Chuck78

How does Sykes Ridge Rd compare to 556, aside from being much narrower? I'm trying to plot the most tight/low speed turns as I can for a ride that is going to be 8 hours of saddle time to be able to hit my favorite roads in the 536/255/260 area. Was going to slab it on 70 to barnesville or somewhere & hit 536 first thing. I found some info from mj88 on a supermoto forum on good backroads and road conditions from one month ago.

I know some will say 555, which I will give another try, but I wasnt that impressed with it, and there are so many farms that there was a lot of debris in the road from all the harvest activity. Also,not as forested and scenic as I'd hoped for, farms & massive clearcut hills were the bulk of it (as with 377's scenery).

I'm contemplating my last big ride of the year for sometime in October, and was hoping to get some input on the current conditions of 536. The past 2 years, I have heard a lot of bad things about culvert patches leading into turns, massive tar strips, & gravel. This summer, I have read or inquired on 3 accounts of rides there, and was treated with good feedback saying the road was fine. The only way I could justify the ride this time of year is if it were a mild weather dry day to where I wouldnt have to worry ad much about wet leaves & gravel washed into the road. The other condition was that I'd have to slab it to at least 668->669->>>->>556->7 so that I could hit it with more uphills. (Or slab it further to get big muskie drive to 556). Also, northwest bound will avoid the fabled 15mph decreasing radius right hand turn southbound that had sent many riders into the field next to it, so I hear. I rode 255, 26,78,565/260/537, 260 north of 26, 676, etc last year. Although there were some sections of 26,260,537&565,etc that had some fairly tight turns, I was really hoping for more tight 15-30mph turns & switchbacks than I found. 255 had some tighter ones imo,but was more medium speed sweepers than anything. Denny has recommended a few more roads that are tighter, but it seems as if 536 is more of what I was longing for, aside from some dangerous blind turns/rises/decreasing radius areas. I was contemplating the coshocton area, but it doesnt seem as tight as my favorite backroads in the hocking/burr oak/etc areas, so the only other alternative was to do the long haul to 536/260/255/556 etc. 258 & a few roads around Cambridge seemed like a worthy destination, but the distance is a bit far for lack of many similar roads in the area. Opinions? Conditions/reports?

Ahhh bummer. I did seem to have a lot of trouble plotting out a route of the real tight squiggleys on the maps in that area, but I do find often that the turns can be much tighter than they appear on the maps. We still may try for a route up that way, but other than the tightest section of 60 (below 520), 520 btwn 514 & 62, 715 (still bad surface?), and a few others, it looks like I'd have to take 541 east of choshocton way over towards Cambridge until it turns into OH-658 Hopewelll Rd - which is a much longer stretch of decent looking frequent twisties, & then before Cambridge, head west on OH-209 Bloomfield Rd for more twisties. Then before catching OH-83 off 209, jog west on Stoney Point Rd to catch a short set of twisties on 83 above where we would've intersected 83 on 209. Then we could head south to 313(?) and then west to catch the very twisty part of 669 by the river,and then 555 south to 78 to 685,& maybe try to bypass the eastern section of 685 and try out a more twisty chip sealed Oregon Ridge Rd to intercept back at 685 at the really good part. I might try that route in reverse since I know hocking/685/78/555/669 are great, and we could try out 83/209/658/541 and see if we want to continue or bail out on the quickest decent route home after 5 hours of riding

This, 520,& the littlecarbsbigsmiles co rd 19/22 routes - are these more medium to low speed curve packed roads than the tightest of the hocking area? When I get home on my pc, I'll try & plot out some routes. I think I'll try the co rd route, 715 walhonding rd, maybe some of 541 & 520, & may incorporate 83 south into it. The state route that's also called Hopewell Church Rd or something, NW of Cambridge, looked very promising.Not sure if I'll stay in that area gor a more thorough ride, or take it south from Cambridge or 83 to south of I-70 to 669/78/685

Yes, that sounds fantastic! A lot of people prefer the 35mph curves, but I really like a lot when there are plenty of tight 15-25mph curves thrown in there...

http://goo.gl/maps/cKk58 or http://goo.gl/maps/M5Y3v I'll have to look into all those back roads with google satellite view or street view to see if they are gravel.... Any ideas?

