• One Lap Around 270 for PTSD @ Quaker Steak & Lube, Columbus, OH, 07-11-14

This past summer on July 11th Quaker Steak & Lube located at 8500 Lyra Drive in Columbus, Ohio hosted and was one of nine sponsors for One Lap Around 270 for PTSD to help raise awareness and donations for Driven With Purpose (drivenwithpurpose.org), an Ohio based educational and personal outreach program committed to helping our veterans and others suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.

One Lap Around 270 for PTSD was organized by Robert Porter, according to information I found during my research for this blog because I went to the event to take photographs and not write a blog, and the donations raised went to help Battle Buddy Foundation: "Founded by Veterans to Serve Veterans" (www.tbbf.org),  a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization whose mission is to provide service dogs for veterans; and, to PTSD Survivors of America  (www.ptsdsurvivorsofamerica.org), another non-profit organization whose mission is "To educate, provide assistance and help awareness regarding Post-traumatic stress disorder." (www.ptsdsurvivorsofamerica.org)

OLA 270 for PTSD was opened to all vehicles, which of course included motorcycles, and to say the least, the turn out to support our veterans and others with PTSD from the central Ohio community was absolutely incredible! I also have to say this was the first event I have had the opportunity to attend where both the car and motorcycle communities came together, and the hot rods and cars that showed up were BAD-ASS!

But, with that said, there is so much more I can say about One Lap Around 270 for PTSD, such as the generous $500 donation from the Chosen Few Vette Club, and as described by Robert Porter the "Full CPD Presidential Escort around 270" provided by the Columbus Police Department for everyone driving the lap. But, I feel it would be more appropriate if I focus and end this blog passing along some information from the National Institute of Health about PTSD, and ask if you can donate to any of the organizations I mentioned in this blog post, please do.

Being an army veteran myself, I have friends who are suffering from PTSD, major depression, and chronic illnesses due to their service. I also know people that did not serve in the military, but because of an abusive relationship, situation and event in their lives are suffering from PTSD.

According to the National Institute of Health "PTSD affects about 7.7 million American adults; women are more likely to develop PTSD than men, and there is some evidence that the potential for the disorder may run in families; members of the military exposed to war/combat and other groups at high risk for trauma exposure are at risk for developing PTSD; and lastly, PTSD can occur at any age." (www.nlm.nih.gov)

• Driven With Purpose, www.drivenwithpurpose.org

• Battle Buddy Foundation: "Founded by Veterans to Serve  Veterans," www.tbbf.org

• PTSD Survivors of America, www.ptsdsurvivorsofamerica.org

MORE PICS FROM OLA 270 FOR PTSD

• Day Trip: Athens, OH, 9-25-14

Have you ever had one of those days when you wanted to get out of town for the day? It didn't have to be anywhere exotic or special, or for any good reason but "just because." You have a cage parked outside or inside your garage that works just fine, but part of the reason you want to get out of town you figured out was because you felt trapped and needed to escape. And, being inside a cage was just a reminder of why you wanted to get out of town. Fortunately, outside or inside your garage you have an iron pony!

Well, on September 25th I wanted to get out of town because I felt trapped and I needed to escape. And, the best prescription for my condition was getting some lunch and a healthy two hour dose of wind therapy to Athens, Ohio. Home of the first land grant institution of higher education in Ohio, Ohio University, as well as being voted one of the best party schools in the nation by US News, and "Simms Cemetery, known for being one of the graveyards that makes up the Athens pentagram (http://hauntedathensohio.com).

Since I had not ever been to Athens, I had no idea what was there or (of course) where to go. I rode around town a bit with no idea what I really wanted to eat, so I parked my bike, walked into one of the trendy student shops, and asked the chick working there where was a good place to chow down. She named off a few places, then said the bagel shop called Bagel Street Deli next door had some tasty treats.

