The consensus was this would probably be an appropriate headquarters  for our research team to conduct business. So we promptly set up our portable research center and had our planning sessions so we could properly utilize our time.

After a short discussion we decided on Phil’s Inn for dinner; an Italian restaurant that has been in business over 40 years and I have been going there on and off for 35 years myself. I looked up a few reviews before we left and had some concern that maybe this local favorite may be slipping. So off we went!

We were staying very close and walked the  hundred or so yards to Phil’s so we could have a couple of drinks with dinner. Surprisingly, there was no wait that evening which I guess shouldn’t have surprised me because the hotel was not full and the traffic was light.  I wanted to get some fresh lake Erie Perch and although Phil’s is an Italian eatery it has always had a reputation for great Perch. As it turned out all five of us ordered Perch, so much for “sampling the menu”. We did, however, get a few different sides. We had an antipasto salad that for $7.50 was humungous with good homemade Italian dressing fresh local tasting tomatoes, ham, provolone and peppercini peppers. Was it the best antipasto I have ever had? No, but it was good, a good value, tasty and something I would order again. One of us ordered a bowl of deep fried mushrooms which was also large, also tasty, and also a good value. Since we were not watching our weight this weekend we decided on some potatoe skins too which were different and good, these were not the typical halved potatoes layered with cheese, sour cream, bacon etc, these were thin with the same type of toppings but not as ” big and potaoey” and therefore much more suitable as an appetizer, at least in our humble opinion.

On to the main course and the subject of this blog – fresh Lake Erie Perch!

Ok, understand this, every single restaurant within a few miles of the Lake Erie claims they have the best fried lake Perch on Earth  and most can find backers of their claims. Phil’s is no exception and our waitress, who was friendly and efficient, assured us that Phil’s, in fact, absolutely had the best Perch in the area. The fact is their Perch was very good; lightly breaded, fried properly, not greasy, ample portions and just plain good. Best? Hard to say as we only ate at three different places all of which have great reputations so I guess we will have to check out another 30 or so restaurants before we can legitimately answer that question.

Service was fast and friendly. Food was solid to very good. Value was in there: $50 bucks got us a humungous antipasto, couple of beers, couple of glasses of Lake Erie locale white wine and a Perch platter for two. Good enough for a return trip? You bet!

A hundred yard walk back to the hotel prompted another planning session lubricated by Pinapple Bomba.

1 – bottle Passion Fruit vodka

1 – cored pineapple sliced

soak for 7 days

serve over ice with a slice of the pineapple

Now that is good!

NOTE - Drink responsibly, Don’t drink and drive and PLEASE, PLEASE  don’t drink and ride!

Tomorrow – our research team heads to Put in Bay!

Tell us about your favorite motorcycle friendly restaurants and biker bars!

Next time you are out on your motorcycle running around Summit County and you aren’t in the mood for typical biker bar food check this place out, even though it is not what you may think of  as a biker joint. Nestled near Springfield Lake in Akron, OH is one of the last bastions of real home cookin’. Farmer Boy offers its customers meals that taste like grandma made them. This ain’t no health food joint! Generally, any health benefits of their food are erased by an immodest slathering of butter. It’s probably one of the last sit down places that two people could get away with spending less than twenty dollars (with tip). Dinners come with lots of sides and big portions.

Among the standard Americana offerings of meat loaf, fried chicken and roast beef customers will also find Greek, German and Italian fair on their menu. Farmer Boy’s Souvlaki is a Greek dish consisting of seasoned and grilled pork chunks , vegetables and rice. This house special is probably my favorite meal

Save room for desert. They have lots, they are homemade, and you can check them out on your way in!The pies are all awesome. My favorite has to be the carrot cake though. Again, big portions.

More information about Farmer Boy Restaurant

Find more Motorcycle Friendly Restaurants and Bars on BikerGrub.com

At the corner of route 91 and route 224 Akron, Ohio, a.k.a. the Rubber City, is hiding an Italian secret: Lembo’s. O.K. It might not be that big of a secret, around for years, Lembo’s offers more than your standard Italian. Forget that over processed, frozen fair you’ll get at a national chain. Everything at Lembo’s taste’s homemade. Your wallet won’t look like it’s on a diet (and neither will you) with their daily lunch and dinner specials. Most notable is probably their Pizza Buffet every Monday, which offers eight different pizza selections!

