Matt and I took a Downtown Cleveland riding tour a few weeks ago just to try something new. I had to show him the West Side Market, a place I had visited several months ago with another friend. For dinner, I requested to try something new in the Ohio City district, so we made a stop at Ohio City Burrito, a couple blocks away from the West Side Market and just around the corner from the Great Lakes Brewing Company. Needless to say, we were very impressed by the extreme flavor and authentic flavor of these selections. Here are a couple of their dishes.
Matt had a "25th Street Taco" consisting of a hard taco shell inside of a flour tortilla pasted together with refried beans, with chicken, cheese, lettuce, and specialty sauce inside.
I had a Brother’s Burrito which consisted of a flour tortilla filled with rice, a choice of beans & meat (I went with the shredded beef), lettuce, choice of salsa, guacamole and sour cream. This is their signature burrito, also known as the "silver bullet." I had this with their homemade iced horchata drink.
The decor gives this hole-in-the-wall store even more of a homey feel.
If this store was a chain, it has the potential of giving a certain, other Mexican Grill a popularity run for its money in this region. Yeah, they're that good. For more information and to see their menu, visit http://ohiocityburrito.com/
It's nearly the end of June, and I find myself not having posted here to the Two-Wheeled Tourist in a month and a half and up at 4:30AM EST on a Monday. But this time, it's not because I'm on I-71 northbound out of Columbus on 2.5-hour drive to work.
My largest pet rat, Bandit, leapt from the cage onto my husband's face and scurried into the closet. Fortunately Bandit wasn't hurt from the incident, and he was freaked out enough that he actually was fine with us picking him up. Because of that and the fact that it's nearly 80 degrees in the bedroom, I can't sleep. So screw that, I just turned the air on again and I'm blogging.
Here is the rodent in question, my 1.2 lb. giant cuddlebug named Bandit. It's not the first time he's fallen off the cage, but after much practice in the art of freefalling, he really put on the dramatics.
A lot has happened since we last chatted in May, everything from an impending detour in my motorcycle career to preparations for July's Women On Wheels® International Ride-In™ that's happening in Billings, MT, of which I am an event co-chair. Along with a random, debilitating back spasm that had me suffering the worst pain in my life for several hours a few weeks ago, it seems like every day has been a surprise and a half. Some surprises quite nice and others, well, you get the idea.
For starters, it's not a good thing when my boss calls both me and my co-worker into the office, at the same time, on the Tuesday after Memorial Day and he doesn't have drinks and a cake on his desk. After declining sales over a few years, my employer, Premier Cycle Accessories is changing its business direction and shutting down its accessory sales division. As a result, my position will be eliminated first and eventually, both of us will be laid-off as merchandise is liquidated and the lease on the building space ends in September. My demise was scheduled to be much sooner, but with the calendar trickling into July and I'm still headed to work later this morning, my eventual departure has been delayed a little bit.
It's so not fun to make graphics for newsletters that look like this:
Nothing says "depressing" like designing announcements that foreshadow your eventual offing.
Crap. What do I do now? Beside the obvious "look for another job" part, this moment in time has given me an opportunity to take a step back and look at all the things I've accomplished as a professional in the motorcycle industry. For the most part, I've enjoyed the ride so far and would like to continue down this career path. The challenge, however, is finding another awesome company who wants to add me to their team. That may require some possibilities outside of Ohio. And as I continue the battle of acclimating myself to the Midwest, I'm realizing that California may not be the most ideal place at this moment in time. As to whether or not I'll still be living in NE Ohio after the summer, I can't even predict my future that far ahead. More to come on that discussion eventually...
In addition to that, Eleanor finally returned to me after a near 3.5 month stint on injured reserve. To make a long story short, what started out as the bike not starting and a "crankshaft position sensor error" (Error Code 12 for you FJR1300 owners out there) later evolved into exploratory surgery, a trip to the mechanic, a bad starter relay, and a deteriorated fuel line. I'm just glad to have her back again and running just as nice as she did before. As much as I enjoy putting around on Matt's 2008 Piaggio BV250 (which was finally repaired right after Eleanor went down), it's not exactly the same thing.
Dammit, it's good to have you two back in action again, at the same time.
Despite all this, I'm still going on "work-cation" and heading back West to the huge motorcycle-induced party that I've helped plan since August 2012. The next few posts will be a lot less drama and a lot more riding as Eleanor and I travel to our 6th WOW International Ride-In™ together. I'm taking a different approach to the route to reach Billings, MT to seek out new sights and also to remember a dear friend who taught me, through example, that the greatest adventures come from roads less traveled. Stay tuned!
Lastly, if you're wondering about the reference to "Another Suitcase in Another Hall," just watch some Madonna. Good morning, people.
I enjoyed riding my store's 2008 Piaggio "Beverly" BV250 scooter so much over the last 350 miles last week that I had to write a review on it. Here are my quick thoughts on this machine.
Local roads: Quick acceleration is this bike's biggest strength. It takes off immediately and reaches 40MPH with the speed of a mid-range motorcycle. If you don't watch the position of your right hand you might find yourself doing 55MPH and not even realize it. A butter-smooth automatic transmission can do that to you! Keeping up with traffic isn't even a question.
Highway use: At first I was doubtful that a 250cc scooter would be able to hold its own on the freeway, but I was quickly proven wrong as the machine screamed to 70MPH on I-270 and managed to hold 70-80MPH stably for my 25-mile commute back home. However, with a maximum speed of about 82-87MPH, I felt that a little bit more engine would be ideal for longer journeys and would be a lot less stress on the bike.
Rain: This scooter is equipped with 16" Pirelli Diablo tires that have awesome grip on wet pavement in both straightaways and in turns. Additionally, the bike remained rock solid in steady crosswinds at full highway speed. The majority of the scooter's weight is very low to the ground which also helps with its overall stability and nimbleness.
Storage space: This Piaggio is equipped with a Givi 46-liter topcase that complements the cavernous underseat storage that the bike already has. It's more than enough for a grocery trip or a long-distance journey. Additionally, the scooter also has a 12V power port under the seat to charge that cell phone or power your heated riding gear. To add to the fun, there are factory optional color-matched sidecases that bolt onto the sides of the scooter. With that much holding room, there's no reason to take the car to go to the store pick up the essentials (or a do lunch run to Chipotle for four of your co-workers and yourself)!
Fuel economy: How does 65-75 MPG sound? And that's even with highway travel! I will have to say, the BV250 is a bit of a connoisseur with gas; it likes the premium stuff. However, your wallet won't hurt much after giving it a little over two gallons for a full tank.
Conclusion: The Piaggio BV250 has been a worthy commuter that combines both the ease of twist-and-go automatic transmission and the stability of a full-sized motorcycle in a stylish package. When one thinks about the word "scooter," the first words that come to mind are "small," "slow," and "not a motorcycle." The BV250 trumps all of these views and easily proves that automatic bikes still have an essential place in the motorcycle market.
I wish more motorcyclists would go beyond that negative perception of scooters and give this bike a chance. It is a true automatic motorcycle and a spirited machine that is easy to learn and ride. I am curious, however, about its big brother, the BV500. That bike, like this one, has the potential of being a long-distance tourer, that is, if you have a lead wrist...