My friends wanted to ride out US-62 next weekend and hit the hills out in the Coshocton/Millersburg area. I suggested some routes in Hocking instead, but they said they've ridden Hocking a million times. I urged them to check out some of the back roads that I ride down there, and they were interested then, but I'm still trying to justify a good twisties ride up NE of Columbus. Maybe even up towards Mohican. What roads/routes can you all point me towards? Can any routes up that direction compare to the best of Hocking? I had mapped this out a few years ago, but never actually rode it since becoming obsessed with SE OH and West Virginia - http://goo.gl/maps/gK5ZC - basically 62 east from Danville to 83 south down south of I-70 to more familiar roads. I had started a map of that area with a few county roads that someone recommended on here, but google didn't save it to "My Places" correctly (typical... have to create a map in my maps, or just save the URL from a driving directions link, not trying to save a directions link to "My Places."). Something like Co Rd 22, Co Rd 19, Co Rd 323, Co Rd 324. Any other good recommendations?

Next time, extend your ride a little, and take 668 off of I-70 (or catch 204E heading south from I-70 exits for Pickerington or Buckeye Lake or the Rt204 exit). 668 has some massive roller coasters right off the highway, however! 204 is just flat straight backroads that parallel the highway. I think it is in the town of Somerset that you can catch 669 East off of 668. Take that to the river, head south along the river, and catch OH-78 scenic byway. the second have of 669 and the second half of 78 are AWESOME, far better than 668. 669 is newer pavement, 78 is older but still decent in most parts. I-70E / 668S / 669E / 78W / 13S / 685W (!!!awesome little stretch!) / 78W takes you into Nelsonville at 33. Very nice ride, nothing too terribly challenging but tons of great curves, and 78 gets to be INCREDIBLE VERY HIGH ELEVATION ridgetop views for about 12 miles as you pass Burr Oak State Park and Lake, and is also nonstop 30-40mph curves mixed in with sweepers. This is an easy-directions ride and is fun and curvey but not too technical. the Hocking route I posted is A LOT of directional turns to keep track of, but well worth if if you are looking for the most curve packed route. Many blind rises and tight blind turns, some decreasing radius turns, lots of technical turns.. Worth if though. From Nelsonville, you can take 278W through Lake Hope, which gives you a really nice big hillclimb and twisties right off the bat after you get out of town, then is pleasant sweepers all through Lake Hope/Zaleski Forest. Make a right at 56 and take it to Hocking. Get gas at 664 and 56, turn around and right that awesome 3 mile stretch of 56 again, then north on 374. 278W / 56W (heads NW) / gas - 56E / 374N (follow signs, many turns to stay on route) / dumps you at 33. you can also take 664 on that route, but 374 is better. 664 takes you almost to Pickerington if you want another simple-directions route home other than 33. You can take the Sugar Grove Rd to Logan Hornsmill Rd route off of 33 just north of 374 and catch 664 north there as well. That whole area (south of any of those roads) has a wealth of great riding roads. Some backroads are more straight and some are bumpy tar and chipseal surface, but lots of decent ones to find as well.

From another new member intro that I just posted, here is one of my favorite 4 hour or so rides that takes you to the best roads that you can find in the best part of Ohio - Southeast of Columbus! Without using GPS, I usually type up abbreviated directions and print them in small font in a list that I can cut out into a vertical rectangle, and use clear packing tape to affix them to the center of my tach face. http://goo.gl/maps/NUmD5 (take 33E to 33E Lancaster bypass)----------------------------R on US-22L on Delmont Rdveer L on Stoney Ridge RdL on Hamburg RdR on Christmas Rock RdL on S Broad St (40 feet)R @ prison - Revenge RdL on Clear Creek RdR on 33E (SUNOCO)R on Opossum Hollow RdR on 374SR on 374S/180WL on 374SL on Big Pine RdR on 664SL on Harble-Griffith RdR on Ilesboro RdL on 374S (to end)R on 56W (TO GAS)-------------------------------head back E on 56L on Chapel Ridge RdR on 374SR on 56ER on 664NL 374NR on 374N (veer L@678 to stay on 374)R on 374N/180E2nd L on Jack Run Rdcont. on Snortin Ridge RdL on Clear Creek RdR on Revenge RdL on S Broad @ prisoncont. on Christmas Rock RdL on Hamburg RdR on Delmont(quick way home:R on 22E, L on 33W)------------------------------(back roads home)cont. on Delmont @US-22L on Crumley RdR on Mt Zion Rd (to end)L on Lithopolis Rd NWR on 317N Hamilton RdL on 33W (written directions are similar to map but not exactly identical, the back road rural way home in the written directions is shown on the map as the way to get there). Starts out casual country roads that are nice with curves. Then turns to big roller coaster hill straight roads, then back roads that have a few curves but bumpier road surface, then at the prison the roads get really good! Once you get on 374, things are all smooth pavement after that for the most part and EXCELLENT roads, curves, scenery. There are many cliffs and waterfalls hiking spots you can stop at. Bring the lady and make a day of it! Lots and lots of curves and scenery. Enjoy!