Eating off the special’s menu for dinner will probably cost you a buck more than a lot of places, but you won’t go away hungry with the inclusion of all you can eat salad bar included with every dinner! It’s an awesome salad bar offering more than just the rabbit food—three hot items, two soups, garlic bread and desert bread. Along with all kinds of pickled goodies, potato and pasta salads, fruit and deserts. Most pasta dishes offer you the option of a couple different red sauces (mushroom, meat and marinara to name some). At Lembo’s you’ll find a typical family dinning atmosphere with friendly, customer oriented service by a friendly local staff.

A final tip—they pour a really nice (see: ‘big’) glass of wine

Get more information about Lembo’s onBikerGrub.com

More great Biker Friendly Bars and Restaurants on BikerGrub.com

1. We will be accountable.
2. We will be civil.
3. We will reveal bias.
4. We will disclose gifts, comps and samples.
5. We will follow the rules of good journalism.

It looked like there may have been approaching a thousand motorcycles at this bike night so the guys (and Gals ) were pretty busy. It seems Quaker Steak and Lube has a hopping bike night in Canton, way more than this old geezer was expecting to see.

Aaron seemed to be the guy in charge, nice guy who will bust his back side to get you what need. All of the people there working for ESL were more than friendly and eager to serve. Aaron told me they have a drawing every bike night for a$25 gift voucher good at their store in Massillon.

Erie Street was our first sponsor and we appreciate their support before anyone knew who we were. They are great people and seem to have good prices on decent merchandise.

If you need patches sewn on or repair to your jacket, chaps etc. stop by Erie Street Leather and see Christine.

Yep the new guy! Name is Mark,  lookin’ good is his game!

These are good folks, drop by their store:

416 Erie Street North

Massillon, Ohio 44646

330-833-2672

Or see them every Wednesday Night @ the Quaker Steak and Lube Bike Night in Canton, Ohio!

Visit Erie Street Leather’s web site

Gameday Grill Biker friendly bar, restaurant and Sports Bar Jackson Township Ohio

If you are hungry near Jackson, not Jackson Hole but Jackson Township, Ohio, there is a nice little place tucked in along Fulton Rd (SR 687),  between Massillon and Canton, Ohio, that you may not have ever heard of unless you are a sports fan from Jackson. It’s called Gameday Grille and while not a biker bar it is definitely a friendly locale place that is plenty friendly to bikers. I live  close enough to visit relatively often and went there the other night to grab a bite and thought ‘by golly’ I ought to tell you all about it. Why, you may ask? Well the food is overall good, they have several very good salads if you want something light, and they put fried pepperoni on some of them instead of  croutons for something crunchy and believe me these add way more flavor than croutons, pretty tasty! They have fried pickle wedges that my wife seems to order every time we go and I have to admit they are good. One of the other things worth mentioning is their South Western Burger which has green chiles mixed and cooked right in the burger, it makes a very good and a little different treat for you burger lovers. I happen to really like their wings; big, juicy and not overcooked like so many places do today. Several good flavors to choose from too. If I still haven’t hit your hot button try the Reuben, tender corned beef, nice rye, good dressing pretty well done. There are enough good things on the menu that you can make this a regular spot and not get tired of the menu. There are always current sports on the multiple TV screens around the bar and dining area, plenty of cold beer to go around, and friendly waitresses that will make sure you don’t go hungry or thirsty  so drop by catch the end of ‘the game’ and grab a bite.

Just remember, just in case, don’t be afraid if you are seated next to a table full of golfers, they don’t bite.

Find out more about Gameday Grille at BikerGrub.com

It has been brutally hot out there lately and I wanted to get together some tips on how to best be safe while riding in this horrible hot weather. While researching i found a great article that says everything better than I possibly could and the author, David L. Hough, granted permission to reproduce his article here. Take the time to read this, it is important. So here ya go, some great info about Hot Weather Riding.

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The ride south over the Siskiyou Mountains from Oregon to California started out cool enough. Up at 4,000 feet, it was chilly enough that I was glad I had added the jacket liner and neck warmer. But a hundred miles later, as I descend down into the Sacramento Valley, the temperature begins to soar. By the time I reach Oroville, the temperature signs are flashing 118 F. It’s another hundred and fifty miles to the rally site at Mariposa in triple-digit temperatures.

A rider passes by in the opposite lane, jacket bungeed on the back, bare chest exposed to the hot blast. I wave, but there is no response. His exposed skin is red, and he doesn’t even appear to have noticed me, a bad sign that he’s on the fringe of heat exhaustion. I don’t wish any problems on a fellow motorcyclist, but there are lots of riders who have to contribute to the statistics before they crack the code.

