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Solstace Short Trip

J

JOECUBANA

Guest
Well, after months of preparing to attend Loraz' Solstace Ride, last minute family obligations prevented my attendance.....BUT, I figured I could scoot over Sunday morning and have breakfast with everyone.

I awoke a little later then I wanted and and hit the street about 0640....should put me into West Salem between 9:30 and 10:00. I'm not a fan of slab riding, especially the section of I-76 in Akron and I-71 south of there, so I planned on taking the backroads and skirting the slab.

Great morning to ride....70 degrees, sun behind me lighting the way and almost no traffic. I ran into some fog early on in the bottomlands, but it quickly burned off.

Once I got into Ohio I took Ohio 11 down to Ohio 5. 5 is a really pretty drive...goes through some quaint small towns and nice farmlands. The sun's angle from behind really accentuated the fields and hills (well what they are in Ohio!).

Well, 5 came to an end and I forgot to turn and I ended up at I-76...I hate the slab but was running late so I decided to ride it the 17 miles to Akron....The raffic wasn't heavy so I thought things wouldn't be bad....traffic picked up in Akron, but I forgot it was a bit farther to the I-71 split.....Finally got to the I-71 split and of course ran into the infamous summer flower...the orange construction sign....ran down I-71 through the construction zones. Finally looked at the mile markers and saw I only had a few more miles....getting off onto some great roads.

Loraz had said in his directions "go through the tunnel" Well, it was kinda neat...you turned right off the main road and there was this railroad underpass, of course skewed to the direction you're turning so you can't see in. A sign read" Sound Horn", I did, and entered a different world. I went from bright sunshine into this dark, damp tunnel, bottom all wet and the whole thing all musty smelling...For some reason it really struck me as interesting.

Fun final 5 miles through the Amish country..made it to Cinnamon Lake, told the lady at the gate where I was ging. She said "all the other motorcycles left early this morning." "Just out for a morning ride" I said.

Well, got to Chez Loraz and BMWBeauty and Loraz were in the drive waving and aid everyone else had left early.

Oh well, stayed for a couple hours and enjoyed the company and the stories of the weekend.

I needed to be home be 5, so I had to mount up and head east. We checked the maps and found a route to skirt the city and avoid the slab and Debra and Gale accompanied me 2/ of the ways home...great ride on 303, through the infamous Hinkley (didn't notice Shaw Towers anywhere...save that for another trip).

Didn't get to partake in the entire weekend but enjoyed meeting the hosts and enjoyed their company...

Van't wait for Lima! :D
 
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