Ohio: Not as boring as you might think.
Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you: The Triple Nickel.
http://www.motorcycleroads.us/roads/oh555.html
Somehow, amazingly, I stopped on what must have been the only straightaway the entire length of this incredible road.
Now, I admit, I have yet to ride many roads-- no Dragon yet for me
-- but SR 555 has the following things going for it:
1. On a Thursday afternoon, it was emptier than my wallet after Superbowl weekend in Vegas. No traffic, no closures, NO POLICE.
2. The Dragon has 11 miles. SR 555 goes on for *60+*. And nearly every mile is an absolute roller coaster, with great pavement, often fantastic sightlines, and pretty scenery (if you like farms and rolling hills, which I do-- comes with the Midwesterner blood in my veins).
3. Did I mention how
empty this road is? A few pickup trucks, signs warning of Amish buggies (none seen, however), and a handful of motorcyclists out enjoying the ride-- nearly all HD riders that day, out for a stroll.
I, however, was out for a
ride.
Setup for corner. Enter corner. Exit corner. Setup for next corner. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat. Mile after mile, the Spyder ate up the road.
Giddy stupid laughter filled my helmet.
This is why I bought the bike. Months stuck in DC-area traffic paid for this trip, and I was happier than anything.
Zen focus on the ride, scanning for threats, rolling on the throttle and braking through curves (and, ummm, a few powerslides through gravel... 3 wheels wins again!).
The only downside? I was alone, and couldn't share my joy with anyone. I wanted to call everyone I knew to tell them how much fun I was having-- how much fun THEY could be having.
Actually, that's untrue- there were two other downsides.
First one? Good luck getting me to stop long enough to take photos. I'm such an awful tourist. I'd see the scenery, I'd *love* the scenery... and then speed past it. Want photos? There's Google. Want a visceral, soul-pleasing experience? Just keep riding. :doorag:
Still, I did stop in some town I didn't even get the name of to take a few snaps:
Southeast Ohio is poor. REALLY poor. Perhaps not West Virginia poor, but one theme that stuck with me through my trip is just how hard it is out there in rural America these days. Granted, some of the hamlets and towns (if you can even call them that) that I passed through were impoverished pretty much from the day they were founded, so economic downturn is nothing new for many of these folks. Still, I could see relatively new storefronts recently boarded up, or foreclosure signs littering unmowed yards. Times are tough, and I admit that I felt guilty more than once riding through on the Spyder-- a toy that, let's face it, cost more than some people make in an entire year. I thanked my good fortune, and every chance I got to stop for gas, food, what-have-you, I made sure to be as friendly as possible. Unsurprisingly, that friendliness was repaid tenfold by the many wonderful people who helped me with directions, gave me advice on what to see or do, and of course, bombarded me with questions about the Spyder. Ask away, ask away...
Sadly, all good things must end, and after an exhausting hour (oh, right-- the SECOND downside: 60 miles of twisties positively DESTROYED me, I was downright fatigued by the end), I passed through Zanesville onto I-70. As much as I hated the thought of superslabbing it (the original plan was to head west on the "National Road", US 40), I was running behind my schedule, I was dead tired, and I wanted to get to Columbus, my mid-point, before nightfall. I had no hotel reservations, just a general idea that I wanted to stay downtown near the statehouse/convention center, but I didn't want to putz around a strange city at night hunting for a home port.
So off into the sunset I rode, absolutely thrilled with a crazy long day of the best Spyder riding I've enjoyed yet.
More tomorrow...
that the GPS won't operate while charging via USB. Oh well.
