drc32-0

Comparatively speaking,I think our roads are pretty good.I've been to/thru close to 15 states this year and I don't see where ours are any worse than most of the other states.Personally,I think a lot of our curvy stuff is better than most states that have comparable winters and terrain.

Iowa?Is there really that much good riding in Iowa?Most of our best riding is in the hilly southeastern part of the state.These same hills that makes the riding so good also tends to lead to a lot of slips.From my experience,a lot of the road construction each year is slip repairs.

Check into the ODOT site in march and see what paving projects are schedualed for the year and keep an eye on those roads.I can easily think of probably 10 good roads that have been paved in the last two years.You'll have plenty of fun roads to ride and it will be a little different each year as good roads are paved in different areas.Between now and 2017 there will be quite a few good roads paved under the STIP project...check it out.

We did 550 last weekend. Haven't done that one in years due to the previously poor pavement. I'll tell you. The section near 377 is just a blast. I could go back and forth there for an hour if I could figure out a way to not get in trouble.

Yep...going up that hill from 377 is a blast! 

thanks for rout the heads up. about 3mouth back rode 300+miles of roads down there & one of these roads was fresh pave a good twisty just don't know witch it was  377, 266 ,792  around stockport

377 was paved in March or April from 78 to 266.I think they are going to pave the rest of it sometime later this.I would check on it,but I'm staying over in W.V. right now.I'll be getting the bike over here labor day weekend...then the exploring will begin!We're renting a house on 89 so the ride to work will be a fun one.

I'm putting this out there under the unique catagory...the Wells Inn in Sistersville WV. Nothing real fancy,but clean and pretty cool old motel(built in 1896).About two hundred yards from the Sistersville ferry and the bottom of 800 at Fly.

If you're looking for unique...how many times have you took a ferry to and from your motel to the good roads?

I'd call it a three star motel.

Call ahead...the oil and gas boom is hitting over here and lodging is getting tight.

Of course,there are some good roads on the WV side too.If you want something interesting you could take my route to work at the Mobley MarkWest site...from New Martinsville @2>7>20s>North Fork Rd(@Pine Grove) to Mobley.North Fork is newly paved.

Enjoy your time in S.E.O.

A while back there was a thread on here talking about good county roads and I remember  a few people mentioned Pinecrest west of Zanesville.I was on it yesterday and they just finished paving it.Paving is done,but no centerline or edging yet.Now's the time to ride it before the edging is put down and cars drag the gravel onto the road in the curves.

If you're coming from 146(@Hanby farms) Pleasent Valley is in good condition to Millers junkyard,but there is about 2 miles of bumpy stuff between Miller's and Pinecrest.Pinecrest isn't marked on that end,but you can't miss it since it's the only newly paved road in the area.

Back to 536...I just rode it about 5 days ago and in it's present condition it sucks anyway.It'll only get worse with heavy truck traffic.

Fracking and it's infrastructure is going to be a mixed blessing for those of us that live in S.E.O. and ride these roads daily.Some folks are going to make A LOT of money,some will make a little,most will make nothing.The roads will suffer!If you don't believe me,just take a ride down 513 and 379 to the Mark-West compressor site.I have friends working there and I had a chance to get on that job so I took a ride over to check it out.Both roads are good rides,both are on my "do not ride"list due to debris tracked onto the road.

Most of the pipeline sites don't hurt the roads much since they are boring under the road,but there is still a little mud tracked onto the road.

Fracking is here to stay regardless of what folks think about it.Hopefully S.E.O. is big enough that all the good roads won't suffer at the same time,so there will always be areas to enjoy.For me,that's the way it is now...I just move my riding from one area to another as good roads are paved in different areas.

Most of the mess that fracking is making is minor...kind of like a farmer entering/leaving his fields with farm equipment.I try to keep it in prespective...the farmers live here,it's their home,I'm just passing through.Fracking is going to bring some decent jobs to an area that really needs them,especially as coal declines...and does fracking trucks really hurt the roads any worse than coal trucks?

  and if you didn't already know, most electric companies now use natural gas instead of coal. 

Coal is still king,and will be for some time yet.The vast majority of power houses are still coal fired.A few relatively small gas plants are coming on line,and others are proposed,but it will be years before gas passes coal as the main fuel for generation. 

This is VERY sad news.I remember when he posted the "family portrait" picture and the story behind it.It really made my day to see the pups progress and to just hear about the kindness the owner gave those pups.

This is a terrible way to see the family broken up.The pups were so close,I feel for everyone involved,especially for Jared and the surviving rescued pup.

I'll be sure to contribute tomorrow.

 

 

 

The biggest thing that wiped out the middle class was the economic collapse...

The biggest thing that wiped out the middle class was the off-shoring of manufacturing jobs to socialist china by predominately republican c.e.o's,while presidents Reagan to W,including Clinton, stood by and did nothing.

Imagine the tax base we lost by giving our manufacturing base to china.It's the elephant in the room that neither party wants to talk about.

Yea,it's all Obama's fault.

Keeps the traffic off the good roads

So true!

Yep, 555 sucks right now.  78 and 669 are two of  the best in the area.

Fixed it for ya.

Maybe..dunno. But he isn't much of a democracy type as far as Jimmy Carter is concerned. Getting pretty bad when the worst President ever calls you out.

 

 

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/07/18/jimmy-carter-edward-snowden_n_3616930.html?utm_hp_ref=politics

Reagan called out Obama?

Congratulations on being what an American used to be....adventureous.

A very good example of....when life hands you a lemon,make lemonaid.

Enjoy your adventure.

