Chuck78

I just realized that this thread was a 1 year old thread that was resurrected just in the past few weeks. Has anyone been on US250 over the mountains THIS YEAR to confirm if many road repairs have been done? I just the most recent reviews from motorcycleroads.com I believe it was, and there were mentions of patchwork in places, and a few sagging lanes up NW of the mountains (low side of the road is sinking down the hillside a bit!), but no one said that it is not worth riding. Very tempting... I am just dying to get out there this season, even if it means camping and riding solo...

You should really check out 33 beyond Elkins and 219, it is really really great from Seneca Rocks east into Virginia, and not that bad of a there and turn around trip, as it is different both ways due to the extreme grades... Another awesome road I forgot about is 15 from Valley Head (219) to Webster Springs, very great twisties the whole time, and great elevation changes. I think it's good west of there all the way to the interstate, but can't confirm.

I am trying to figure out how to fit a WV trip into my busy schedule in the next 7 weeks... This state is a must-ride. Looks like I'll have to bypass most of 250 this time around, taking 39 from the gorge area to 219 to snowshoe, & then maybe figure out how to get up to 33 in Hinton VA to do the two incredible mountain crossings on US-33 leading to Seneca Rocks, maybe dipping back to 39 again but catching the last big twisty mountain crossing on 250 maybe. Coal City Rd caught my eye when I was mapping out some Suzuki GS riders' routes as I transferred them to Google maps format. A road near there on their route outside of Odd, WV was not even there anymore, as coal strip mining operations had taken over the land. Wow. Good to hear that feedback about 61. Is this the section of 61 near the New River Gorge and Gauley Bridge?

TONS! Cant go wrong exporing that area. Snowshoe Mountain, Mt Storm, the paved road (northeastern side?) to the top of spruce knob, 39 is really nice scenic high elevation runs though the mountains and very fun and twisty west of the mountains in the big hills, the very twisted portions of 219, and the pinnacle of it all, US33 from Seneca Rocks, WV into Shenandoah National Forest to Hinton, VA & back. On the return route, ride 33 over the mountain bordering WV&VA, & then skip the western mountain crossing on 33 near seneca rocks and instead head north on 220 i believe, left past Upper Tract into Smoke Hole Canyon on CoRte28/2 I believe it was, follow the breathtakingly scenic winding road along the little south branch river, then before it turns to a dirt road, make a left on (co rte 2???) And then a right onto Smoke Hole Rd. After some ascending through farmland in the hills out of the canyon, smoke hole rd takes you up along the side of the mountain paralell to the ridge for some very tight twisty turns all over. Very fun and challenging.

47 to 16 from Parkersburg is nice, & 16 is really great around Gauley Bridge and then again south of the new river gorge area all the way into the western tip of Virginia leading up to the Marion to Tazwell "back of the dragon" section that is amazing. 421 "the snake" is near there, so is the mighty python. Both are great, 421 a little more to my likings.

How was 536??? Last year, it was getting bad reports of culvert patches across the roads, potholes, gravel and dirt in the road from all the fracking traffic, etc

Alright so I read that north ridge & south ridge rd's & Tar Hollow rd are paved but narrow, but I was really looking to find out if a very twisty back way in was gravel, dirt, or bad tar& chipseal - Pole Ridge Rd to Pleasant Ridge Rd. Anyone have any clues? Google satellite view left me wondering. 56 to Blue Creek Rd hits Pole Ridge.

Also wondering about any other fun routes from South Bloomingville or Tar Hollow to Xenia if anyone has any tips.

Looking for some more fun and twisty areas to ride near central Ohio, and I was curious if anyone has spent much time riding in Tar Hollow State Forest? There are a few major roads and state routes around the outskirts of Tar Hollow that look like they could be decent, but I am very curious about the backroads and park roads that run through the forest. Zaleski/Lake Hope park roads tend to be mostly gravel, so I was hoping to hear firsthand what they were like before I take a small group ride down that way en route to a vintage bike show at Williams Vintage Cycle Works in Xenia on May 24th. Satellite map view in these areas zoomed in didn't seem to give me any definite answers. I do recall an old friend mentioning he and a group of riding buds were heading to tar hollow to ride, but never heard about the ride after.

