Chuck78

658 is one of my favorites in the state, but it is a sneaky one, with lots of fast curves and then a real tight one thrown in there to catch you off guard... There's a pretty sneaky one in particular that doesn't even seem that sneaky, but it has bitten many, many riders that have ran off the road I believe in both directions even. Northbound I believe you may come down a long hill into an open area with a field to your right, woods and hill to the left, curving around mildly right. Then there's an unexpected left turn at the end of this fast section, where there was an old collapsed small barn or outbuilding on the right. For some reason the decreasing radius in this curve has gotten many bikes and cars, and I believe the shed/barn is collapsed from a car smashing into it southbound, which is the lesser of the surprise curve risk directions to travel... Once past it, there's a house in the trees northbound on the right, and on the left after the curve there is a pole barn with lots of heavy equipment, maybe well drilling rigs or cranes, I can't quite recall. I believe this is it, doesn't seem treacherous if you know it's coming, but it's gotten many riders and drivers: 40.103141351054965, -81.65148311293423 https://goo.gl/maps/2ZK3p2ZR4wB71Vzp8 The barn/shed has an address on Google Maps I see from the satellite view, that's intriguing! 4455 Twin Sisters Rd, Cambridge, OH 43725 There's also a really nice downhill section northbound as you descend past a few houses into the trees and go around a left hand curve, then more downhill for a nice straight into the forest, then a sharp right after that... I can't recall if the sharpness of the curve was the primary hazard, but I recall a few hard braking moments into that curve as well as evasive maneuvers for small but heaped up gravel piles from rain washes, right in the curve. So be careful for that right hand downhill tighter curve which may have gravel in it. 83 from 93 southbound to 209 has a really nice uphill stretch to it approaching 209, where you can see some exposed rock outcrops in the fields up on the clearcut hills. Then hang a left on 209, which quickly turns into about 6 or 8 miles of my favorite 55mph sweepers in the state of Ohio... then peters out after 658 heading into Cambridge once you descend off of the long ridge with all the immaculate sweepers. Left on 658 is the move, but it's akin to Rt 536 down on the river up to 78, fast and fun with some tight sneaky ones thrown in there that can really give you some pucker moments if racing through it like a flip flop and shorts wearing 80mph interstate wheelie riding 21 year old squid... There's also another decent road that runs up off 209, I think it starts with a 6##, triple digits, runs up to 83 near 93 or vice versa, by where there's an impressively monstrous hill to the right of the road (83 or 93). Memory is a bit foggy as I've spent most of the past 2.5 seasons riding 2-stroke trail bikes in the gnarly KY/WV hills, and some Wayne National Forest, Pike and Perry State Forests etc...

Everything east of Tar Hollow, South and east of Lancaster, east of Newark/Granville, East of Mohican State Forest. Zoom in to the map and puck some windy routes and GO! Hard to go wrong even if you go out with no plan and just loosely looking at the naps tongwt your bearings on the twisty bits

Thank you all so much for all of your hard work pushing this through, and sticking with it for this entire duration... It's sad that it takes sooooo long to make even minor things like this happen, but now we are well on our way. I especially thank you as I CANNOT ride without ear plugs anymore... Whenever background noise ceases & my surroundings become silent, the very loud ringing in my ears becomes very difficult to ignore... Serious Tinnitus at the age of 40... too much loud music blasting starting as a teenager, loud full stack guitars and loud live bands and rehearsals all through my 20's, occupational/construction noise hazards starting in my mid 20's, home mechanic and remodeling work all my adult life... Motorcycles heavily through my 30's and hopefully to my grave! 2 stroke dirt bikes heavily starting mid-30's & on... even only going 25-40mph at the trails, the exhaust note gives my ears a pounding without ear plugs. My ears are pretty hammered from 27 years of negligence... The highway wind noise even with a decent helmet proves too much. If I go out for 2-4 hours on backroads, my ears are HAMMERED the same as seeing Motorhead perform in smaller venues such as the Newport Music Hall...(LOUDEST show ever, 2 day earache, & that was WITH earplugs!). Earplugs are an absolute MUST for me now when I ride. I stow spares away in all of my jackets and bags just in case I lose or forget to bring some. This legislation will allow me to be legal in the attempts to preserve what remains of my eardrums for the next 30-40+ years... THANK YOU! Chuck