Bagel Street Deli is just down the street from OU, and the interior looks like most student eateries on Any Campus U.S.A. There isn't really anything outstanding I can talk about except for one thing....THE FOOD IS FUCKING OUTSTANDING! I had ordered a roast beef bagel thinking it would taste like one I can make in my own kitchen, but damn, that bagel was delicious.

After I had finished my roast beef bagel, I hopped back on my bike, rode through town one more time, then hit the freeway for my two hour wind therapy session back home. As I was heading back to C-Bus I remembered I wanted to stop off at Wayne National Forest to chill out a bit & enjoy what God had created on this Big Blue Marble. That September day was a good day!

• Day Trip: Cincinnati, OH & Covington, KY, 10-8-14

Have you ever watched a TV program on PBS, History Channel, Discovery Channel, or whatever channel, and thought to yourself, that would be a pretty cool place to visit or check out? Well, that happened with me this past September after watching an episode on Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives titled Worldwide Flavofest on the Food Network channel. In this episode Guy Fieri visited a restaurant named Island Frydays in Cincinnati, OH. Island Frydays was "founded by Jamaican native Leo Morgan. [He] is a graduate and former football captain at the University of Cincinnati." I really liked Morgan's story, which I will not get into, but here's a link to his restaurant website if you are interested. (www.islandfrydays.com/#!our-story/c1el3)

This past summer I had been going on rides across Ohio by myself since I am not working at the present because of medical treatments I am going through. So I have a lot of time on my hands, and if I am not working on an art project, taking photographs at some biker event or for myself, I am on my bike. The last trip I made before going down to Cincinnati was a trip to Athens, OH for a forty five minute lunch. Well, one day one of my bros, Sonny knew about some of the trips I had made because I posted them on my Facebook page, and he told me he would love to ride with me when he had time off from work. And, of course I thought that would be great!                                                                                

On October 2nd Sonny had the day off, and we met that morning around 10 am at The Waffle House off of US 40 W near the I-270 underpass where we ate some grub and downed a cup or two of coffee. We decided to stay off the highway for this trip, and take the back rodes to Cincinnati. That day, I believe was the last great day to take a long ride because two days later it got butt ass cold!

Anyway, about an hour into the ride Sonny and I started to get a taste for a cold one, but we could not find a place to wet our whistles. We thought we would find a place along the way where we would not have to go too far off route, but for almost two hours there was not one damn place! We asked locals and all the places they told us about would had taken us off course so we soldiered up & continued riding. Eventually, we rode into Lebanon, OH where I stopped some old dude and asked where we could get a beer, and he told us about a place. FINALLY! After satisfying our thirst, we decided to hop on I-71 S because it was going to take us another hour and a half to get to Cincinnati using the back roads, and only a half hour taking the highway.

When we arrived in Cincinnati, we were ready to eat!

After finishing a really incredible meal, we came to the realization that we needed more beer and decided not to stay in Cinci, and go a bit further south into Kentucky. We didn't have to go that far because basically a few plus blocks away was Covington, KY. Not being familiar with the area we had a bit of trouble finding a watering hole again. We rode around downtown Covington, and didn't see too many people walking about. Which kind of threw us off for some reason, but finally I seen this dude standing outside a storefront with his H-D and thought to myself.....HE WOULD KNOW WHERE WE CAN GET SOME BEER! And, he did.

The first spot we went to was a pretty cool bar called Hat Tricks Sports Bar. The people there were very hospitable and had some damn good cold beer. Sonny and I had two beers there, then asked where else was there to go?

They told us about a small district near by called Main Strasse that was only a few blocks from Hat Tricks. Sonny and I hopped on our bikes and journeyed on over. The first place we went to is called MainStrasse Village Pub. This place was "totally cool" because they had one of the largest selection of beers one could ask for, and the people were great. It felt almost like being at Cheers in how welcoming everyone was that included bantering. Next we went to a bar called Strasse Haus, then to a bar called Cosmo's. It seemed like each place we went to was more welcoming than the next. We decided to end our trip by going back to MainStrasse Village Pub for one more for the road, then around 6 pm we head back to C-Bus.