The road leading up to the Spruce Knob lookout point. THIS is why motorcycle camping is AWESOME... you don't have to worry about your proximity to hotels and the outside established world, just ride into the wilderness!

I camp on bicycle and motorcycle when I can get the time off. My wife and I regularly ride to Hocking to camp off of 374, same with Yellow Springs, and have done occasional trips like Salt Fork State Park past Zanesville and Cambridge. Sometimes on a tandem bicycle. We did two big motorcycle trips this year, one about 8 days SE Ohio through West Virginia, primitive camping the whole way, sometimes in the wilderness and sometimes at primitive campgrounds when necessary. The other trip was going to Fairview Ridge, WV and Grayson Lake, KY cabin camping on our friend's dad's primitive cabin/retirement home and remote 110 acres with a 2 mile winding gravel driveway to get to his cabin. Two medium sized soft saddlebags and a medium backpack strapped to the seat were filled to the brim but adequate to hold compact but cozy 2 person backpacking tent & sleeping bag, 3 changes of clothes, few tools and personal items,and minimal cooking gear for preparing food over the open fire. Whoever didn't carry the tent between my wife and I got to carry food for a day or two plus snacks, and we each had Osprey water packs with large bladders, which also have cargo space to carry most of the personal items and rain gear. I installed a 12V accessory outlet under my seat and rigged up a rubber mat envelope in my battery box to slip my phone into to charge while riding. I charge it while parked also, but I also have a 1970's engine with a kickstarter, should my battery drain down too low. My two buddies that came both had hammocks with a rain fly and mosquito net, which I may look into for this next season, as my wife may eventually get tired of me constantly wanting to ride the most challenging technical roads when in the Appalachians... She's more into the scenic/sweepers rides and the destinations, not iron butt greuling days riding the most tight and technical routes. One buddy had the same pack/saddlebagp s setuas me with a larger backpack and a small luggage rack on his modded out 1132cc '77 KZ1000. Other buddy had a choppered out H-D XL1200C sportster (mostly stock suspension geometry) with ape hangers and a huge sissy bar that he strapped a large tall backpacking backpack onto. None of us had excessive luggage, but unloading at a base camp definitely makes riding in the Appalachians more fun. I am already planning three more motorcycle camping trips with at least one of those three next year, if not all of them. Another WV trip and beyond maybe, another SEOH/Northern KY/WV trip based loosely out of our buddy;s dad's remote cabin across the river, and potentially riding motorcycles to California if I can figure out how to profit from selling my house so I can quit my day job. If that works out, the wifey wants to ditch Ohio for a while after Halloween and go on a great bicycle trip to California... wow. Yes, I love camping,and yes, I was a Boy Scout... photo atop Spruce Knob, the highest elevation in West Virginia, the four bikes loaded down and dirtied up from 2 hours of gravel roads that day, and rain every day plus the occasional gravel road to campsites... http://www.thegsresources.com/_forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=19589&d=1369434254

What road is this switchback on? I see something simillar to it on the map on 93, but this picture appears to be much tighter. Contemplating a Dean route from Hocking south to Lawrence County twisties vs Zaleski area south to Lawrence.

Maybe I need to do like drc32-0 mentioned and explore more county roads and county highways?

What can you all recommend for the best roads in SouthEast Ohio in terms of roads full of the tightest "15mph" type twisties? Don't get me wrong, I love so much of what I have ridden in SEO, but a lot of the awesome roads are tighter sweepers or higher speed twisties. Maybe I am remembering wrong, but I feel like riding in the Hocking area, I recall a lot more braking going into many many tight turns that required lower speeds, and leaning my bike a substantial amount harder in Hocking as evidenced by the sheer amount of times I have scraped my 4-1 exhaust's muffler on the pavement while carving through turns there. the area around 565/537/260 had what I remembered being the most tighter curves on my last ride east of 33 south of 70, with 255 coming in right behind those. 78, 26, 676, etc were all great fun, but the tighter stuff is what I found myself really wanting to seek out after that ride.

