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Published: August 7th 2011
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Dan re-packing
Dan let a lot go in this re-pack, including his spare tire he had been lugging since we left. Well, we didn't end up going out with Bill. His car took too long to get repaired, and he had to be up early in the morning.
Dan and I rode up to Cleveland (Dan, with his new rear tire installed) with the plans to get a cheap hotel and grab a beer or two. When we got to Cleveland, a guy on a motorcycle informed us that there was a Porto Rican fest later that night down by Browns stadium,, and that we should show up. We then began our search for a hotel... nothing cheaper than $200 after taxes and parking. With the wind out of our sails we decided to check out this Porto Rican fest. We parked our bikes and took Leche with us and checked out the field nearby to see if we could find a place to pitch a tent for the night. After deciding it wasn't the best place to do so we walked around the festival grounds a bit. It was a typical carnival, with rides, games and live acts. We got a bite to eat and decided to try to find a hotel somewhere outside the city. When we got back
to our bikes the guys who parked next to us showed up and told us where to find a cheap motel between Cleveland and Toledo.
We rode through north Cleveland on local roads before we got onto the highway to Toledo. We got off at the exit they told us, only to find that the motel was full, and the neighboring hotel charged $150! We then decided to ride around the neighborhood we were in to try to find a place to pitch the tent. We thought we found the perfect place in a field under some power lines. Just as we were starting to get the bikes stashed a cop rolled up and asked if we were all right. With our cover blown we decided to move on. We rode around for about half an hour when we found a few boats parked across the street from a marina. Just behind the boats was a patch of woods. After a few minutes of exploring in the dark of night we found a trail that we could ride the bikes on behind cover to pitch the tent! We got camp set up in about 15 minutes and passed out
for the night.
We woke up shortly before dawn to find we camped right beside the highway we wanted to take to Toledo! We got packed up and rode to Sandusky, where we ate breakfast at a Panera. We got back on the bikes to Toledo, and planned on exploring the city a bit. When we got to Toledo we realized that there wasn't much to explore there, so we headed on. We got back on the highway and started toward Detroit. When we were about 14 miles from the city we got off the highway to check the internet using the wifi at a Starbucks nearby. We found a road that would take us into Detroit by way of Fort Wayne, which Dan wanted to check out.
We rode through Wyandotte and on up to the fort. There happened to be a Buffalo Soldier event going on at the time and we walked into a strange prayer ceremony in which an African Priestess was invoking the names and souls of the unnamed while spilling water on the ground and the crowd would chant 'Ashe' after each name was called out. She then asked the crowd to
call out names to the same response of 'Ashe'.
We got back on the bikes and headed into Detroit. We got a little lost trying to find the road we wanted to be on, Gratiot, which we later learned is pronounced "Gray-shut". On the way we turned onto Mt. Elliot street to cut over to Gratiot. When we were halfway to Gratiot we saw an abandoned house with stuffed animals hanging out the windows and pinned up everywhere. We started to look around and saw a dozen more houses with all kinds of different themes of decoration. We found out that the name of the place is the Heidelberg Project, started by a local artist in an attempt to bring some soul back onto the run-down neighborhood.
We got to Gratiot and saw a KFC and Dan wanted to stop in for a quick bite. He was amused by the bullet-proof glass between the employees and the customers. I told him it was the same in Harlem. A few miles later we got to 8 Mile road, the namesake for Eminem's autobiographical film. Saf-T later informed us that 8 Mile is the boundary between the city of Detroit
and the suburbs, and it used to be the imaginary line between white and black neighborhoods. Saf-T lives a couple blocks north of 8 Mile, and Dan and I thought it only appropriate to go and buy 40 oz. bottles of malt liquor and pose for pictures under the 8 Mile street sign.
We are going out to a local bar with Saf-T and his girlfriend later tonight. Lets see what happens next!
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Bill Olexsak
non-member comment
Thanks for stopping in.
Hey Guys, Thanks for swinging by my place. It was a pleasure to blow off work Friday and help out in any way for your journey. Too bad I wasn't able to make it out Friday in Cleveland for a few drinks but from what the blog say's it was maybe for the best. Just gives us more the reason to get together in Colorado this fall. We wish you guys the best of luck. Keep the funny pic's coming. Good luck, Bill Olexsak