ODOT District 10 website news info: Slips Prompt Lane Closures in Monroe County March 7th, 2018 - There are several one lane closures in place in Monroe County due to slips. The slips are due to recent heavy rains in southeastern Ohio. - SR 26 between SR 800 and Woodsfield (one lane closure with traffic signals and 12 foot width restriction - SR 536 between TR 672 and TR 373 (one lane closure with traffic signals and 12 foot width restriction) - SR 536 between TR 437 and TR 2577 (one lane closure with traffic signals and 12 foot width restriction) - SR 537 between Pleasant Ridge (CR 73) and SR 26 (one lane closure with yield signs and 12 foot width restriction) - SR 255 between TR 2623 and Long Ridge (CR 43) (one lane closure with traffic signals and 12 foot width restriction) All of the lane closures are expected to end by June 1, 2018. SR 536 Landslide April 12th 2018 - One lane of State Route 536 in Monroe County is closed due to a landslide. It is located between SR 7 and Township Road 425. One lane is closed in this area and traffic is being maintained with temporary signals. A 12 foot width restriction is also in place. The estimated opening date is June 12, 2018. SR 536 Slip Repair March 7th, 2018 - A slip repair project is taking place on State Route 536 in Monroe County. It is located .05 miles west of Township Road 672. (I believe this is separate from the one listed above, as TR373 is a few miles west of TR672 with another Township road in between the two, & I recall four 536 closures) One lane is closed in this area. Temporary traffic signals are in place, as well as a 12 foot width restriction. The estimated completion date is June 29, 2018. SR 255 Culvert Replacement A culvert replacement project begins on May 1, 2018 on State Route 255 in Monroe County. The project is taking place between Township Road 452 and Griffith Road (County Road 10A). The road will be closed in this area through May 17, 2018. ODOT's detour is SR 800 to SR 78 to SR 145. SR 56 Bridge Replacement A bridge replacement project begins on State Route 56 in Hocking County on February 26, 2018. The project is taking place between Narrows Road and Conrad Road. One lane will be closed in this area and temporary traffic signals will be in place, as well as barrier wall. There will also be a 10 foot lane restriction. The estimated completion date is September 1, 2018.

255 is closed again just south of Laings, bridge is completely out and being rebuilt during May. North of that from 78, the pavement condition look just the same as it did last year. I wanted to hit it from the Ohio River up to the bridge construction, but I was running out of daylight and got caught out in the rain and dark trying to take a fun route back to Columbus anyhow! Out of Laings, I took a very bumpy chip seal Six Points Road across to 536, a bit north of the stop sign at Sykes Ridge Road. I hadn't taken this southbound for a very long time, and was reminded quickly why I never ever do that and why I absolutely would never send anyone else down that road unless I was there too slow down and make sure they don't miss a couple of blind decreasing radius turns! Northbound is definitely much safer on the North End of 536. There are lane closures all over Southeast Ohio, four of them on 536, which completely ruin the flow of the road. Every single one, probably seven or eight of these, including the 4 on 536, were all issues where 1 lane on the downhill side of the road had sunken or slipped off substantially, some of these were a foot or more deep where they 1.5 year old pavement head sunken down as the hillside slipped away under it. The evil, wicked, mean, and nasty section of 555 just south of 78 for several miles is even worse than it was last year, substantially. More lane slippage, and so many potholes it was ridiculous. It looks like someone had gone through and randomly dumped buckets of acid in the road where the pavement was just eaten away. I can't recall exactly where the one-way alternating traffic light lane closure setups were, but there were three others aside from 536. I'm thinking 26, maybe another on 255, and one on 260 or 537? I was scratching my head here, not sure if that is all correct, very long day of riding...

I'm a bit worried about 255 for this riding season. The first time anyone has a chance to check out the blacktop carnage post-winter, please post up. It was totally ridable at the end of last season, but had many cracked areas and patched areas. From what I've seen so far this year around Columbus-Zanesville-Coshocton, if the pavement was fairly new or in decent shape last year, it will still be this year. If it was cracked up and older last year with some rough sections, it may have a lot more in the way of surprise potholes and rough sections... I need to look up what county it is in and see if I can look up the ODOT garage website for that county and check on 2018 projects. Luckily so many of the good roads east and southeast of Columbus been re-paved in the last 4 or so years... 255 is a crucial link to a lot of my best routes. I'm crossing my fingers that if any more deterioration has happened, it'll be addressed by mid May.