Welcome! http://goo.gl/maps/At4K2 There you go, that is one of the only two fun curvey rides that I enjoy on the northern half of the city. That one is very easy to navigate, and that's a route to and from Clintonville for you! The other nearby ride is up around Hoover Reservoir and Alum Creek Lake, and involves Red Bank Rd, Sunbury Rd, and some others and ends up at Hogback Rd. More complicated, but if you spend some time on google maps, you can map out a similar route to arrive at those points.

Without using GPS, I usually type up abbreviated directions and print them in small font in a list that I can cut out into a vertical rectangle, and use clear packing tape to affix them to the center of my tach face. Mileage may be helpful if totally unfamiliar, but here is a similar route to what I posted the 2nd time. a ride we did a while back. 3 sections, which I'd interchange during the ride to guide me through. You can do the whole route this way and have a way more awesome time than just seeking out 2 or 4 roads from it and riding from memory... As you can see, I really like that short stretch of 56, as I looped it a second time to hit Chapel Ridge Rd and still do the big 664 hill and the cool ravine descent on 374 beyond that... (take 33E to 33E Lancaster bypass)----------------------------R on US-22L on Delmont Rdveer L on Stoney Ridge RdL on Hamburg RdR on Christmas Rock RdL on S Broad St (40 feet)R @ prison - Revenge RdL on Clear Creek RdR on 33E (SUNOCO)R on Opossum Hollow RdR on 374SR on 374S/180WL on 374SL on Big Pine RdR on 664SL on Harble-Griffith RdR on Ilesboro RdL on 374S (to end)R on 56W (TO GAS)-------------------------------head back E on 56L on Chapel Ridge RdR on 374SR on 56ER on 664NL 374NR on 374N (veer L@678 to stay on 374)R on 374N/180E2nd L on Jack Run Rdcont. on Snortin Ridge RdL on Clear Creek RdR on Revenge RdL on S Broad @ prisoncont. on Christmas Rock RdL on Hamburg RdR on Delmont(quick way home:R on 22E, L on 33W)------------------------------(back roads home)cont. on Delmont @US-22L on Crumley RdR on Mt Zion Rd (to end)L on Lithopolis Rd NWR on 317N Hamilton RdL on 33W

I just re-read that and realized using "right around..." could confuse people with directional turns... do not make a right at the Rock Mill/Covered Bridge/Falls, I meant that IN THE VICINITY OF the Rock Mill/Covered Bridge, you will be looking for Mt Zion Rd... The Mill sits down a steep hill from Lithopolis Rd, but is very readily visible as long as you are scanning the scenery. Mt Zion Rd is beyond it just a little ways. Mt Zion has many short but tight and fun curves, contrary to what it appears like on the map. The rest of the back route to Hocking up to Christmas Rock Rd appears very straight, but is actually massive roller coaster hills to keep you smiling until the end of Christmas Rock Rd for a sweet surprise that pops you out at the prison... Then hang a right and enjoy the curve/hill packed Revenge Rd. In that second/shorter route, you get Jack Run and Snortin Ridge Rd's to exit from Hocking to Revenge Rd instead of Clear Creek and one of the best parts of 374 (best for the entrance since it is a MASSIVE hill climb getting there from cbus with a hairpin or two and a few great curves, more fun than the descent). I also mapped the Lithopolis Rd route as well so you can get more rural miles and less divided highway. Enjoy!

http://goo.gl/maps/NUmD5 Shorter loop with just Hocking with a few extras on the return trip, enjoy!