To continue the ride, I go into hot weather survival mode. Full riding gear, including riding pants, leather boots, and gloves, and a knit neck “cooler” saturated with water. As quickly as the fabric dries out in the blast-furnace wind, I flip the faceshield open, squeeze a gusher of water down my chin, and slam the faceshield shut again. The water dribbles down to wet the neck cooler and my shirt inside the jacket. About 10 seconds after the water penetrates the neck cooler, it cools from evaporation in the hot air, and sucks some heat out of my neck.

I stop at a fast-food outlet every few miles to replenish the water bottle with ice and water. Whether riding or stopping for water, other people stare at me in disbelief. Peering out of their air-conditioned cars, or sitting in an air-conditioned restaurant, they just can’t understand how anyone could tolerate being outside during a heat wave, bundled up in heavy riding gear.

Your body has automatic “thermostats” to protect the core organs from heat stress, including sweating, vasodilation, increase in heart rate and reduction of blood pressure. If these tactics don’t keep core temperature within the redline, the body gives you warnings such as heat cramps. If you don’t take care of the problem, it gets more serious, including heat exhaustion and heat stroke.

Sweating

The body has sweat glands to keep the skin damp. The evaporating sweat sucks heat from the skin, and transfers it to the air. Of course sweat is primarily water, so it’s critical to keep replenishing the supply. That’s one reason why we need to drink about a pint of water every hour during hot, dry conditions. One problem for motorcyclists is that at highway speed, the sweat glands may not keep up with the evaporation. Or, if the sweating uses up too much water, your body temperature regulating system goes on the fritz, like a dry battery.

Vasodilatation

To help cool down the core, blood vessels enlarge to circulate more blood (and therefore body heat) towards the skin. If ambient air temperature is lower than body temperature, excess heat can be absorbed by the air. But if the air gets hotter than the skin, the increased blood flow simply soaks up more heat from the air and pumps it back to the core.

Heart rate and blood pressure

The heart responds to increasing heat (“hyperthermia”) by increasing the heart rate to pump more blood into those enlarged blood vessels. As the air temperature rises, heart rate (pulse) can increase 50% to 70% faster than the normal resting rate. The increased flow causes blood pressure to drop, and blood flow is shunted away from muscles and brain, towards the skin. Consider the implications of those changes on a motorcyclist. The lowered blood pressure reduces muscle control and brain activity, and more blood is pumped towards the skin–where it is vulnerable to road rash

Symptoms of trouble

The human body won’t take much of an increase in core temperature without complaining. The symptoms of overheating are leg cramps, tired muscles, headaches, dizziness, and even fainting. The various symptoms are trying to tell you how overcooked you’re getting.

Heat Cramps

Muscle cramps caused by heat usually effect the legs and lower abdomen first, then the arms. Heat cramps are a symptom that the body’s electrolytes are running low. It’s not smart to ignore muscle cramps. Find some shade and take a break. Sip water or an “exercise” drink Exert firm pressure or massage the cramped muscles to relieve the spasms. If you’re still in pain, the recommended first aid dose is 1/2 teaspoon of table salt per half glass of water every 15 minutes.

Heat Exhaustion

Heat exhaustion occurs as the body continues to shunt blood away from the brain and muscles. Symptoms of heat exhaustion include:

1. Headaches, dizziness, nausea, momentary fainting

2. Cramps

3. Tiredness, weakness

4. Profuse sweating

5. Pale, clammy skin

6. Approximately normal body temperature

If you begin to feel these symptoms during a desert ride, take immediate action before you pass out. 1. Get into some shade, preferably into an air-conditioned room.

2. Loosen clothing and wet down skin or undershirt to increase evaporative cooling.

3. Slowly sip water, or salt water solution, same dose as for heat cramps. Avoid alcohol or caffeine.

4. If you feel faint, lie down and get feet raised above head level.

5. If you can’t keep the salt water down, get emergency medical aid. You may need an intravenous salt solution.

6. Even after you begin to feel normal again, consider staying out of the heat for a day or two. Your body needs some time to recuperate. If you are on a long trip, consider a 24 hour layover in the next air-conditioned motel.

Heat Stroke

If you experience heat exhaustion and just try to “tough out” the heat without getting cooled down and rehydrated, the body thermostats will begin to fail. Core temperature continues to rise (may go as high as 106 or 107 degrees F.), sweating stops, the heart beats even faster, and you may pass out. If you are coherent enough to recognize the symptoms, immediately get medical aid while you are still mobile. And watch your riding buddies for any of the following heat stroke symptoms.

