Day 68: Kicking Back in Cleveland

Day 68:  Tuesday August 12th, 2014.

Cleveland, OH.  0 miles.

Finally!  A day off in a cool city.  I slept great in the hostel.  My roommates, and most of the hostel occupants from around the world are athletes in town for the 2014 International Gay Games being hosted this year by Cleveland.  It's a huge event, with more athletes and events than the Winter Olympics.  Occurring every 4 years, past events have occurred in San Francisco, Vancouver, New York, Amsterdam, Sydney, Chicago, and Cologne, and the 2018 games will be in Paris. The entire hostel, and most of the city is sold out for the week.  As such, I couldn't get a second night at the hostel, and needed to find another place to stay.

A group of Germans at the hostel told me a little bit about the games.  There's much of the same events that you would find in the Summer Olympics, including running, swimming, cycling, etc.  And, anyone over 18 years of age can enter into the games.  Then, there are also events unique to the Gay Games.  They told me, "The one event you don't want to miss is synchronized swimming in drag."  They said its is a really fun time.

I headed out of the hostel and around the corner to have breakfast and look for a place to stay for tonight.  Along the way, I passed the West Side Public Market building.

Rounding the corner, headed to Bonbon Cafe, I walked around a sidewalk sign out in front of a frozen yogurt shop, the sign offering a discount in memory of Robin Williams.

I sat at a window seat at Bonbon.  The word on the street is that this cafe has great food and french-press coffee.

I ordered the "Egg and the Chicken".  The stack included an in-house baked english muffin, an egg over medium, a piece of crispy fried boneless chicken, avocado and tomato, all topped with hollandaise sauce, and fruit on the side.  Delicious!

Before sitting at the table to eat, I had passed by the pastry counter that was loaded with delectable treats.  I asked the waitress, Susan, as she refilled my coffee cup, to bring me her best recommendation from the case.  "That would be the Maple Cruller.", she said as she walked away to get one.  I had never heard of a cruller before.  It was a maple-glazed, deep fried doughnut of sorts.  Crispy on the outside, with a light and fluffy interior reminiscent of a beignet.  The glaze du jour was chosen in celebration of the Gay Games. It was a great finish to my breakfast.

Susan was very interested in my trip, as she had just recently done her first bicycle trip with her boyfriend Carmen.  We talked for a while about it.  Carmen works at Scapegoat Cycleworks building bicycles.  Susan told me that he made many of the artistic bike racks installed around the city.  

Noticing that I was looking for lodging, she gave me her contact information, telling me that if I can't find a place, I could probably pitch my tent in Carmen's back yard.  

It was a good day to be off the road.  Bands of thundershowers, some along a frontal boundary, moved through the City throughout the day.  The most intense of these brief events prompted me to check the radar imagery.  The band of showers along a passing cold front extended from the Great Lakes region in Canada all the way down to Louisiana, visible on the image below.  The passage of this front is accompanied by welcomed cooler temperatures, with a forecasted high for tomorrow of 70 degrees Fahrenheit.

Ducking out of a rain event, I found myself in the Koffie Cafe on Market Ave, across from the Great Lakes Brewing Company.  Greg and Margaret welcomed me, and after learning about my trip, gave me a free t-shirt with the logo of their cafe and adjacent "Market Ave Wine Bar".  They were very nice.

I spent some time in this cafe writing, and looking for a place to stay.  My sister Mary posted on Facebook that I was looking for a place in Cleveland for the night.  The response was overwhelmingly awesome.  Friends and family came out of the woodwork, providing contacts of people and places they new of in Cleveland that  could provide help.  I suddenly had lots of options.  One of Mary's friends, Ann, who lives nearby in Lakewood, knew a friend that was an acquaintance of the hostel owner.  Some phone calls behind the scenes were made.  All of a sudden, my phone rang, and it was the hostel calling me to let me know that they created a space for me to stay for the evening.  I was happy with that, as it was in a good location on my route, and right around the corner from the cafe I was in.  So, I checked back into the hostel for a 2nd night.

Most of my adventures throughout the city for the rest of the day involved food, and the random things I would find along the way.  A recommendation from Ann for dinner, the XYZ Tavern and Restaurant, was my next stop.

There were so many good options on the menu, including in-house smoked pulled-pork and beef brisket.  I opted for the chicken and waffles, with real maple syrup and gravy on the side.

I sat at the bar and chatted with Kevin, the bartender.  He was really nice, and suggested I move my bike from the sidewalk to the patio where it would be safer.  Then, after a brief downpour, he grabbed some clean bar towels for me to dry off my bike.

I then made my way across the street and down a few blocks on Detroit Avenue to the Sweet Moses Soda Fountain and Treat Shop.  Named after Moses Cleaveland, the ice cream, chocolates, popcorn, and other treats are all made in-house.

I opted for the limited release Key Lime Pie ice cream.  But, not before I was given samples of some of the other ice cream flavors, including belgium chocolate, bananas foster, and strawberry.  With each taste, I couldn't belief how incredibly delicious it was, and my need to make a decision became more and more difficult with each new flavor.

Fortunately, I ate the ice cream first before browsing the array of chocolates, too full to buy any.

And, around the corner, brownie and marshmallow "pops" covered in an assortment of outerwear, including dark chocolate and sea salt.  Dangerous!

More than satisfied, I headed back to the hostel to get organized and to clean up my gear in preparation for riding tomorrow.  Overhearing conversation in the living room, one of the attendees of the Gay Games from Kentucky booked the hostel 2 years in advance.  It was no wonder why I had a challenging time finding a place to stay.  

I got a call from Victoria this evening.  Sadly, we lost one of our chickens - "Red". She's the Rhode Island Red that was the most talkative of the bunch. 

Left to right, Red, Penelope, and Buffy.