Not looking like I'll get a chance to ride this one this year, but thought I'd post this map and save it, as I think this will be one of the best routes I could pick to take two friends on their first really in depth SE Ohio ride to show them the best curves and scenery possible. I was torn between Revenge Rd to Snortin Ridge Rd to Jack Run vs Revenge to Clear Creek Rd to 33 to 374 to hit the big hill climb and the Cantwell Cliffs area... Then either route hitting 374 south to Big Pine. Also may do as Mary mentioned and skip Chapel Ridge Rd (I'd be doing it the downhill direction, which is definitely one that can bite ya) and hit the really nice stretch of 56 from 374 to South Bloomingville and then backtrack on 56 again to the 328/278/691 area. Mary, now that you mentioned frequently doing 56 to and from that gas stop in South Bloomingville, I am pretty sure myself and two other friends briefly chatted with you and 2 guys you were riding with there while we were all gassing up our bikes (the 3 of us on vintage japanese bikes from the late 70's) mid-november of last year. I remember Ducati's and riders in full gear, and the cooler temps, and remembering that we were the only die-hard riders out that day. Small world. I mapped out 56 to 691N to Nelsonville, thinking that 691 was probably more fun than the northern half of 278. Am I right? 356 is out of the way for this trip unfortunately, but I have very fond memories of that one until my buddy ended up backwards with the bike on it's side slid into a ditch at the southern end! Could detour 328S to 278N to 56E to 691 for an extended tour. past Nelsonville, detouring off 78 for a short bit on 685 is WELL WORTH missing that section of 78 and riding the mundane 13 N to get back to 78. As I suspected from driving the VW Rabbit Pickup on it last winter, 685 is 4 or 5 miles worth of the funnest fresh pavement I can imagine riding. Great turns, great elevation changes, beautiful wooded setting going up to a ridge and back down...wow. Roller coaster and awesome turns. 78 Surely from 13 to way past Burr Oak is definitely one of the funnest and most scenic roads in Ohio. The high altitude ridgetop vistas for a few miles starting a mile or two past Burr Oak State Park entrance give you some of the best high altitude views you can find in Ohio. The road is just endless ridgetop curves sweeping all over the place and getting twisty here and there. Not the most technical, but an absolute MUST RIDE - definitely one of the most enjoyable. it mellows out a slight bit before McConnelsville, but still not too bad. After McConnelsville, it is boring for a while, but nearing the Big Muskie Miner's Memorial and I77, it gets fairly fun again. I mapped it out ditching 78 before McConnelsville and hitching a ride back towards Columbus on 669, which was just paved in 2012 and has some really fun curves east of the river there. Towards Somerset, it mellows out, you can take 757 out of Somerset to 204 (starts out with some mild fun hills./curves) which is a country road route that parallels I70. OR you can take 668 N out of Somerset to I70. 668 is pretty darn fun, caught me by surprise with it's big hills and several really fun curves - unsuspecting from the map view. Watch out for gravel and dirt on the road from farm tractors in a few parts close to the highway! Well, that's really about the best day trip intro to the best twisty and scenic roads in SE Ohio that I can come up with, other than the part 2 trip if my buds want more - hitting 260/565/537/255/536/800. I didn't ride 536 as I heard it could really use re-paved, but it looks absolutely WICKED on the map! I rode 255 both ways and skipped most of 800. 255 was a blast definitely. 260S to 565E to 537E to 26 E was definitely a blast packed full of fun roads curves and hills, as was the other way doing most of the entirity of 26 westbound with a detour on 537E to 260S. that was an awesome ride.... definitely the best stretch of 260 there. 565E to 537E was equally awesome (connector on 260N for a minute between the two). I'm trying to get a spare engine to build up a 920cc GS750 mill this winter, and my buddy just build a modded out KZ750 big bore setup, so this may be a good late April long route to do as a new engine break-in ride! Thanks again for all the pointers. The back way into Hocking I was tipped off on from you guys a year ago, and wow Revenge Rd is a blast... Even Groveport to Lithopolis to Mt Zion to Crumley to Delmont isn';t too bad, but it;s only 34 minutes from my house to 33 and 22 taking 33, so that's not so bad either. I really appreciate all of your feedback on here. I just have to be more careful about the twilight hours and riding during deer mating season from now on!

