Nov 10th Southeast Ohio ride, anyone?

[Chuck78]

RIDE #3 - 8 hours - THE MOST TECHNICAL TIGHT TWISTY ROADS IN SE OHIO

7+ hour revised ride of some of the best and most technical tight twisty roads SE Ohio has to offer east of 33 extending east of I77 a bit.
Here is the right half of the map. The not shown left half uses the must-ride Oh-78 through the Burr Oak "Rim of the World" section of ridgetop sweepers and & rollercoaster rides BOTH DIRECTIONS to and from the area in this map image, with the return trip jumping in halfway on 78 at the OH-555 aka the Triple Nickel on the return trip to catch the best sections of both 78 and 555.

https://maps.google.com/maps?saddr=OH-685&daddr=OH-564+E%2FFrostyville+Rd+to:OH-145%2FHarriettsville+Rd+to:Pleasant+Ridge+Rd+to:Co+Rd+14%2FLong+Run+Rd+to:OH-260+S+to:OH-26+S%2FOH-260+S+to:Goose+Run+Rd+to:Co+Rd+42%2FStanleyville+Rd+to:Co+Rd+11%2FDalzell+Rd+to:Co+Rd+15%2FGermantown+Rd+to:Co+Rd+15%2FGermantown+Rd+to:Co+Rd+11%2FDalzell+Rd+to:Co+Rd+11%2FDalzell+Rd+to:Whipple+Run+Rd+to:Whipple+Run+Rd+to:OH-821+N%2FMain+St+to:Main+St+to:OH-676+W+to:OH-676+W+to:OH-550+W+to:Coal+St+to:OH-555+N+to:OH-685+to:Burr+Oak+Blvd&hl=en&ll=39.455282,-81.633911&spn=0.809036,1.234589&sll=39.454221,-81.854668&sspn=0.101132,0.154324&geocode=FXImWgIdrEga-w%3BFVteXgIdvG4k-w%3BFeOVXAIdN6Em-w%3BFb_hXAId7jwp-w%3BFSd1XQIdHLgo-w%3BFao5XQId9Two-w%3BFea0WwIdHfEo-w%3BFVSrWQId5SYm-w%3BFXxxWgIdjxYm-w%3BFcBeWwIdJcIm-w%3BFUkzXAId9NAn-w%3BFRaCWwIdxpkm-w%3BFQsWWwIdZ2Mm-w%3BFURAWwIdfpIm-w%3BFfpIWwIdKN0m-w%3BFULqWgIdGIom-w%3BFSWsWwIdmasl-w%3BFS0fWwIdmWEk-w%3BFceMWgIdVjkg-w%3BFS4mWgIdaIMf-w%3BFfu4WQIdECUe-w%3BFVeKWgIdYtQe-w%3BFR4UXAIdXCAd-w%3BFaYsWgIdzCsa-w%3BFTIPWgIdhIsZ-w&t=p&mra=mivtw&z=10

This route doesn't go as far as 800/255/536/556/etc due to time and distance required from central Ohio where I live, but includes some of the best really tight really really twisty really technical backroads thanks to tips from a few serious corner carvers on another forum... Probably the tightest curviest roads in Ohio. 536 is right up there, but pavement is in bad shape until a 2014-2015 repaving scheduled.

[Chuck78]

I hope posting this information will help get a lot of you GSR riders out here to check out these awesome WV type roads in SE Ohio. They are GREAT riding... Just don't take stuff too fast the first time through unless you can judge the entire turn, and watch for gravel, left of center oncoming cars, blind low speed turns just over the crests of hills, decreasing radius turns (they will bite ya bad), and DEER especially near dusk! Lots of hazards, but MILES AND MILES AND MILES OF SMILES to be had from riding this stuff!

Some areas in Hocking on the main routes get a little congested in the warm weather on weekends due to all the really amazing cliffs, waterfalls, and hiking destinations, but the Hocking routes only touch the main roads less than half of the time. Luckily on 664 and 374, there are some straighter sections that you can pass cars, and lots of cars typically will want to sightsee and will pull over for motorcycles to pass them.

[storm 64]

Sounds great Chuck. Thanks for all the leg work you're putting into this. I never really explored S/W Ohio.

[Dogma]

Sounds great Chuck. Thanks for all the leg work you're putting into this. I never really explored S/W Ohio.