1. Victim incoherent, staring vacantly, blanking out, or unresponsive

2. Skin hot, red, dry (no perspiration)

3. Rapid pulse

4. Body temperature elevated

Yes, heat stroke is life threatening. It’s a medical emergency. Don’t be bashful about calling 911 for assistance. In the meanwhile,

1. Get the victim into some shade, out of riding gear, and cooled down by any means available. If possible, get the victim into an air-conditioned room, or use fans to help provide evaporative cooling.

2. Repeatedly sponge skin with cool water or rubbing alcohol. Apply cold packs or ice cubes if you can get them. The goal is to get body temperature below 102 degrees F.

3. Don’t give the victim any stimulants, especially not any alcoholic beverages.

4. If the victim’s temperature begins to rise again, repeat the cooling process.

5. As soon as possible, get the victim to emergency treatment.

Avoiding the Ugliness

Even after a heat stroke victim has been cooled down and rested, the ugliness isn’t over. It’s not uncommon to have intestinal upset for a week or so, with food coming out both ends of the pipe. I know you’d rather avoid that sort of ugliness.

People from cooler climates often react to hot weather by removing clothing. That helps cool the skin–providing air temperature is less than body temperature. Heat transfers from a hot object to a cold object. Pick up an ice cube, and it feels cold. What’s happening is that the ice is rapidly absorbing heat from your skin. Even if the air is 89F, the air will absorb heat from your skin (assuming your body is around 99F). Now, consider what happens when you curl your fingers around a hot cup of coffee. Your skin rapidly absorbs heat from the cup, because the cup is hotter than your hand. The same thing occurs when the air temperature is hotter than your body temperature.

You may think your body is hot at 99 F, but it’s “cold” compared to air at 118 F. If you expose your skin to air that’s hotter than you are, your body just soaks up more heat.

The lesson here is that if air temperature is in the 80s or 90s, it helps to open up the jacket vents, or wear a mesh jacket. But once air temperature climbs above 99 F, the best way to keep from getting cooked is to keep your insulation on, and the vents closed. Desert nomads wear long, loose wool garments, both to keep the sweating skin in the shade, and to insulate the body from the hot air.

With the temperature in triple digits, I wear my leather gloves and insulated riding. My feet are down in the air stream that’s first been heated up by the pavement, and then heated some more by the engine. Are my feet hot? Sure, but not as hot as if I were wearing thin boots or shoes that exposed my ankles.

Same for the helmet. Wouldn’t it make sense to crack my visor when it’s really hot, or at least open up the helmet vents? Nope. Any hot air allowed to reach my skin will heat up the skin, not cool it down. Inside my helmet at 118F, I’m sweltering, but the temperature is probably under 100 F. That crushable helmet liner inside the shell is there to cushion my brain against impacts, but it’s the same expanded polystyrene foam they use to make insulated picnic coolers. So, the helmet actually provides insulation against the hot air.

One additional concern about exposed skin is sun and wind burn. Even if you wear heavy duty sunscreen to protect against a nasty sunburn, the wind at motorcycling speeds can also irritate the skin. If you’re riding more than a few miles, it’s best to keep your skin covered.

Evaporative Cooling

More physics now. When water evaporates, it cools down. Blow hot air through a wet bandana, and the bandana cools down. Cooling the skin cools the blood, which cools down the whole body. Evaporative cooling works best on areas of the body where there are large blood vessels close to the skin: the groin and the neck. A motorcyclist’s groin is too close to the engine and too far out of the air stream. That’s why wearing something wet around your neck is so important.

The bad news is that evaporative cooling only works well in dry climates. When the humidity is already high, (you’re 99/99 in Missouri in August–99 degrees and 99 percent) neither perspiration nor the water in your neckband evaporate very well. Limited evaporation; limited cooling. But of course there is shade in Missouri, so the best tactic may be to simply take more breaks in humid climates. Or, you can ride early in the morning when it’s cool, and rest in the shade in the afternoon.

For those of us riding in the deserts of Washington, Oregon, and California, the air is relatively dry, so evaporative cooling works very well. A wet bandana around your chin will cool you for a few minutes, but the hot wind blast will quickly evaporate all the water. You need to keep replenishing the water every few minutes. Better yet, wear thicker fabric that holds a lot more water.

For instance, Aerostich makes an “Evapodanna” made of the same fuzzy material used in camp towels. (“evaporative bandana”, get it?) You just saturate it with water, and wrap it around your neck. Occasionally dribble some water on it and it will continue to cool all day. There are also some tubular neckties containing special polymer crystals that soak up a huge quantity of water. They are an advantage for slow speed activities such as golf, but the crystals release the water very slowly, and can’t give off enough water at motorcycling speeds to provide much evaporative cooling.

