To experience Ohio riding....

[lurch12_2000]

Chuck
My timeline was moved up on short notice because of my wife's schedule. I have a car travelling through the
area for other reasons too. I won't be back in the near future but still scouting and
enjoying back roads in OH, KY and WV. I wasn't sure with the cold, rain and snow along
the way I was going to get much riding in. Besides the 850G isn't the easiest bike to unload and reload with the truck
on a whim by myself. Another time I'll get back with a bike.... I hope! I did meet up with Steve and borrowed his bike for a quick "fix".

[lurch12_2000]

Hiking around Hocking Hills was worth the visit even without the bike...
OH660 was a good bike road for the sunrise in OH hill country.



Hocking Hills:

[lurch12_2000]

AMA bike museum outside Columbus...ok for an hour walk through. Only old street bike Suzuki I found was the Wankel. I test rode a work mate's when they first came out so I'm dating myself. Notice the normal looking instrument cluster.

[lurch12_2000]

Scouting Red River Gorge was definitely worth the detour south. Roads are in good shape and being early in season, no traffic. KY17 was a surprise nice ride with plenty of twisties and sharp turns and to add to list of bike roads, then KY460 for a nice ride for bikes through horse farm country and plenty of sweepers. KY77 and 715 of course were prime riding roads around Red River. Give yourself most of the day or a few days to hike short trails to Sky Bridge, Princess Arch and Chimney Top Rock amongst others while riding. It turned out to be 80F so I missed having the bike. On to WV today and maybe WV60.




Hang ten off the Chimney Top?

[Chuck78]

New River Gorge area? If checking out WV61 Deepwater to Kincaid, & WV60/16 From Gauley Bridge to Hawks Nest or the other way on the split toward Fayetteville, please note the pavement conditions and get back to me. I wasn't down there last year, but in prior years 60/16 was getting rougher by the year.
Deepwater to Kincaid on 61 I believe it was is right around the corner another magnificent road.

on your way home, if you have time to check our the far northeast corner of West Virginia in the Monongahela National Forest area, this is where the big mountains are. In big hill country, locals may refer to large hills as mountains, but in the Monongahela NF & neighboring George Washington - Jefferson National Forest, these are really big mountain ranges, the ridge and valley province...

"The Meadow" @ Flagpole Knob, WV/VA border area:




US33 Harman WV east to Hinton VA is one of the most thrilling rides in the east, with the WV/VA border mountain (Shenandoah Mtn) being the highlight. Seneca Rocks is a great spectacke to see, Spruce Knob at just under 5000ft is nearby, but I'd pick Smoke Hole Canyon to the northeast of Seneca Rocks if I had to choose one or the other. You'll possibly skip the north fork mountain crossing of US33, but if you see Spruce Knob after Smoke Hole, you won'the miss that. Smoke Hole Rd top to bottom is fantastic. Mix of tighter than tail of the Dragon curves up on the side of the mountain for several miles, to a riding alongside a beautiful small bubbling river that the road follows through the canyon. Mostly sweepers here and a slower scenic road, but breathtakingly beautiful. Steep steep mountainsides so steep in areas that its hard to believe that trees are growing so densely on them... when the leaves are down, it's easier to see why it is named Canyon, as the western side is really about a 70+ degree cliff withe dense forest somehow growing on it. Cool rock outcroppings, excellent scenery.

Smoke Hole Canyon at Eagle Rock:


If you take Pub Rd 79 (out of the middle of smoke hole canyon) up to the ridge of North Fork Mtn & park at the campsite clearing at the top, then hike north about 2 miles in the backpacking trail, look for a steep sheet of quartzite rock about 250' to the ridge and a hundred or two feet along the trail to your left. Hike up to the ridge here. This is one of my favorite views in the state! Very remote! If you miss that spot, a hike from the trail up to any rock outcroppings you spot up on the ridge is going to give you a multitude of incredible views. The spot I mention is my favorite because it is one if the few ridges/peaks in the area that has a clear view, most are densely forested. North Fork Mtn is unique because it has cliffs 50' to 200' tall off of almost the full length of the west face of the 38 mile ridge, therefore always good views as you are on a cliff with little or no obstructions. If the top is very rocky as in many areas, then you can also have endless views of 6 or 7 more mountain ridge ranges off to the east. Best Sunrise spot EVER....

Me at that spot, minutes after sunrise:


Taken from where I was standing in picture with the cloud of valley fog below. Cliff hanger sleeping accommodations!


640' tall Champs Rocks waaaayyyy down below the ridge of North Fork Mtn in it's heavy shadow...