Here ya go, my welcoming-you-to-the-site gift, one of the best twisties rides you can possibly do anywhere near Columbus, or all of Ohio for that matter... 1/2 of clear creek rd is pretty darn rough, but the scenery and the smooth half plus being able to link it with Revenge Rd are very well worth it. http://goo.gl/maps/0URjz If you want to stay off of the 35 minute divided highway route on 33 as much as possible, take 317 Hamilton Rd southbound off 33 to Groveport Rd, make left, make right on Lithopolis Rd NW, right around the Rock Mill/Covered Bridge/Waterfall, hang a right on Mt Zion Rd to end, left on Crumley, right on Delmont - which is where the route starts on that map at Delmont and US-22 (just west of US-33 and US-22). you can also intercept Lithopolis Rd southbound off of pretty much every exit after 317). In Hocking, Thompson Rd (Thompson Ridge Rd as it is called just west of 374) and a few segments of 374 and 664 are the only crucial roads missed in the Hocking area on that route map. Kreashbaum has a few nice curves also, and Goose Creek Rd is good. Do Thompson as a one way and turn around, nothing fun to link to at the end unless you need gas just north on 56 there in Laurelville. Oh-78 past Burr Oak is like the big brother to Thompson Ridge Rd, very epic ridge views but much further. You can also interchange a segment of 678 (left turn at 374/180) to skip the flat part of 374 that merges with 180, but you miss some other good hills after 374 splits again south from 180. and be extra cautious on Harble-Griffith and Chapel Ridge, many many off camber and decreasing radius turns can bite you bad if you aren't expecting them - take blind corners slow until you've ridden it several times.

This photo is from the same website I linked above, and is the road to the top of Spruce Knob: "Coming back down from Spruce Knob – now THESE are hairpins! Who needs Deals Gap? Not me!" Yet another hairpin curve pic of CR 33/4 up to the top of Spruce Knob: Well well worth the ride just for the views, but the road is nothing short of an amazing ride itself... And a good note on Smoke Hole Rd CR28/11, 2, 2/3: [ PLEASE NOTE ] If you decide to ride Smoke Hole Road, it is tempting to think of it as another Deal’s Gap road-racing course. IT IS NOT! This is an outdoor recreational area with lots of families (and children) stopped along the narrow road for fishing, hiking, camping, etc. We do not want to have motorcycles banned on this road just because of a few irresponsible racer-wanna-be’s. Ride responsibly. The speed limit is 35MPH. If you’re in a hurry, stick to the main highway. There is also fine gravel on many of the corners, so Racer-Boys may quickly find themselves over the side of the hill hoping someone comes along and finds them. There are very few guard rails to keep you from ending up in the river or in the bottom of a ravine.

I believe the author made a typo, and the sign is showing the county route # 72, as he continued to talk about it in the next few photos: "Rt 72 about 10 miles east of Hendricks. Motorcycle heaven! Watch out for gravel, though." This road ends at the Canaan Valley region just northwest of the Monongahela area (Seneca Rocks/Dolly Sods/Spruce Knob/Smoke Hole/etc). Pretty close to some of the great stuff that I love so much.

I'm very curious about Rt 7 in WV after reading some ride reports on my lunchbreak and seeing this photo/sign: http://www.ridingwv.com/FolderStreetReports/WV06.htm "After just a few miles past Hendricks on Rt 7, this sign told me of good times to come." Denny or anyone else, do you have any knowledge or experiences of this road?

When I said "outside turns," I meant a right hand turn with a steep hill/cliff on the inside and a steep dropoff on the outside of the turn across the other lane, where you have no visibility through the turn. Inside turns would be me referring to say a left turn into the crotch of the hill/mountain gauley, where the only possible sightline obstructions you would have on the hillside would be trees down the slope.