Keep Your Tummy Tank Full

The other important tactic for hot weather is to drink lots of water, to replenish your electrolytes and refill your sweat glands. We’re talking at least a pint per hour. Exercise drinks containing “electrolytes” (salts) are acceptable, unless you have high blood pressure. And flavored drinks may be very high in sugar, too. Carbonated soft drinks are better than nothing, although it would be best to get the water without large doses of salt, sugar and chemicals. Almost all grocery stores and convenience markets have chilled filtered water in plastic bottles, handy for both drinking and wetting down your bandana.

More than a few riders carry a water bladder, such as a “Platypus” carried on the back in a fabric holster, or in a jacket pocket. Some water bladders can be pressurized with small pumps, and evaporative cooling wrappers are available to help chill the bladder. Aerostich is a good source of serious hot weather hydration devices. Aerostich: (800) 222-1994 or www.aerostich.com. You can also find water bladders at sporting goods stores such as REI in Seattle.

In hot weather, avoid alcoholic drinks. Obviously, alcohol reduces judgment. What’s not so obvious is that alcohol stimulates abnormal heartbeats, depresses the pump function of the heart, and actually dehydrates the body. Alcohol does all the wrong things for a motorcyclist in the desert.

So, when it’s really hot, keep your jacket on, and soak down your T-shirt. Wear a wet neck cooler, and keep dribbling water on it. If you’re getting too hot, or start feeling any hints of muscle cramps or heat exhaustion, don’t just keep riding. Take steps to cool down while you’re still thinking clearly. Take a break in the shade, or stop at a convenience store and buy a bag of crushed ice to stuff inside your jacket. The melting ice water will soak your gear and provide evaporative cooling even after the ice is gone.

Route Planning

In general, higher elevations are cooler. If it’s really hot down on the valley floor, consider an alternate road with a higher (cooler) elevation. Sometimes you don’t have any alternative other than crossing a desert. But you can adjust your schedule. One tactic is to hibernate at a cool motel during the heat of the day, and head out after dark, when the temperature is lower.

Adjust your thinking

If you live in a temperate area where the thermometer seldom rises above 90F, you need to readjust your thinking for those forays into hotter territory. Remember, insulate your skin from the sun and hot air, use evaporative cooling around your neck, and drink lots of water. Oh yeh, learn to ignore the stares of other motorists and dehydrated bikers who think you’re crazy to wear heavy gear on a hot day.
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“This reprint was made possible with permission by soundrider.com and David Hough the author. David is the author of the best selling book Proficient Motorcycling, now in its second edition”

Homemade rolls only make the standard Italian fare even better. The food here is just plain good! Not pretentious but served hot by a friendly wait staff that do their best to make you feel right at home. I just like this place although, bike parking is restricted to the street there are marked parallel parking places that work well enough. I am not a pizza fan but my son is and he tells me it ranks right up there. Others have said to me that the food here reminds them of Youngstown Italian food and while I do not know what that is, there you go.

Located right in the center of old downtown Massillon, Ohio there are several comfortable local watering holes that won’t break the bank if you choose to spend a few hours. Also, on Thursday nights during summer the city sponsors free concerts just a block away from Smileys. Mostly oldies but hey, starting to get there myself. Make it an evening, dinner, music and a drink after, all for twenty bucks a head… you figure out how to beat that.

Good food, good service, beer, wine, and cheap.

Gastronomically gratifying.

Find out more about Smiley’s Restaurant on www.BikerGrub.com

Once in a while you run across a surprise in North East Ohio, a landscape permeated with strip malls and soccer moms driving Volvos while texting about their next tennis match. I certainly did not expect to find good southern style BBQ  when Mama and I swung the scooter into the parking lot. We were just meeting friends for a bite and conversation. Located a couple miles North of Medina’s square on SR 42 is Bullies BBQ home of smoked on site beef brisket, ribs, pork shoulders (pulled pork) and more.

Two had pulled pork dinners, I had beef brisket and there was one Mondo Combo, a serious pile of food including, chicken, ribs, pulled pork and more. The beef brisket was great but the pulled pork was outstanding and definitely worth our hour run and worth a run back for more. The sauces on the table were definitely NOT from the ketchup aisle at the local grocery, I should have asked if they were homemade because if they were not they could have passed. Three of them made me think I might have been in South Carolina, full of flavor, not hot at all but just a bit of heat where necessary.

Great food, fast and friendly service, worth the trip.

FInd out more about Bullies at BikerGrub.com