09-13-2014, 06:51 AM
I have this road. It's less than 10 minutes from the house . As a matter of fact I just returned from a spirited ride on the CB on my road. It's my favorite road to ride close to home. I could literally ride it every day and not tire of it. When I tell Dianne I'm taking the long way home she knows where I'll be, without me saying it. It's got it all. Just the right amount of lefts, rights, some of them S shaped sweepers and some pretty tight curves. It has elevation changes, starting level then pitching downhill, then uphill before leveling out, then plunging downhill again finishing with a long downhill curvy section. Officially called St Rt 743, it runs between St Rt 222 to St Rt 52 in Clermont Co. Ohio. I probably run my road 5 times a week. Always pure joy. The trick is hitting all the curves at just the right speed so that you don't have to brake. You metaphorically speaking become a snake slithering thru the grass. It's magical when you do it right. There's one sharp right hander near the bottom that nearly always makes me tap my brakes, spoiling the run, but I have, on occassion, run it cleanly top to bottom. It's clean, it's lightly travelled, the road surface is smooth and the speed limit is 55 MPH which I adhere to although a really good rider could probably ride it at 75 MPH or more. If it has a drawback at all, it's that early in the morning or late in the evening there's a good chance you'll see deer crossing this road. I did at 2:35 this afternoon. Other than that, it's perfect...well it could be 20 or 30 miles longer, as unfortunately my road's only 8 miles long.
One way to make it longer? Well, my son and I have a saying: " turn around, it's just as much fun going the other way", and if we purposely set out to ride this road, we will often run it down, turn around at the bottom and run it up and then turn around at the top and run it back down again for a 24 mile run.
I add my road to a few others (that are nearly it's equal) to make a loop. Todays ride included 4 or 5 of these roads in the loop and totaled 33 miles. Not a single stop light, and only a couple stop signs in todays 33 mile loop, and other than 1 section 1/2 mile long that's 45 mph, it's all a 55 mph speed limit. Easy on the throttle, easy on the brakes, easy on the transmission and easy on the rider. Add in a couple more roads and it's easy to make it a 50 mile loop.
Id I only have an hour to spare, I head for my road.
So do you have a road?
One way to make it longer? Well, my son and I have a saying: " turn around, it's just as much fun going the other way", and if we purposely set out to ride this road, we will often run it down, turn around at the bottom and run it up and then turn around at the top and run it back down again for a 24 mile run.
I add my road to a few others (that are nearly it's equal) to make a loop. Todays ride included 4 or 5 of these roads in the loop and totaled 33 miles. Not a single stop light, and only a couple stop signs in todays 33 mile loop, and other than 1 section 1/2 mile long that's 45 mph, it's all a 55 mph speed limit. Easy on the throttle, easy on the brakes, easy on the transmission and easy on the rider. Add in a couple more roads and it's easy to make it a 50 mile loop.
Id I only have an hour to spare, I head for my road.
So do you have a road?