Made it to the Monongahela National Forest area this weekend, mixed purpose trip, and far too short, but still made it FINALLY! We took the express route down since it was 5.5 hours google maps road time. We left a little later in the morning than we planned, but it was still quite brisk. It took us nearly 8 hours to get there with gas stops every 100 miles or less, and two of those being "I'm frozen solid and can't feel my fingers" breaks for 35-45 minutes. It was supposedly 62 degrees when we left (and all overcast). It didn't get much warmer until well over halfway into our trip, and then I believe we were both feeling comfortable enough when the sun came out and it was 65. Quilted lined leather jacket, hooded sweatshirt, double layer carhart jeans, boots, and some non-vented uninsulated gloves did me well enough, but I was having to make use of the air cooled engine's warm cooling fins on occasion as hand warmers. Coming in on 33 east (from 33E 69 miles, 50E 112.5 miles, I-79 19(?) miles) was the highlight of the arrival into the area. My nice refresher ride can tell you more than I had previously rambled about on just the best of the best. 33 from Buckhannon to Elkins is basically a divided highway, but still not a bad ride, lots of elevation changes, tons of long sweeping curves, great scenery. Elkins to Harmon was a nicer ride, down to mostly 2 lanes (maybe some truck lanes on the steep hills), and was full of great scenery and nice sweepers, etc. Nice ride. 33 from Harmon to Seneca Rocks... wow, this is where it starts to get really good. Steeper climbs, very necessary uphill "slow trucks use right lane" additions on the BIG hill climbs, some pretty good tighter curves, great scenery... As soon as you come around a right hand curve heading southbound and see a sign "entering Pendleton County," This is were it gets to be a world class road... 10 feet later, you will see the steep grade warning sign, and the "ALL TRUCKS MUST PULL OVER IN TRUCK LANE AND CHECK BRAKES" warning - a 250' long brake checking pull-out right at the top of a long long steep downhill (with INCREDIBLE VIEWS). Basically every time I came across a sign on any road in this area that read "entering Pendleton County," it meant that the already fantastic scenery is about to be double as spectacular in terms of mountain views and natural sights... After this US-33 East entrance into Pendleton County, you go down a very steep descent for quite a ways, and make a very nice hard left turn, then a short and steep descent to an incredibly nice hairpin turn (along some nice rock faces?), and then many really nice turns after that as well. Going westbound home on Sunday, that serious hairpin on the wider radius outer uphill lane was probably my most thrilling curve of the whole trip... Maybe the only time that I've ever gone to the very edges of my tread. I've been cornerning pretty low lean angles for my comfort zone for years, but usually still have the rubber mold nubs on the last 3/8" of my tread or so. Very exhilarating, and very pleasing that all my brake/suspension/wheels/chassis/weight-loss work on my vintage japanese sport bike has all paid off quite well. Beyond that, you are at Seneca Rocks where 28/55 head northeast. BRAND NEW PAVEMENT this way, but this is not terribly exhilarating, but is INCREDIBLY SCENIC looking up at the mountain that Seneca Rocks sits on, and also North Fork Mountain behind it that comes towards the road as you go north. Once we set up our campsite on some remote backcountry site along a beautiful stream, all I had time to ride was CR28/11 and CR2/3. Amazingly tight and twisty road, almost perfect pavement (was gravel not too long ago, just paved in recent years), but not a high speed road at all... barely wide enough for two cars to pass each other on. Many very tight blind outside turns that you have to come into fairly wide at a cautious pace (in case a car comes barelling at you and you need to brake and rapidly steer to the apex earlier than planned) and apex the very inside pretty early just to make sure to cars are coming at you. Still, VERY well worth it. That time I didn't see any other vehicles on the road other than my wife catching up to me on her 77 GS550 and our buddy in a 4X4 who could not keep up with us at all. The wider radius outside turns with a better line of sight you can take faster, as well as almost all of the very tight inside turns (a bunch of hairpins even!), as long as you can see through the trees or around the turn to judge. There were a few gravel pulloffs (3 of which are hiking/mountain bike trailheads) where there may be a bit of pea gravel in the road on the left hand turn southbound. This road takes quite some time to get through due to the tightness, even with twisting the throttle quite a lot whenever I could safely do so... the most curve packed section was about 5+ miles and 50+ significant turns and hairpins, with a dozen or two more over the rest of the 11 mile duration. Mostly heavy tree canopy and hills, some hilly farmland. Great ride either direction and into the gorge to the south (mostly all very scenic long sweepers). My buddy who hauled our mountain bikes (bicycles) in his truck was driving us