Thank you deeply to all of those who have been involved in this thus far. I haven't been online much for some time, and this is the first I'm seeing this. I suffer from tinnitus seemingly 24-7 due to both occupational and recreational exposure to excessive sound pressure levels in the past 3 decades out of my 4 on this earth. I can't ride my bike for more than an hour or two (without HEARING PROTECTION!) at 55mph+ without feeling like I have cotton wads stuffed in my ears for the rest of the day, not to mention earaches and fatigue. It is discussed widely that exposure to the wind noise not only permanently damages hearing, but also causes additional fatigue. This may be yet another minor sub-point to add to the argument, although the hearing protection argument (and the OSHA 85dB workplace limit, great interjection there) should be more than enough to carry this bill. Let's hope the politicians can get something good to happen in our state's government now... Thank you again to all who have had any involvement thus far. One less thing to be harassed by angry police officers and state troopers about... -Chuck in Columbus

http://www.dot.state.oh.us/districts/D10/newsreleases/Pages/MOE-260-8.77-Bridge-Replacement.aspx Beginning July 10, State Route 260 in Monroe County is closed near the intersection of CR 14 (Long Run) for a bridge replacement project. The estimated completion date is October 31, 2017. The detour is as follows: SR 260 to SR 145 to SR 565 to SR 260. Sorry, a little late on that one! Looks like you can't pass through that until the end of riding season. At least there are about a couple dozen more incredible roads in the area to detour on!

Part of 260 is closed north of 26. I suspect it may be related to my sightings last year of half the road falling down the hillside 60 feet into the creek. Back then it was 1 lane with temporary traffic light alternating one way directions. Haven't made it down that way yet this year but may go for a test ride tomorrow if I get my bike back together and if my foot turns out not to be broken from dirt biking gnarly singletrack today on the KDX.... dangit don't ya hate getting injured in the riding season!!!

Not so much. The very brief statement of Trump's which I am referencing speaks volumes on it's own. I'm going to the shop to rehab a very low mileage 1974 Rickman VR 250 motocross bike.... therapy for my dismay of what I suppose I already knew about the unsettling moral values held by 47% of the voting populous...I had my head in the clouds apparently, too optimistic for a peaceful non-prejudiced USA in our near future. Anyhow...I freakin' love things with two wheels. Whatever happens is out of our control, the least we can do is do what we love and make the most of it. Learn from mistakes and blunders around us. Ride and forget about politics... G'night OR.

Sorry to break the news, but supporting a racist sexist nationalist candidate is pretty anti-human. Not to mention all of the b.s. he has pulled out if his ass when put on the spot, which that just goes to show he was not politician material. Unbelievable that he amassed so much support. AND I don't think that Trump lovers are a bunch of backwards hicks, as Trump yard signs are both prevalent in rural areas and rich suburbs...

I just read an article less than an hour ago that said 200,000 votes in the lead currently, and mostly democratic leaning states left to report, with a predicted Hillary lead of nearly 1,000,000 votes ahead of Trump after all is tallied. Very true on the which turd tastes better comment... but... have you ever been around dogs much? Cat turds taste like a heavenly treat to them! Different strokes... I really don't hate those of you whom I may have offended, but am rather dismayed at people's lack of morals and compassion for humanity

It's on every US citizen's forehead now, as nearly half the voting population has chosen this nitwit bigot to represent us all, & the electoral college placed Fuhrer Trump in office as the Prez-Elect. We are ALL represented by a man who has no problem spewing out racist remarks & talking in a very degrading way about women. How on earth can you all support this guy, or at the very least, how can you not to take a stand against him? ALL of you Trump supporters must support sexism and racism then. If you voted for him or support him, then you are automatically saying that those facts are okay. Those are not okay with me. And those should not be okay with anyone calling themselves religious, unless they are okay picking and choosing what they want to believe out of the bible, & ignoring what Jesus would have stood for. In that case they are hypocrites...with poor morals. Several of you are blind to the moral foundations of all of this as very clearly witnessed through your mockery. This is a damn shame such a douche is our figurehead now. Sexist racist president who has a hard time telling the truth when he gets fired up. Sociopath seems very fitting. At least Hillary's scandal was typical of what pretty much all presidents in recent decades were capable of. Hillary just got caught in the spotlight with hers...

The door will hit Trump's fat ass on his way out, thankfully. Too difficult to uproot my extended family and move the B.C., so unless he really sets our country on the road to ruin, the B.C. option is just a fallback plan...

When Trump says he wants to send back every Mexican that he can, treat every Muslim as a potential terrorist and ir deport them, and talks very disrespectful about women, there is no argument left that a vote for Trump is a vote against those demographics. Have you not been conscious for the past 8 or 10 months???? Trump accused the majority of Mexicans as being rapists, drug dealers, & other miscreants, & " there might be a few good ones after all of the bad ones..." Your statement is negated, sir.