Yesterday I took a ride on most of the roads I mentioned in my last post.The only thing I found worth noting is that ODOT has been doing a lot of patching on 255,It's good quality patching,not the drop a couple shovels full of asphalt and let the cars work it in stuff.It looks like they're cutting the bad stuff out,patching,rolling and sealing the seams.There are dozens of these patches,but 255 is still a fun ride.

Bridge work on 537.

Archer's Fork Rd closed at 26...bridge out.

A couple slides in the southbound lane of 260 between Marr and 26.

Another good out and back county road...Brownsville Rd(CR 33) off of 260 in New Matt.

Just sent a paypal payment for one ticket.

The bottom part of 800 between 255 and Fly(7) has been paved in the last two years.Really fun if you don't get stuck behind traffic.

564 east of Caldwell from 78 to 145 was paved last year.Part of 565 has been paved recently.

145 in the same area was paved about two years ago.I know they're west of 77,but a couple of my favorite roads are in that area ,339 and 530.If you haven't been on 530...check it out.It's short at about 5-6 miles,but it is one of the most challenging roads in southeast Ohio.339 was paved about three years ago and is another very good road.The first two or three miles out of Beverly is still older pavement.

If you want try a good county road Rinauld Mills Rd between 260 and 26 was paved last year,but be forewarned that the new pavement stops at the county line about a  mile or two south of R.M. and the old pavement is bad.I usually do an out and back from 260 instead of riding the bad stuff to R.M.

It has been a couple months since I've been over there,but 260,537 and 26 were all in good condition.255 is pretty good,but has a few rough patches.

10 1k days in a row?

Be careful out there.

You've never been on 536?

The pavement condition is getting a little rough.When it was paved back in 2007 it was a blast.

It's getting paved again in the next two or three years under the STIP program.I'll be heading that way then.

Have you been on 339 yet?That is probably my favorite of all the roads on your route.255 is right up there too.

Will you be available for a meet-up Saturday if it's not raining?

It's good to here all the good stuff down there is still in good condition.I was going to head down there last weekend and just didn't make it.I haven't  been on 374 or Kreashbaum at all this year,and that's very unusual for me.

I've gotta get down there...I've got a route in Morgan and Washington counties I've been running a lot this year...maybe I should change it up a bit. 

See any snakes?There was a big black snake hanging out on 356 last year.

Thanks for the update.

With AAA you need the RV Plus plan,they'll bring the roll-back and all straps.I only needed it once when I cut a tire where a plug wouldn't work.

If the fix-a-flat wouldn't stop it a plug might not have worked for you either.

Ya gotta love country folks...most will stop and offer help.

At least you're keeping a positive attitude.As an old lady I used to know would say in times of trouble..."This too will pass."

Good luck.

Whatever.

Once you have your bike packed and loaded, jump on it and ride it around a little bit, look for any little annoying flutter of a strap, or anything that isn't 100% comfortable. Long rides have a way of compounding annoyances. Wear your ear plugs, and enjoy the ride.

 

do NOT try a new dandruff shampoo the night before the trip, theres nothing quite as annoying as an itchy head under a helmet for a 12 hour ride...

Good advice!

Do a test pack  a few days before you plan to take off...there's not much storage on a bike and you may have to downsize or come up with alternative packing methods.Dry bags are nice,I have a couple I could loan you if you need one.

Grab a tire plugging kit and a source of air if you don't already have one.You probably won't have any mechanical problems with a new bike,but you never know about a punctured tire.

Don't wear cotton underwear...seriously,cotton can be very uncomfortable on a long haul..get some thing that wicks like ex-officio.

And don't forget those earplugs.

Enjoy your ride.

Portersville(37) to Ringgold is good.Ringgold to Chesterhill was chip/sealed last year and has plenty of pea gravel. Chesterhill to Little Hocking is good.

If I remember your route you was wanting to get to 676 heading into Marietta?If correct,I would either stay on 37 over to 78W,or go down 555 to 78E at Ringgold,either way will get you to 377 south.377 was paved about three weeks ago and has some really fun sweepers for about 7 miles down to Pennsville.Just south of Pennsville take 266 to 792 to 676.792 is in very good condition and it's a fun ride.676 was also chip/sealed last year from 792 to Watertown,once you get to Watertown 676 has very good pavement all the way to Marietta. 

I guess what I'm trying to say is that I would avoid the Ringgold to Chesterhill section of 555.

Enjoy your ride,there's a lot of fun roads on your route.

775 is in good condition all the way...it was paved about three years ago.

Greasy Ridge is in pretty good condition north of 217,south of 217 it is pretty rough.Greasy Ridge will cross 775 twice north of 217.I think G.R. is county road 2.

I really like Greasy Ridge...it's a county road so the turns aren't mark for suggested speed,so be careful on your first pass.It's a shame that the section south of 217 hasn't been paved,it could be very good.

Mary's post and link has a lot of good info on this area.

If you're looking for twisty roads,your route is going by some really good stuff.775 is good all the way from 141 near Galipolis to the river...especially the section from Lecta(intersection of 790) to 217.Someone from another forum rode it for the first time last week and called it his favorite road in Ohio.I wouldn't go that far,but it is a very good road.217 from 218 to Miller(7) is short at 5 miles,but is one of those extremely twisty up and over a hill roads like 536.A lot of 217 was chip/sealed last year,but east of 218 has pretty good pavement.218 is also fun from Galipolis to 217,especially south of Mercerville.The top part was paved last year,unfortunately the bottom section was chip/sealed...good chip/seal,but still chip/seal.

141 reminds me of 800 with lesser elevation changes...it does get twisty in the Symmes valley/Kitt's Hill area.A lot of nice farms along 141,it would be a great road for fall colors.

790 from 775 to 218 was just getting ready to be paved when I was down there two weeks ago.I doubt if it's done,but if it is,it's a good ride.