It's been on my list for a while, and I hope to get in on it this spring. With a scary, new (to me) bike, no less.

[winfield]

I would love to get over that way sometime. Definitely need some new rubber on my bike first. Probably make it part of a camping trip. We (family) like Hocking Hills.

I notice some of the routes you outlined go around Big Bottom State Park. Do you know which Indian chief's wife they named that park after?

[Chuck78]

Hocking Hills Camping / low-$ confident corner burning tires for the twisties

I would love to get over that way sometime. Definitely need some new rubber on my bike first. Probably make it part of a camping trip. We (family) like Hocking Hills.

We happened upon my favorite campground that I have seen one of the last times we went to Hocking Hills. It shares the same parking lot as the MTB trails off of 374 just south of the 374/664 split, follow the Mountain Bike Trail signs. the campsites there (no drive-up, walk-in only) were spaced apart from the neighboring sites plenty, some very secluded. Ideal for those of us who go camping to get out into the woods away from the general populous. My preferred style of camping does not include pitching a tent next to a road next to an RV with a big screen TV, awning jutting out from the side, air conditioner running nonstop to cool the RV, etc...

Oh, you register for that campground at the Hocking Hills State Forest ODNR headquarters or whatever it is called, on 374 at the top of a hill between the great riding roads of Thompson and Big Pine. Several miles north of the campground. There are also many, many, many cabins all over Hocking, many on Big Pine Rd, many on or near State Route 56.

New rubber? The VERY AFFORDABLE but quality Shinko 230 TourMasters are awesome grippers, unless, contradictory to their name, you do serious long distance touring, in which case they wear down faster than the average tire due to being so soft and grippy (could be a bummer if you have 3600 miles on it and want to do a 10 day moto-tour...). I got 5,000 miles out of my rear SR741 (same compound) and the front 230 TourMaster looks to have about 5,000 more miles to go.

[winfield]

We happened upon my favorite campground that I have seen one of the last times we went to Hocking Hills. It shares the same parking lot off of 374 just south of the 374/664 split, follow the Mountain Bike Trail signs. The MTB trail was a horrible design, won't return to that, but the campsites there (no drive-up, walk-in only) were spaced apart from the neighboring sites plenty, some very secluded. Ideal for those of us who go camping to get out into the woods away from the general populous. My preferred style of camping does not include pitching a tent next to a road next to an RV with a big screen TV, awning jutting out from the side, air conditioner running nonstop to cool the RV, etc... Private land, backpacking, or National Forest camping is my way to roll! Bicycles, motorcycles, or sometimes the truck if I bring the dogs.

Oh, you register for that campground at the Hocking Hills State Forest ODNR headquarters or whatever it is called, on 374 at the top of a hill between the great riding roads of Thompson and Big Pine. Several miles north of the campground. There are also many, many, many cabins all over Hocking, many on Big Pine Rd, many on or near State Route 56.

New rubber? Want super good grip? These VERY AFFORDABLE but quality Shinko 230 TourMasters are awesome grippers, unless, contradictory to their name, you do serious long distance touring, in which case they wear down faster than the average tire due to being so soft and grippy (could be a bummer if you have 3600 miles on it and want to do a 10 day moto-tour...). I got 5,000 miles out of my rear SR741 (same compound) and the front 230 TourMaster looks to have about 5,000 more miles to go. It was between that and the Avon AM26 RoadRiders, which last about double as long (8-12K rear, 16-20K front) and grip almost as well but cost almost double. I love leaning hard and carving corners in the hills, and these two tires were the standouts for the price and the grip, thanks to feedback from members of GSR. http://www.RockyMountainATVMC.com and http://www.chapparal-racing.com were the cheapest in the USA for the Shinko's, with free shipping, and prices below the wholesale cost of most of the local shops. I had to get an SR741 rear (different tread pattern) to get the 140/70 size I was needing for my new rim setup.

Thanks for the detailed info on camping in the HH area. I think I'm going to go with the Shinko 712s for the price advantage. I had looked into both the Avon Road Runners and the Shinko 230 Tourmasters. If money wasn't an issue I would go with the Avon. I currently have Dunlop 404 but want to try something different.

[Chuck78]

I rode some Shinko 712's on a GS850, and was amazed at how well they cornered, but they definitely don't do well when doing extreme lean angles in twisty turns riding fast and aggressively, nearing the edge of the tread on hard leans they will feel on the edge of slipping. All in all though, they last double the miles of the Shinko 230's and grip way better than most tires in the very low end of the price range.

