armith

She's the master of Pillion Cam photography..lol See Avatar! You can't get these kind of shots without a pillion!

I know I have a small tripod somewhere.. Might still be in the car

The memorial is actually a couple miles from our Breakpoint in Jefferson for gas and snacks and stuff.. Dropping the bridge count from 14 down to 11 and maybe even 10 also frees up a little time as well. As for the weather.. I can understand.. Given this region though.. If you don't like the weather, wait 5 minutes and it'll change. TWC still hovering on 40% rain.. Afterall if it rains we could just park under the covered bridge right??

Just out of curiousity.. There is a small war memorial area in Jefferson with a Vietnam era AH-1 Cobra helicopter on site.. Didn't know if anyone wanted to stop there.

man at the rate this is going I might make t-Shirts.. haha.

I know it probably won't help any.. I'm leaving from Youngstown by around 8:30am so anyone who wants to meet up off I-80 let me know.. We can slab on up Rt 11 to the starting point from there.. It's almost an hour trip exactly from there.. Leaving from Westerville you'll probably be quicker to go up I71 to I90.

I'm not too worried either.. I'll admit this is my first group ride to lead. But since it'll be an easy pace I think we'll be ok.. We'll have a riders meeting before we head out.. There's a few things I'll cover before we head out.. Quick refresher on hand signals as well as some planning for safely moving the group from point to point, turning around.. Any volunteers for riding sweeper.. Looking for someone who I collaborate a couple traffic control points..

Rain?? What rain...

good thing your taking your "beater" then..lol

1. I've pulled Middle Rd Bridge and Caine Rd. Bridge from the list.. simply put, dirt roads probably not suited for a group ride. 2. Olin Rd bridge is closed to traffic for repairs.. They claim it will be reopened for the festival so there is the possibility it will be open by saturday even. Its small dirt road to get to it.. It's a cool little bridge and we'd probably be able to walk out on it.. There's a place to turn around.. So if you don't mind a little dirt and bumps for a few hundred yards we can check it out.. Otherwise we can skip it and go on.. 3.Benetka was a mile or so of dirt road riding.. Decent pack, not too loose.. IMO a very picturesque bridge over creek scene.. The kind you see in paintings and stuff. Should be even better in autumn color. Once I crossed the bridge it was paved.. So my goal is to figure out how to come in from the paved side so the only dirt to worry about is after you cross over the bridge.. There is a small turnaround area. Does this sound ok? 4. Added Graham Rd to the route since it's just up from Caine Rd.. It's not an active bridge but it's old rustic and could provide a nice photo op since there is a parking spot next to the bridge. Oh and it's paved.. So Olin Bridge Yes or No?? Benetka Bridge little dirt ok? Yes or No?? Gotta work out the last of the route details and then I'll post up the info.. Still looks like were on for 11 bridges. Now the new challenge is planning out the logistics of moving a group of this size. Is there anyone here that is not experienced in riding in a group??

TWC's hourly forecast for Clearfield isn't showing significant chances of rain until after 1pm.. The ride there sounds like it would be ok.. The ride back home just may be a little moist, that all.

My pleasure.. Who knows maybe this could become an annual thing... Maybe next year organize a 2 day event to hit all the bridges and have a hell of party/BBQ. HMM.. maybe we could have one this year.. ride/party/go home in the morning.. Eh might be pushing it.

I'll try to keep all the details on the original post so that we don't have to read thru pages and pages of stuff.. I was shooting for 10am at Sheetz.. be on the road by 11. Gives use an hour to let the fashionably late arrive (like me), get gas, snacks, water, bathroom, and a quick rider's meeting. I am definately going to have to scout the roads out now.. If we go no dirt roads tour it'll be a pretty short ride..lol I know of like 4 bridges that are on or near paved roads for sure.. Stay tuned for updates this weekend.. Besides still holding out to see what the 10 day forecast has for us.

Fully loaded even with sheepskin and caterpillar o-ring cruise control Fully loaded with precious cargo on the dragon. By accident?? Cargo net + hard tail case = even more storage options!!! I should just call it an 'FJR 600' instead.. I'm really only a adjustable touring screen and hard saddlebags away from having a FJR wannabe..

