoder’s Amish Kitchen in Middlefield!

As Wally has often says, “Very light rain/showers are in the forecast, but it won’t be a washout. Promise. “

Paul Mitchell

BMWMOC Vice-President

The file “Chagrin River to Mary Yoders.gpx” has been uploaded to GPS files on our website ABOUT+misc

Wednesday Ride 17 May 23

Looks like we have another great day to ride coming up so I thought we would head to Loudonville and visit the Black Fork Bistro.

Our route will head behind Bob Evans to wind through the Cuyahoga Valley National Park and then on to routes 77 and 21 to pickup route 585 for our quick stop at Ports Petroleum on route 3 just outside of Wooster. From there we will take a different route as we travel down 95 to pick up route 39 in Perrysville.

Show up at Bob Evans at 9 for breakfast and be outside at 10 for a brief meeting before we head out.

Take a look at Black Fork Bistro to check out the menu!