Can someone give me a rundown on their opinions on these roads? I've ridden 278 many times, and have been meaning to hit up the rest, but haven't really had the chance. I think I hit 278S to 56E to 356S on my way to Kentucky once. 356 had lots of tight turns, and and at the very end of it just a few turns before the end at Rt 50, my buddy scraped hard when leaning and put his bike down... 278 is good fun, but the only 5 star part I thought was the big hill climb if headed SW. I'm trying to map out a route the back way into Hocking down to 56 between 664 and 374 (one of my favorites in Ohio for curves and scenery), and end up on 685/13/78 past Burr Oak State Park. Looking to take the extended scenic route either on a good late fall day or potentially the casual "new engine break-in ride" for early spring after I up my 844cc GS750 to 920cc's. 356 to 691 is almost the same road if you connect them on 56, but if 328 and 278 are worth critiquing north of 56 vs south of 56, let me know, as there are a lot of possibilities of loops to do in this area. Knee is recovering from the deer strike on OH-550 11 days ago thankfully.

Knee is starting to feel better, but some random movements are still inflicting intermittent pain under my kneecap. I got all the parts to fix the damaged lights/gauges/plug wire (everything other than my dented tank) at Rice Paddy for $100. Gotta screenprint some new gauge faces onto the $15 budget set of badass looking GS400X gauges. If I need a new tank, I found a guy in SW Ohio with a spare gs750 engine I can use for my 920cc build, a good gas tank, and the fender I was looking for to do my rear end makeover

This is a shot right after the deer tried it's hand at bodywork using my knee as the tool to put cafe racer knee dents into my GS750... demolished my headlight bucket/lens/bulb, turn signal and bracket, speedometer, #1 spark plug and resistor cap end, stator cover gasket leaking oil now, and my knee swollen up like a grapefruit. It is amazing that I was able to stay on two wheels and didn't get more severely injured. Some force beyond me was looking out for me, trying to give me a "gentle" warning of the forces of nature and man-made machines...

Wow that was some nice riding, I'll give a better recap later. 255&537 were awesome! Unfortunately got off to a late start & was approaching the good stretch of 550 @ 440pm @50-55mph when a deer bolted outta nowhere right in front of me! I kept it on 2 wheels, but it smashed my speedo headlight & turn signal to pieces, bashed my knee real hard between the deer's skull & my gas tank, so now I have a "knee dent" in my tank on one side. Literally. Knee is all swollen & antler or tooth of deer gouged thru all three layers & took a chunk of skin out. Wow am I ever lucky. I am always the one to tell my friends "watchbout for deer, ESPECIALLY starting 1 hour before sunset." I've seen many many deer on my bike, but they always look scared from the loud exhaust & aggressive camshaft sound, and usually run the other direction. Don't ever get too comfortable riding in deer country! Waiting for the AAA tow, I saw several locals driving well below the speed limit after dark, and I'm sure that's why. I almost rode it to athens to try & get a bulb, but the lens was gone, probably not a safe way to travel home at sunset on US33... Wow I am lucky. Be more careful than I was...please! Hope my knee is just swollen & bruised. Amazing that I didnt go down. Broke my #1 plug wire resistor cap & bent the top of the plug even. Deer fur stuck in the plug wire & headlight trim...

What time are you heading out? Just woke up at 7am to some serious 30-35 mph wind gusts, and was starting to doubt wether I should go for the long route or not. That route is similar, but I had read a lot of bad reports on 536 road conditions, so I skipped it. I need to adjust my clutch and throw on my saddlebags and fix some food, so it may be 830-9 before I head out with any decisions on the ride. Let me know if you want any company.