Towpath Trail

Another day, another beautiful bike ride, this time down a section 

of the Towpath that Jason has never ridden before. Let's do this!

An old car sits under the Lorain-Carnegie Bridge.

The previously private area is now visible from a new 

extension of the trail which runs right past it.

A little farther south, the trail passes Steelyard and heads off into 

the Ohio and Erie Canal Reservation. I'm so happy to finally see a 

bike trail like this in Cleveland. Overgrown trees and wildlife, 

with no traffic to distract me from taking it all in.

A Flood Pole! 

The highest mark: 23 feet and 7 inches on June 23rd, 2006.

I installed an E-Brake on the Hercules (that I stole from 

my own Schwinn) last time I was in town. I am still

getting used to riding fixed and better safe than sorry for me.

Fun Fact: The Erie Canal also runs through upstate New York,

where I grew up. There are remains of locks from the Black River Canal,

which connected the Black River to the Erie Canal, along the sides

of Rt.12 which is how a local gas station, Lock 96, got its name.

Lifted

Back in Cleveland for a couple days, Jason and I made a midnight

pizza run to Edison's and weighed our options for the night's possibilities.

Shortly after, we had make quick work of another old vertical lift bridge

and were enjoying the lights and sounds of the city from above.

#whatsatripod is still in full swing, so the roof was more for memories

than for flawless long exposures.

 After some time enjoying the view, a horn sounded at the next bridge up

and we realized a ship was making its way down the river toward us.

Unlike the barges I'm used to seeing on the Monongahela,
Cleveland's Cuyahoga sees full size ships slowly creeping around its bends
and the bridges are designed to lift entirely straight up into the air.
The retired ones are often raised and left to stand alone.

The functioning bridge, adjacent to the one we were standing on,

would soon rise up to meet us. Rather than risk a face to face

encounter with its operator, we took shelter in the tower.

These rooms house the wheels that used to lift the span of the bridge.

We spent a good half hour in here watching the ship pass 

and taking photos out of smashed windows.

None of the spiders wanted a portrait but I tried regardless!

 Eventually the bridge descended and we followed suit.

I'm aiming for a Pittsburgh climb soon so keep checking in!

White Dove

On my last day in town last week, Jason and I decided to take a look 

around an old White Dove Mattress factory, established in the 20's, 

that he hadn't visited since this past winter.

We headed straight for the top floor to get all the stairs out of the way,

passing large window displays of graffiti and a matching charity offer.

The floors were swollen with waves of old wooden floorboards, 

light fixtures were strewn across the factory, 

likely left behind by scrappers collecting metals...

...and pools of rainwater reflected rows 

of columns and beautiful glass mosaics.

We certainly nailed the timing, 

making the most of the golden hour light.

Before heading off into the blue for tacos at Barrio!

(Taco pictures not included)

I nearly ruined my brand new shoes in here, Jason forgot 

to change out of his good black pants, and we arrived at dinner 

a bit dustier than normal, but happy with an evening well spent.

See you soon!

Eagle Ave

Went for a quick climb on one of Jason's old favorites the other night.

We had waited all week for a dry night and never got one,

but the light drizzle was refreshing and considering these are 

some of the first night time pictures I took on my 'new' 

8 year old Canon, I'm very happy with the results.

Memorial Day 'Hiking'

In this reclaimed greenhouse in Ohio!

While the outside looked damn near impenetrable, 

the vast maze inside was reminiscent of the light woods 

I spent my summers exploring in Upstate NY.

The first gem we came across was an old Chevy, 

getting a jump from Mother Nature.

This was one of the earliest adventures I took with Jason. 

Hes gone above and beyond to share his world and life with me...

and how to make do without a tripod.

As far as the eye could see, the greenhouse and plants formed a 

surreal unified landscape. Metal mimicked sprawling branches 

and hid inside twisted trunks and vines. Glass clung to the 

framework or laid on the ground like leaves fallen from trees.

A glowing door left ajar brought us back out to reality for a moment.

And above us, sunlight fought new growth
to reach inside where it used to shine.

I can't wait to get lost in these endless halls of green again.

Although maybe next time there will be more reds and yellows instead.

We're sure to return soon.

Stay tuned!