Top 10 OHventures of 2015

2015 brought the most out-of-state adventures and vacations than any other year in the past. I went to Washington,DC; Detroit; Siesta Key, Florida; Chesapeake Bay, Maryland; Las Vegas, and Chicago, to name a few. However, despite the jet-setting across the country, I still stayed true to my Ohio roots! This year brought some of the most high quality and exciting Ohio adventures to date! 

As with every year (see 2012, 2013, and 2014), I give to you the Top 10 OHventures of 2015. There were many to choose from, but if you needed to see the best of the best, here they are (in no particular order)!

Use this list to start planning some awesome bucket list items to do in 2016.

1. VeloSano 100-Mile Bike Ride: This epic fundraising event was held in Cleveland, with over 2,000 cyclists signed up to raise money in the months leading up to their bike rides. I raised over $1,500 for cancer research, rode 100 miles, over 4,000 feet of elevation, in the 90 degree heat, which took about 9 hours!

2. Kalahari Indoor Waterpark & Resort: With the nation's largest indoor waterpark, a candy shop with seemingly endless amounts of treats and desserts, one of the best arcade and gaming areas around, world-class spa treatments, a fitness facility, and a fine selection of adult beverages (including a swim-up bar),Kalahari Resort in Sandusky is anyone's dream come true.

3. Escape To Kelley's Island: Located in Erie County in the western basin of Lake Erie about 4 miles north of the Marblehead peninsula and 10 miles from Sandusky Measuring more than 4 square miles, Kelley's Island is the largest American island located in Lake Erie. Join us as we drink, eat, sightsee, and adventure on the island, and for an added bonus, read about our flight to the island!

4. CryoTherapy Plus: I survived -293 degrees Fahrenheit with Cryotherapy! Cryotherapy is an anti-inflammatory treatment involving skin exposure to ultra-low temperatures for a brief, controlled time, in order to help enhance athletic performance and recovery. It's one of basketball prodigy LeBron James' favorite things to do after games, which was reason enough for us to check out this Akron area full-service cryotherapy spa!

5. Cooking Class at Gervasi Vineyard: Being a frequent flyer at all three of Gervasi Vineyard's amazing restaurants (The Crush House, The Piazza, and The Bistro), and being a budding chef in my own home kitchen, I had been wanting to attend a culinary class at The Cucina for quite some time. I had the chance to be a student this October in the "Great Fall Grilling" class with Chef Meg Feller as my instructor.

6. Go Ape Treetop Adventure: This past April, the Go Ape Treetop Adventure course opened to the public in the Cleveland Metroparks' Mill Stream Run Reservation. The Go Ape Treetop Adventure Course challenges participants with an outdoor obstacle course over 3,000 feet in length and is suspended up to 40 feet above ground. The course gives you the opportunity to see the world from a bird's eye view as you navigate the treetops like a monkey by traversing bridges, zooming on zip lines, and hanging on ropes.

7. Bodhi Tree Guest House & Studio: This Buddhist-inspired getaway can be found off the beaten path, hidden among the trees and on four acres of the Appalachian hillsides of Southeast Ohio. Booking a room earlier this summer allowed for me to retreat from the busyness of life, clear my mind, and treat both my body and soul. I opted for a Thai massage coupled with a 60-minute float in a state-of-the-art float tank!

8. Stand-Up Guys Paddleboarding: In the Akron area, at the Portage Lakes, there is a great company aptly named The Stand Up Guys, who offer paddleboarding rentals along the PLX for very reasonable prices! The Stand Up Guys are totally laid back and willing to work with you on rental times and the location on the lakes in which you will launch from. I was able to convince my dad to try it out for the first time ever as a birthday gift to him, and I dragged my mom along too. 

9. Ultimate Beer Run: Team OHventures (Me, Matt, Megan, Matt #2, Jess, Megan #2, & Jim) united in our green & gray OHventures t-shirts, party beads, and oversized neon sunglasses to tackle the challenge of the Ultimate Beer Run head on! The Ultimate Beer Run isn't about who is the fastest or the fittest. It's about good people, good beer, and tons of good costumes!

