B PLUS (in case you were wondering what the bee image was all about)

This is the otherwise 'miscellaneous' section, where I've stashed other interests. Oddly, many of them start with the letter B.

• Ballroom dancing
• Baseball
• Blog
• Bunion
• Camping (like I said, only many of them start with 'B')

Ballroom dancing

One of the most fun things you can do off your bike. A few links to check out:

• USA Dance - formerly known as USABDA, this is the national amateur/social dance organization. The chapters have regular dance events and are a good source of information.
• Painesville Township Park - a nice facility in Lake County, with great live bands that play the music in dance tempo.
• Springvale - the home floor for instructors Ed and Mitzi Waring. The floor at Springvale is huge and more importantly, it's a 'floating' floor. Very comfortable to dance on for hours at a time. They don’t have a website, but you can call for a schedule of events at 440-777-0161. Lessons are usually on Thursdays with a dance afterward, and there are frequent Friday and Saturday dances.
• Saturday Night Dance Club - a social dancing club that's been in Cleveland for more than 80 years! Couples join for a season which runs from October til May, with one dance per month and a dinner dance to wind up the season. Live music and formal dress make this club special. Contact me if you're interested in more information about joining. There’s no fee to go to that first dance to see if the club is for you.

Baseball

• Indians
• Paul Dickson
• Keeping score
• BFA pieces

Blog

Where more random stuff can be stored.

Bunion

I had a bad case of hallux valgus corrected in 2006. It had been a problem since high school, but the timing never seemed right to get it fixed (and I just wasn't keen on someone sawing into my bones). But look here! I got a recommendation for a wonderful surgeon, Dr. Ed Floyd. I can honestly say I'm sorry I didn't do it sooner, it would have saved me a lot of pain. Now I can dance, pedal and do everything else pain-free, and to top it off he does one heck of a beautiful job making the scar practically invisible. And his office staff is the best!

Camping

We're tent campers, so I can't speak to the facilities as they apply to other kinds of camping.

Sites

Heritage Hills – a beautiful quiet area in Thompson, Ohio. Primitive camping, nice fishing pond, good swimming lake.

Indian Creek – outside the resort town of Geneva-on-the-Lake, Ohio. This is an enormous campground, with facilities for everything from primitive tent camping to RV sites with full hookups. Lots of amenities for families like pools and mini-golf, even a restaurant.

Mt. Gilead – one of the Ohio State Parks. Primitive camping (i.e., no showers and only pit toilets), but there’s usually a pancake and sausage breakfast on weekend mornings, put on by the state park volunteers. They also have outdoor movies. You can reserve campsites online.

Assateague – this is one of Maryland’s state parks. It is HEAVEN ON EARTH. We took our big tent (aka The Nylon Cathedral) and camped on the sand. Your tent is on one side of the dune, the ocean is right over the other side. It’s only five miles down the shore from Ocean City, MD, but the light pollution is practically nonexistent. You can see billions of stars and hear the ocean and it’s just amazing. This is also the place where the wild ponies and deer roam around, so watch your food supply!

Suppliers

We get most of our stuff from one of these two places, or for smaller items, there are camping sections in Kmart, Target and Dick’s.

• Campmor
• REI