Anyone familiar with Cleveland area?

[Dave_in_TX]

I am currently in New Hampshire and will be traveling to DART, leaving Wednesday. My route will take me west on I90 and I will be traveling through Cleveland. Based on what information I have gathered via Google, Cleveland traffic should not be too bad. However, Cleveland does not get a good rating for crime/safety with a relatively high crime rate. I'm looking for a safe place to spend the night in the area. If all goes well, I expect to be in the western suburbs by the end of the day. An alternative would be to stay on the east side and go through Cleveland about 5-5:30am the next morning.

 

Any advice would be appreciated.

[RandyShields]

Ride another 15 miles west of Cleveland to south of Bay Village.  There are several motels just off of I 90 at the intersection of Columbia Rd.  Walking distance to some restaurants like Carabba's and Outback.

[Dave_in_TX]

3 hours ago, RandyShields said:

Ride another 15 miles west of Cleveland to south of Bay Village.  There are several motels just off of I 90 at the intersection of Columbia Rd.  Walking distance to some restaurants like Carabba's and Outback.

Thanks, I will consider that. If I'm making good time, I was considering going further west to Avery/Milam/Sandusky to the intersection of I90 and US 250.

[TEWKS]

Bypass Hammond Indiana at all costs. We went through there about twenty years ago and the door in our hotel room we stayed had gunshot holes through it. And, we were in the better section of town! 

[Dave_in_TX]

3 hours ago, TEWKS said:

Bypass Hammond Indiana at all costs. We went through there about twenty years ago and the door in our hotel room we stayed had gunshot holes through it. And, we were in the better section of town! 

It will add some driving time but I will be staying well south of Hammond and the Chicago area.

[Dave_in_TX]

10 hours ago, RandyShields said:

Ride another 15 miles west of Cleveland to south of Bay Village.  There are several motels just off of I 90 at the intersection of Columbia Rd.  Walking distance to some restaurants like Carabba's and Outback.

Have you actually stayed at any of the motels at that location? I have found three at that location and none of them are highly rated.

[roadscholar]

5 hours ago, Dave_in_TX said:

It will add some driving time but I will be staying well south of Hammond and the Chicago area.

 

Might consider veering southwest on 24 out of Toledo, take the bypass around Fort Wayne and run west on it until I-39 where you can pick up 90 again in Rockford or even US30 over to the river road. I've been thru Wabash and some of the other small Indiana towns on a bike, they’re pretty laid back and the rural countryside between them is nice. As Americana as it gets and just opposite the rat race thru a big metropolis. Def will add some time but unless you're on a tight schedule totally worth it. 

[RandyShields]

1 hour ago, Dave_in_TX said:

Have you actually stayed at any of the motels at that location? I have found three at that location and none of them are highly rated.

No.

[Dave_in_TX]

2 hours ago, roadscholar said:

 

Might consider veering southwest on 24 out of Toledo, take the bypass around Fort Wayne and run west on it until I-39 where you can pick up 90 again in Rockford or even US30 over to the river road. I've been thru Wabash and some of the other small Indiana towns on a bike, they’re pretty laid back and the rural countryside between them is nice. As Americana as it gets and just opposite the rat race thru a big metropolis. Def will add some time but unless you're on a tight schedule totally worth it. 

Planning to take 24 from Toledo through Ft. Wayne contining west to I74 through  Peoria and Davenport. Then through Dubuque and on to Prairie Du Chien.

[roadscholar]

1 hour ago, Dave_in_TX said:

Planning to take 24 from Toledo through Ft. Wayne contining west to I74 through  Peoria and Davenport. Then through Dubuque and on to Prairie Du Chien.

 

That's looks even better Dave, have a great ride..

[lawnchairboy]

20 hours ago, roadscholar said:

 

Might consider veering southwest on 24 out of Toledo, take the bypass around Fort Wayne and run west on it until I-39 where you can pick up 90 again in Rockford or even US30 over to the river road. I've been thru Wabash and some of the other small Indiana towns on a bike, they’re pretty laid back and the rural countryside between them is nice. As Americana as it gets and just opposite the rat race thru a big metropolis. Def will add some time but unless you're on a tight schedule totally worth it. 

Killed a critter during the season in Wabash once.

[roadscholar]

11 hours ago, lawnchairboy said:

Killed a critter during the season in Wabash once.

 

I rode thru there south to north on the way to northern Michigan once. Early 90's, it was day 3 of my first solo multi-state ride, I was meeting up with about seven buddies from the Brumos race team/Mercedes-Porsche dealership so we could ride back to Fla on backroads when some were done racing. They shipped their bikes up and invited me to join them so I figured wth, I'll just ride there. In fact I bought a bike mainly for that reason, they mostly had (older) Goldwings and a couple ST1100's so that's what I got, an '86 GW Interstate, the Cadillac of motorcycles in it’s day and compatible with their riding style, leisurely. There were a couple outliers though, one guy had a custom Harley semi-chopper and a buddy of theirs a Honda Shadow. Big Bob, the GM always made them ride in the back and called 'em the pipe people, no respect  : ) 

 

I pulled into a motel off I-74 maybe 50 miles from Indy about dusk Friday evening  as a big bank of black clouds approached from the west. Parked under the porte-cochere, grabbed dinner across the street and got back just before it let loose. The next morning I headed north on two lanes, trees were down, roofs ripped off barns, it was a nasty one but now was clear, crisp, and cool.. perfect. When I got to Wabash about 10am people were everywhere downtown, there was a car show on the main square so I parked, took in the sights and chatted with some locals including a couple nice looking single ladies, well out of my territory but fun nonetheless : ) The rest of the day was all backroads and one of those days you don’t forget. I discovered the Midwest was a pretty cool place with a lot of friendly folks once you get off the beaten path. The ride home was anything but boring including cooking (and loosing) the brakes on Deal's Gap, but that's another story. 

 

 

[Dave_in_TX]

After some additional Google research, the Milan OH area looks to be a safe area with some decently rated hotels. I will probably overnight there.