10. Rhinegeist Brewery: Rhinegeist is a brewery situated in the up-and-coming neighborhood of Over The Rhinein Cincinnati (which is located in Hamilton County). Nothing beats the atmosphere at Rhinegeist. The wide open interior is available to reserve for private events, or you can come anytime to play cornhole, ping pong, foosball, or watch a ball game - all while relaxing with some locally brewed booze. Take a tour to learn about the history, or enjoy the awesome rooftop bar for a 360-degree view of Cincinnati.

VeloSano Photo Blog

Who: Thousands of cyclists and cancer survivors (known as "Living Proof")
What: VeloSano Bike To Cure - bike rides varying in distance (12, 25, 50, 100, 179, & 207 miles)
When: July 17-19, 2015 (next year's ride is July 29-31)
Where: Starting/ending in downtown Cleveland, and weaving through Geauga, Portage, and Stark Counties.
Why: To raise money to fund cancer research at the Cleveland Clinic.
How: Sign up at Velosano.org and commit to raising a minimum amount of money!

Photos by OHventures, VeloSano, and others as noted

For more photos, visit the VeloSano Recap post!

Giant "#ThisIsCLE" sculpture at the VeloSano Kickoff Party

"WHY I RIDE" wall honoring cancer victims and survivors

Finish line food by Zach Bruell Events

Exactly how I felt after riding 100 miles - summed up in one photo!

A rider painting abstract art in honor of cancer survivors and victims

One of the GIANT hills (around mile 88) of the 100 mile course

A spread of food at Rest Stop #2 of the 100-mile course!

VeloSano finish line (photo by cbslocal.com)

Zumi The Pig! A virtual VeloSano bike rider & fundraiser!

Me painting at Rest Stop #6!

US Senator Rob Portman at the VeloSano kickoff party An amazing weekend biking 100 miles and raising $1575 for cancer research in the second annual VeloSano event! #thisisCLE #cleveland #velosano @bikevelosano #bikevelosano #cle #biking #bikingforcancer #centuryride #trekbike #bicycle #trek #trekbicycle #bicyclist #cyclist #ohventures #activelifestyle #fitness

A photo posted by OHventures (@ohventures) on Jul 22, 2015 at 6:14pm PDT

VeloSano Recap

Photos by OHventures

The old phrase "it's like riding a bike" probably wasn't referring to riding a 100-mile bike ride across Northeast Ohio. Unlike that phrase suggests, riding 100 miles is no easy feat - something I learned firsthand while participating on July 18, 2015 in the second annual VeloSano Bike to Cure. 

This epic fundraising event was held in Cleveland, with over 2,000 cyclists signed up to raise money in the months leading up to their bike rides. Each cyclist was required to gather a certain amount of donations according to whichever distance they committed to pedal (12, 25, 50, 100, 179, or 207) - all of which would go towards funding cancer research at the Cleveland Clinic.

The health system where I am employed started its own team to rally for the cause. Our team consisted of 27 caregivers, all of whom opted for varying distances. Being the daredevil I am, with my ever-growing bucket list on hand, I signed up to ride 100 miles (joining just 1 other individual on my team who was going this distance). We all had matching jerseys which I thought made us look like superheroes!

Do I look like the green Power Ranger with my bike jersey?

However, no matter what distance anyone rode, we were all there to push ourselves to the limit and put ourselves under physical pressure - a small feat compared to what anyone who has ever lived with cancer has had to go through during treatment, chemotherapy, surgery and radiation. Knowing individuals in my life who have personally suffered from various forms of cancer - and working at a hospital system - has given me a glimpse of the struggles cancer patients endure. They are incredibly brave and strong to go through what they do, so I was more than happy to tackle the 100 mile course.

This required me to raise $1,500. Thanks to the many others who also have experienced the pains of cancer in their own lives, I was able to reach my goal (and then some). I asked each person who donated to give me a name of an individual they knew who is a survivor or victim of cancer, and I would place their name on my jersey as a reminder as to why I ride.