Oh and expect the place to get packed after 5pm.. Thats Steelers, Penguins, and Penn State country.. JoPa's Lions play 8:30 game this saturday.. Should be a great time.. Wear your Buckeye gear at your own risk..haha

haha.. Crazy?? I was crazy once.. Burger Run 2008.. Noah and his arc didn't have shit on us that day. Ahh.. the musty smell of sweat soaked, rain soaked gear... Yes the burgers are that good! Lets just say the girlfriend and I purchased rain gear shortly after..

mm.. burger run!!!! There's actually a slight chance I might be able to meet you guys out there.

original post updated with some details

When I last plotted all 17 bridges it came out to 110 miles total.. but that was with shortest distance planning.. I figure we may get maybe 8 bridges in.. I don't suspect it'll be more than 60-70 miles.. But I wanted to plan a drink & wee break midway thru. I think the Sheetz station at the US 20 exit on Rt. 11 would be a good spot.. Say around 10am? I am holding out to till the TWC 10 day forecast comes out.. I'll then put together a draft route.. Expect route info this weekend. I'll modify the original post soon with details.. I've figured out the start and the end of the trip.. still working out which bridges to hit.. I'd like to hit a combo of the really nice ones but get some of the more rustic bridges too.

relaxed pace.. for me = posted (or reasonable) speeds.. These roads don't really lend themselves to hooliganism anyway. Rebel 250 or ZX14, we'll all get there together.

I will have to go over the map and see how many of them require dirt road access.. Given the nature of why the covered bridges are there and where they are rurally located, many of them will be on dirt roads. Maybe I'll scout things out more in my car this week. I can tell you that of the bridges we saw last year none of the dirt roads were terrible.. Being that they have an annual festival, the locals people and governments to make an honest effort to keep the surroundings and roads adequate. Again, I have no intentions of riding a spirited or kneedrag pace.. Oh one more side note.. Purely FYI and not intended to worry anyone.. Crossing a covered bridge can be a little scary first time.. Most have tire beaten wood plank floors which can make the feel of the bike feel unstable as you travel over the smooth but uneven planks.. Its no big deal, but could be a little alarming if your not expecting it.. Especially 2up. Also, I was thinking about the rain date of Oct 10.. Problem with that is that's when the festival starts and we could run into more cage traffic than I'm comfortable riding in a group with.. The dust, navigating around parked vehicles on narrow roads.. For me I'm a no go for that one.. I couldn't do a group ride like that in good conscience.. Maybe if I was highly familiar with the roads and personally knew the groups riding styles and abilities.. But even then. So for me Oct 4th is really the only day I have available till the end of October. By then some of you could have your bikes parked. Barring soaking rain and/or sub 50 temperatures I'd like to go for it on the 3rd. Admins/Mods, should I create a new thread for event details and attendee list or should I just edit the original post?

ok I meant to post this up front too.. This is absolutely an any bike and 2-up safe ride.. These bridges are kinda scattered so the point is to enjoy the ride and scenery. I think the concern are more the fact that some of these bridges are in rural dirt/gravel roads.. Some organization may be needed to park and turn everyone around on a couple bridges.. If your not comfortable with a little tar and chip or dirt then speak now and we'll see if we can adjust the route to minimize it.. The more I'm looking at it, It would be a major challenge to hit all 17 bridges in a day.. We'd have to all meet up kinda early in the morning and stops for pictures and stuff would be pretty short.. Regardless figure on this being an all day thing.

A couple pictures maybe to entice you all??

my girlfriend is running a marathon in Summit on the 11th.. so Saturday is all I got available that weekend.

Getting by.. Was a little hectic this year.. Had the bike laid up for about a month in June getting ready for our annual Deals Gap trip.. Other than that just same old grind.. Didn't make it to many bike nights this year.. Hit Sharon bike night a few times but never made it to Valley View.. Being an hour or more away from everything takes its toll on my tires. Don't be fooled.. I'm typically not a post whore.. I tend to lurk, read, and learn.. But I've tried to make an effort to pop up more often..