[Redman]

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There are a TON of awesome twisties to explore in Southeast Ohio, ...

Chuck, Thanks for listing all these. I need to look them up on a map .... and find a small old-time motel (that is: cheap) in one of those areas. Maybe you have some comment about that.

Dave

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[Chuck78]

There are TONS AND TONS of cabins to rent daily or for weekends, many on Big Pine Rd and State Route 56, among other locations. The hotels I know of are near Lake Logan I think it is, just off of US-33 and OH-664. Bring up a google map of Logan, Nelsonville, South Bloomingville, etc, then in the search bar, type hotel, motel, or lodging and it will display it on the map. Try to find lodging on the south side of Hocking Hills or around the Nelsonville/Logan area, this will keep you pretty centralized in the good riding territory that I mapped out. There is a whole lot to explore east of I77, south of OH-78 ALL THE WAY south and east to the Ohio River (past I77, more exciting to cut off 78 and head south on 260 or Frostyville Rd, and link back to 26 NE of 260 for a loop to Marietta, saves time for the tighter sections). 78 is a bore east of McConnelsville but gets good again by the Big Muskie Miner's memorial, and just "decent" east of I77, but 78E to 26 south/west is still a good route if you want to keep it simple.

Best of luck, feel free to contact me

[Chuck78]

Hocking area videos

First vid is the first (&biggest) hillclimb southbound on 374, one of my top 5 or so favorite sections in the Hocking Hills State Forest:

http://youtu.be/8dv6OZVIE7c

This vid is longer and ridden blazingly fast on sport bikes, this is 374 from the southern end going northbound, & ends going downhill on the hillclimb in the first vid:

http://youtu.be/mIyyapKw0oY

For a rundown of my personal favorite sections in the Hocking area:

• OH-56 either direction from South Bloomingville (OH-664) to OH-374's southern end and beyond(beautiful, awesome curves/cliffs)
• OH-374's first big hillclimb a few miles from it's southbound start at US-33 (heavily forested big hillclimb with several very nice and tight curves
• OH-374 "the Pines" as some riders call it, near Cantwell Cliffs/Rock House (cliff cave tunnel), great & tight S-curves on a ridgetop with hill climbs/descents (just south of the hillclimb above)
• Christmas Rock Rd at the southern end - very tight and brief southbound uphill slalom hugging some rock outcroppings
• Big Pine Rd from 374 to 664 - nice and peaceful forested road following a creek with nice turns and a few tight ones (watch for horseback riders near Conkle's Hollow)
• Clear Creek Rd from Revenge Rd to US-33 - beautiful forested valley following a beautiful creek, cliffs and rock overhangs next to road, twisty, not a high speed road
• Revenge Rd - fairly technical run with great curves and nice medium hills, perfect link between Christmas Rock Rd @ S. Broad St and Clear Creek and/or Snortin Ridge Rd's
• Harble-Griffith Rd more tight/technical longer stretch at the edge of Hocking

[Chuck78]

May 17th SouthEast Ohio 2014 EPIC RIDE - OhioRiders.net

May 17th is the annual OhioRiders.net Epic Ride, mosty modern sport bike riders - but not entirely, and I believe they are using almost the same route as last year's:

http://www.mapquest.com/?version=1.0&hk=10-TrIK6TgV

http://ohioriders.net/index.php?/topic/103963-unofficial-spring-2014-epic-ride-may-17th/

The ride follows a lot of the preferred Burr Oak/Wayne Nat'nl Forest routes that I run, but runs barely runs through Hocking Hills on the eastern edge on OH-93, which I have only driven on a few times in the past 15 years, have to revisit it on motorcycle. It runs through some big hills (but not as many twisties I don't believe?), but maybe more importantly for a ride with 5-10 groups of 10 riders - keeps you out of the natural sightseeing/hiking destinations of Hocking Hills where you may find more traffic. If going on a weekend and trying to ride the main routes in Hocking (especially 664, 374 to a lesser extent), try to hit those early in the day. My route jogs on and off the main state routes there frequently, so it's still viable in the tourist/hiking season.