At the kickoff party on Friday, June 17 (ocated at Mall B in downtown Cleveland), there was a "WHY I RIDE" wall in which I also wrote each person's name. It was powerful to see that wall fill up with names and reasons that people have chosen to be there. It was clear that this was not just any ordinary bike ride.

The kickoff party also gave me the opportunity to hear from US Senator Rob Portman from Ohio, who was there to share his family's story of cancer, and also to drive a pace car the next morning. To top things off, he even decided to ride 50 miles himself! It was an honor to see him there. It was also very tear-jerking to watch a very compelling movie on the big screen where survivors of cancer (referred to as LIVING PROOF) spoke about why they were choosing to ride and why VeloSano was such an important event.

Things were also more lighthearted at the kickoff party. I got the chance to meet the Cleveland Indians mascot, Slider (who would have to be my second favorite Slider after my dog), take a team photo, eat some grub catered by Zach Bruell Events, listen to tons of live music, pet a potbelly pig named Zumi who was a virtual rider, and even appear on the evening news (WKYC) as I was checking my bike in (I didn't know I was being filmed, but many people told me they saw me on air!).

At the start line at 7:30 AM with my fellow Century Riders!

After staying overnight at my friend's house in Willoughby Hills, it was time to start our bike ride nice and early at 7:30 AM. The 100-milers were pedaling the farthest distance you could for the 1-Day routes. They needed to start us early so we wouldn't be riding when the sun went down. I estimated I would finish the ride in about 8 hours, but you'll soon see how wrong I was!

Despite recent rainy weather, it was a beautiful sunny day all day for our ride - perhaps a little TOO sunny. When the horn blew and our race began, the sun was just rising and there was a pleasant breeze from the Lake Erie air. We weaved through downtown Cleveland with police located at each intersection for the first few miles of our ride. This allowed us to surpass any red lights or stop signs so we could make a swift exit from the busy city roadways. 

Our route was taking us east near Cleveland Heights and Beachwood, then eastward in a giant circle through or near Orange, Chagrin Falls, Solon, Aurora, back north to Burton and Chardon, then back west through Geauga and Cuyahoga Counties until we reached Shaker Heights and came back to downtown Cleveland.

VeloSano Thank Yous

Thanking ALL who gave to my 100-mile VeloSano bike ride! $1,575 raised (105% of my goal!).

I pedaled and sweat and powered through to make it to the finish line in just about 10 hours (including all of the stops!) Miraculously I am not sore days later (although I do have a heat rash - yuck). 

It was incredibly challenging and so inspiring to ride through the countryside of Northeast Ohio for such a great cause. 

Knowing that 4,500 people will be diagnosed with cancer in the U.S. every DAY is reason alone to take on this task. To all that gave money and cheered me on, YOU the true champs! 

THANKS A TON TO THE FOLLOWING FRIENDS & FAMILY:

My Family: Mom, Dad, Grandma, Grandpa, Aunt Patty, Curt, Regina, Cousin Linda, Aunt Phyllis

My Co-Workers: Sue, Robert, Debbie, Rose, Ryan C., Carol & Bruce, Sara

My Hometown Friends: Marti & Butch, Darla, Matt & Carrie, Marcy, Marisa, Mike V., Clara, Chuck

My Fellow Torchbearers: Erica, Paul, Amanda, Danielle, Michael

The RHB Crew: Ryan, Judy, Norma & Ron, Ali & Derek, Suzanne, Pattie & Dan, Nadine, Mary, Fran, Stacey & Marc, 

The OSU Bunch: Steve, Caitlyn, Jared G., Matt C., Alyce, Andrea, Jared B.

More Thanks: Gary, David & Deborah, Jason F., Sherri', Lisa

Special Thanks: 

To Emily, for letting me crash at your place in Willoughby Hills!

To Bruce, a volunteer on race day who helped me at the finish line!

To Erin, our fearless Team Captain!

To God, for getting me through and keeping me safe!