And...same shot minutes before the sun popped up over the distant ridges:



US250 south of here has 3 or 5 very good mountain crossings and is also an EXCELLENT road. In between, Sugar Grove Rd to Reddish Knob Rd is another good one, just a narrow forest service road up and over a foothill mountain and then up to the peak of Reddish Knob - which the last half mile is barely wide enough to fit a car, and it is 2 way traffic!!! Cool view here as well. It is a drive up knob/summit viewpoint, not as epic as my north fork spot, but that north fork mountain ridge spot in my photos is very remote! 35 minutes into the canyon from the major roads to the north or southeast, 25 minutes up a steep gravel road to the ridge, half hour or so hike to "the spot..."

I recall more northern central WV that WV20, WV15, maybe WV7 were EXCELLENT. Webster Springs to Diana and Sutton Head (or Valley Head and Sutton?) were some cities one of them went through this magnificent route. The eastern half of that route was the better.
Snowshoe Mtn is in between the NRG & Monongahela also. Good mountain, rt 66 is nice there, & Back Mountain Rd used to be WILD... narrow. Degrading pavement a few years ago.











.

[Chuck78]

Nelson Rocks...quite impressive




.

[lurch12_2000]

Some beautiful pics there Chuck. I did take WV60 along the river from Charleston where I stayed for the night. 60 is in good shape and nice and twisty. Unfortunately it was foggy right up to the bridge via WV16, which was in good shape too. I crossed the river on Hwy 19 and then looped back down into the river bottom via Rt82. Most of 82 is one way and lots of switchbacks, but is choppy and lots of debris. One of the few times I was happier with the car. From there I headed back north and took Rt39 east until I hit the national forest. 39 was good out there and WV150 was a smaller version of the Blue Ridge Pkwy with beautiful scenery being up high. On to Rt219 north until MD with some nice carving up closer to the MD border. WV is a beautiful state once you explore it instead of bypassing it with the interstates. That wraps up my scouting tour and now to slab it til NH today from MD. I would probably spend another week in WV alone some day.

Approaching New River Gorge on WV60 yesterday



Pano of bridge from 1k feet below on Rt82...the western hemi's largest arch bridge a little distorted with the pano shot



WV150 Highland Scenic Pkwy



Lots of windmill farms in the hills of WV...close to road

[Chuck78]

39 is a wonderful road to ride! 219 has a few sections here and there which are incredible, one with some massively banked turns. Right after 150 "Highlands Scenic Highway" it was really great but unfortunately we rode it in a heavy downpour and haven't seen it dry... the 150 highland scenic highway wasn't really a road I would return to, it's mostly straight with all high elevation views, & a lot of huge biting black flies in May and beyond! Next time around I will bypass it.

[Chuck78]

That panoramic shot of our bikes is on 150 the Highland Scenic Highway

You've GOT TO RETURN to WV with your bike. And not just " Someday." There is wonderful incredible world class riding and scenery down there...
I feel so lucky to be only a max of 6 hours to the furthest of the real good stuff...interstate/direct route, that is. New River Gorge is a Friday after work ride for me at only 3.5 hours + gas stops! And only 45 minutes to 2 hours from all of the excellent hilly/twisty Appalachian SE Ohio roads...

[lurch12_2000]

That panoramic shot of our bikes is on 150 the Highland Scenic Highway

You've GOT TO RETURN to WV with your bike. And not just " Someday." There is wonderful incredible world class riding and scenery down there...
I feel so lucky to be only a max of 6 hours to the furthest of the real good stuff...interstate/direct route, that is. New River Gorge is a Friday after work ride for me at only 3.5 hours + gas stops! And only 45 minutes to 2 hours from all of the excellent hilly/twisty Appalachian SE Ohio roads...

Yes there is a lot to return for especially in WV.

[kerrfunk]

Man, I have missed a whole lot with this thread!
The New River Gorge bridge is cool, there's a catwalk tour I've been on twice.

I live just off the mile 18 exit of I-64 in WV.
Last Friday I enjoyed the road between Proctorville and Ashville(ky), 243. Very nice.

[lurch12_2000]

Man, I have missed a whole lot with this thread!
The New River Gorge bridge is cool, there's a catwalk tour I've been on twice.

I live just off the mile 18 exit of I-64 in WV.
Last Friday I enjoyed the road between Proctorville and Ashville(ky), 243. Very nice.

I passed through your exit in WV by Huntington. If I had known I would have stopped by. Not sure where 243 is, but looks like a route between Proctorville OH and Ashville KY would have taken you within 10 miles of Red River Gorge and KY 77 and 715. Definitely worth the short detour.

The catwalk at New River Gorge was quite expensive and I didn't want to spend $ on a foggy day anyway for it. I was told by the visitor center lady it was $70 for the private tour company and not open otherwise. Was I given wrong info?