up Pub Rd 79 (forest road/4x4 path to some very remote homesteads and the North Fork Mountain hiking/mtb ridgetop trail - talk about EPIC!), and I really really had to keep yelling at him on 28/11 (dropping off shuttle vehicle for after a day long one way mountain bike ride) to not take the turns the way he was - in the middle of the road, or sometimes apexing on the shoulder on the other lane on the left turns... It was a very lucky reminder for me that if someone was doing that and I was coming, that I had better have my eyes and ears alert, and always on narrow roads take the turn cautiously and with a tight radius apex, as cars may be very likely to be coming head on towards you in YOUR lane on blind turns!!!! Saturday was mostly a mountain bike adventure on the North Fork Mtn trail. Absolutely phenomenal... sad to see near Pub Rd 79, what I thought was black fungus on a lot of the tree trunks was actually charred bark on the tree once we got up to the trail. Apparently there was a minor forest fire at the ridge near the backpacking campsite locations. a small portion of scattered trees and downed logs were charred a lot, for about 1/2 mile, but many were still growing strong. They need some Smokey the Bear signs up that way... The mtb trail ride north was absolutely breathtaking in more than one way. The most technical and boulder/rock garden filled trail I have ever seen or ridden, but a quick 30 to 150' climb to the ridge from almost anywhere had you sitting on rock formations at the tops of 40 to 150'+ cliffs overlooking the western side of the mountain, with Chimney Top to the far north being the absolute pinnacle spectacle. Such amazing views of all the mountains and hills to the west from almost 3000' above the south branch potomac rivers on their side (north and south forks). There were tons of climbs on the trail, but the downhill cruises were well worth it, as the mountain peaks up and down nonstop along the ridge. The 4 of us had many many bicycle wrecks, including my buddy almost breaking his ribs, and getting gashed up on 2 or 3 others, my wife getting her legs all scraped and bruised up, and me getting launched over the bars on a fast boulder-path downhill with my bike flying straight down on top of me... wrist pain is luckily all I had to suffer with... Well worth the thrill and amazing views Sunday on the way home, we took 220 south from CR2, which was a lot more enjoyable than I remembered it, and was a nice sweepers/valley warmup with some good turns and some decent hills and rock faces. Mountains in the background 360 degrees makes it even better. No real intense cornering, but a good route. 33 east of there is the amazing Shenandoah Mountain climb and then descent across the VA border... So many thrilling and incredible curves (many with very steep banks to them) and views that I can't even keep track them... take my word for it, this is a MUST RIDE. Really from Harmon, WV to Hinton, VA is all an absolute MUST RIDE on US-33, and must do in both directions,as so much of it is quite a bit better from one direction than the other. Very nice high mountain peak (4000+ feet I believe), amazing views the whole time... West of 220 are some pretty nice curves and smaller hills leading to the next mountain (North Fork Mountain). This mountain pass is like the little brother to the Shenandoah pass, but still has quite a lot of thrills to offer. slow truck lanes for passing the slow vehicles, great curves, nice bank so the curves. Towards the end of the mountain, there is one rock formation on the north side of the road (as the road goes around a long sweeper) that was very similar to Seneca Rocks but on a smaller scale, but more impressive due to the up close view from the side, where you see these massive rock outcroppings are merely just several feel thick but very very toweringly tall and quite wide. After Seneca Rocks westward, you get some still quite fun curves and climbs, the 2nd to last curve (the great hairpin) in Pendleton County - the uphill hairpin, wow... Great skill tester/thrill seeker... Sunday was quite brisk at 60 degrees in the towns, but much cooler at higher elevations. The afternoon got very nice and warm and sunny luckily. Even moving at a very fast pace, it still took us 6.5 hours to get home to Columbus from the backwoods Seneca Rocks/North Fork campsite with gas/restroom/food stops every 75-130 miles... Only saw one person pulled over the whole trip, with zero law enforcement presence the rest of the time other than a Pendleton Sherrif cruising around the little towns. Hope more of you can get out to enjoy this region. Unfortunately I didn't get to try out the Reddish Knob/Moyers Gap ride at all, and did not make it to US-250 over Shenandoah Mtn at all. Next time. With the colder temps at higher elevations (we're talking 15-30 degrees cooler and much more wind than at the base of the mountains), and fall coming, unless you want to wear winter gear, there are only about 4-5 weeks left this year to experience these roads on a long road trip from Ohio... Best of luck everyone, be safe. I tried posting photos, but the 1.96K max file size basically means only thumbnail sized pictures can be attached...bummer.