Here's a nice writeup of OH-93 and southeast Ohio:

http://www.ridermagazine.com/travel-features/great-motorcycle-riding-in-southeastern-ohio.htm/

[Chuck78]

Here's another nice writeup for RevZilla.com on Southeast Ohio (by an OhioRiders.net member), this one is on the far reaches of my day-trip status, covers OH-78 and east especially, and the roads around Woodsfield, OH that are very highly regarded. 78/26/800/255/536 etc. There are many roads that descend south off of OH-26 (covered bridge scenic byway) through many twisties for 10-20+ miles down to the Ohio River, and all of them are pretty great to very technical.

http://www.revzilla.com/hub-day-trip

Here's my modified slightly longer and much more awesome route for you all, covering the same territory as theirs:

https://www.google.com/maps?saddr=E+Canal+St&daddr=OH-685+to:OH-685+to:Broad+St+to:7th+St+to:OH-260+S+to:OH-565+E+to:OH-537+E+to:W+Court+St+to:OH-26+S%2FOH-800+S+to:OH-255+E+to:OH-7+N+to:OH-536+N+to:OH-260+S+to:OH-26+S%2FOH-260+S+to:Greene+St+to:OH-676+W+to:OH-676+W+to:OH-555+S+to:OH-550+W+to:Marion+St+to:OH-555+N&hl=en&ll=39.466945,-81.451263&spn=0.808901,1.234589&sll=39.588757,-81.139526&sspn=1.61494,2.469177&geocode=FRz4WQIdUmcZ-w%3BFQwsWgIdbhYa-w%3BFYMpWgIdXlkb-w%3BFZzdWgIdtaIb-w%3BFbAOXQIdeOce-w%3BFT23XgIdTyIm-w%3BFZDJXAId9BIn-w%3BFXC4XAIdtaMo-w%3BFUO7XgIdy0Qq-w%3BFcFCXgIdE0kq-w%3BFQfyXAId0EAt-w%3BFX1FXQIdxQku-w%3BFZQWXgIdIaEs-w%3BFYyBXAIdPXko-w%3BFd-uWwIdneUo-w%3BFSNcWQIdZiQl-w%3BFfwlWgIdufIh-w%3BFecfWgIdlXwf-w%3BFRSBWQIdOZsf-w%3BFZu9WQId_iEe-w%3BFWaTWgIdutUe-w%3BFYMRXAIdUCAd-w&t=p&mra=mivtw&z=10

They skipped OH-78 on the stretch past Burr Oak Lake where you have the most incredible views in Ohio (this is a MUST ride for scenery and curves). I added that (good for basing your trip out of Nelsonville or Logan, or Hocking/Athens/Lake Hope areas as well), and I also skipped the not as amazing stretches of 78 and a little of 26 in favor of some more awesome roads - 537, 565, and 260. This is al all day ride with 7 hours or saddle time and some sightseeing and food/gas stops, a great all day trip.

[Redman]

Great photos.
Just upped my level of interest.


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[Chuck78]

Yeah, soooo many of the state routes in SE Ohio look just like that, especially 78/555/260/255/536. 374/664/278/328/356/691 in the Hocking area are pretty similar as well, more forested. OH-26 and a few others go up and down a bit as they follow along slithering creeks & rivers... 78 isn't the MOST technical, but definitely has the most incredible scenic ridge top views in all of Ohio, not to mention 2 or more stretches of at least 11or 15 miles of nonstop sweepers and decent twisties (Burr Oak Lake ridgetop vistas and "The Big Muskie" sections). Still GREAT FUN hence Car and Driver Magazine naming it one of their top test sites and top scenic drives nationwide.

255 & 536 are there most technical major routes in that area, but the MOST technical are definitely some of the backroads nearby 260 and 26, and several backroad spots in the Hocking Hills area. I'm plotting some routes in Tar Hollow State Forest now, trying to determine if they are good road surfaces or gravel/tar&chip-seal. North Ridge Rd, South Ridge Rd, & Tar Hollow Rd's are all narrow VERY TIGHT&TWISTY paved roads... I've got my eye on Pleasant Ridge & Pole Ridge Rd's, can't determine road surfaces via google satellite views...

Dean State Forest just southwest of my runs near LakeHope/Zaleski:


Tar Hollow Rd switchback at the top of a big climb from the valley to the ridgetop:

Tar Hollow Rd at the bottom of the Hollow (i.e. small gorge/valley)