Horse Apple Highway Ride Recap
By Kevin Irwin - Ride Captain
Rain, rain go away! The chapter flip flopped the ride day again due to weather forecasts reviewed on Friday morning. Texts, emails, and Facebook updates flew out Friday morning. This resulted in ten members of the North Canton IMRG braving wet roads to assemble for the Horse Apple Highway Ride.
On this ride we had three ladies riding their own rides. Our President Wanda C, Social Media Officer and photo stalker Maria W, and first time NC IMRG Group rider Becky N. New members Mike B, Jerry D, and Tim R now can be called regulars, like the rest of the bums who rounded out the ten!
This ride covered roads in Amish country that on Sunday’s are usually littered with Road Apples or Horse Apples. I learned the vernacular is different based on if you think they are to be eaten or your are from a different part of Ohio. On this Saturday ride, the previous nights rain and light buggy traffic kept the roads clean of any unwanted piles on the road.
We started the ride through Canal Fulton on OH-93 and took that all the way to Dundee where we caught OH-516 to Dover. This newly paved road was fantastic and set the tone for a day of twisties and country roads. We made it to Dover and then headed west on OH-39 to Sugarcreek where we took a short break and topped off the tanks. We then took Ragersville Rd to Baltic OH.
It is a hard decision to change a planned ride date due to weather, but the bright side of this change was that it opened more restaurants for the ride. The East Main Kitchen and Coffee restaurant was a pleasant surprise. Newly renovated, fantastic parking, full friendly staff, and a fantastic affordable menu. Needless to say, all the things a group of hungry bikers are looking for in a lunch spot! All I can say, is next time your in Baltic try out the East Main Kitchen. Click here to learn more about this eatery.
Back on the bikes we took OH-651 to OH-643, and then on to OH-83. We followed OH-83 into Millersburg for a quick pit stop. Next time you are in Millersburg check out the new tower on top of the courthouse, it is beautiful.
Our last stop before the ride ended was Hartzler Family Dairy on OH-3 outside of Wooster. A great ice cream stop that had low sugar ice cream and treated veterans to a free ice cream cone. I think Mike J. Found a new ice cream joint that he can add to his list.
The group began to break up after ice cream heading our separate directions, the ride officially ended at Eastern Rd and OH-21. We will call it 136 miles. All in all a great day, no major issues. A great group of riders, good food, and great weather always add up to a great ride.
The next ride is the Triple Nickel or OH-555 on Saturday, July 31st @ 9am. Hope to see you there!