Denny, did you end up making it out to WV over the holiday weekend? Myself my wife Reda & a friend from Cleveland should all br riding our bikes there Friday early AM, with our friend driving out mountain bikes down in his truck. We'll be doing a fair amount of mountain biking (1 ride per day x3) & that will tire us out a bit, but I am planning on taking us up and down Smoke Hole Canyon & Rd, 33 from Seneca Rocks into VA & down the road to Lake Skidmore (down the mountain on the VA side, looks great & twisty on the map - IF PAVED), & most likely (hoping to have enough time) to Check out Moyer's Gap Rd/Reedish Knib Rd. I will definitely get to ride the paved route to the top of Spruce Knob, as we are doing the shuttle plan for the mountain bike trails where we bicycle down the entire mountain & then I'll take a passenger back up on motorcycle to retrieve our friend's truck. Pedaling up nearly 4000' in elevation with knobby tires would nearly kill me! If I get rral lucky, I can make it to Howard's Lick Rd @ Lost River State Park -OR- US250 on Virginia.

Back Mountain Rd east of Snowshoe is very tight, you might want to check that out. It's also very narrow, so make sure to proceed with extra caution around blind turns.

FODS 2015 Comes to Southern WV Routes All pavement routes Twisties South Loop http://goo.gl/maps/fVBnN Potts and Peters Mountains Turnabout http://goo.gl/maps/7W3HC New River Gorge Bridge by pavement http://goo.gl/maps/z6Oob Burke’s Garden by pavement http://goo.gl/maps/7sa2T Sights and Sounds Loop http://goo.gl/maps/8zt7X above are the routes that Denny had mentioned, but none of us seem to be able to view them on the FJR forums, but I found them on a different Yamaha forum.these are all south of the New River Gorge in southern West Virginia and western Virginia, and show some seriously twisty back roads connected with some more subtle roads. I really have to make it to the Back of the Dragon next year, and the route there (the 1st map link) that skips a lot of 16 southout of Beckley looks much much better than the portions of 16 skipped.

I got my time off request approved for Sept 12th, so the 3 day mountain biking & motorcycling trip in the Northeastern WV mountains is finally happening for me. I've barely had the time to ride this season, but am really craving more than just 2 Hocking rides & what the highway interchange ramps in town have to offer in the way of twisty roads... We'll be camping in the Seneca Rocks/Smoke Hole area most likely, or possibly Reddish Knob if warmer. The free backcountry sites there by Flagpole Knob & another are both very high elevation, so it will be 15-25 degrees cooler up there, & breezy... Sites sound great, however. I watched a video of Moyer's Gap Rd/Reddish Knob Rd, and it looked very nice although it must have been right after a huge storm (hurricane aftermath a year or 2 ago made the mountain bike trails impassable as well), as there were downed trees all over and debris everywhere... Looked very fun with many tight curves, although quite narrow, so blind turns you would not want to even attempt takng at higher speeds.

I got my time off request approved for Sept 12th, so the 3 day mountain biking & motorcycling trip in the Northeastern WV mountains is finally happening for me. I've barely had the time to ride this season, but am really craving more than just 2 Hocking rides & what the highway interchange ramps in town have to offer in the way of twisty roads... We'll be camping in the Seneca Rocks/Smoke Hole area most likely, or possibly Reddish Knob if warmer. The free backcountry sites there by Flagpole Knob & another are both very high elevation, so it will be 15-25 degrees cooler up there, & breezy... Sites sound great, however. I watched a video of Moyer's Gap Rd/Reddish Knob Rd, and it looked very nice although it must have been right after a huge storm (hurricane aftermath a year or 2 ago made the mountain bike trails impassable as well), as there were downed trees all over and debris everywhere... Looked very fun with many tight curves, although quite narrow, so blind turns you would not want to even attempt takng at higher speeds.