Best Road Close to Home

[Stichill_imp]

I've recently become enamored with a road I'd taken for granted. I live in the exurbs, which is a rural area that is gradually being encroached on by suburbia.

In general, heading anywhere north is a recipe for getting into increasing levels of traffic, while heading south takes you out into the countryside, but you have to pass through a few congested areas due to the presence of an interstate highway bisecting the region. How nice would it be if there was a road close by that was a great ride with very little traffic?

It finally dawned on me that such a road would be KY 177 Decoursey Pike between the city of Covington in the north and the town of Butler in the south. 177 runs along the west side of the Licking River. Since the Licking is largely unbridged between those two points, there are few crossroads. Since few people need to travel north-south on the east side of Kenton County, there's little traffic.

The road has a gently winding, meandering character. It's in the lowlands, so it's generally tree-lined and shady...welcome now that the weather is warmer.

It's the perfect road for me to ride after work. I head over there on Wolf Road, turn north and go to Dairy Queen in Covington / Latonia where I can get a chili cheese hot dog (colloquially a "cheese coney") and an ice cream cone. Then I head back south and enjoy the open road as soon as I leave the city limits. It's a 24 mile stoplight-free, stop-sign-free run to Butler, where I loop over onto 3185 and head north on 17 to home. Alternately, I can run a similar route in reverse after dinner, in fact doubling the miles by completing the run in both directions.

Great road for clearing the head.

[url=https://goo.gl/maps/nuS97n82fNcuFJs48]KY 177 Decoursey Pike




Perfect rest stop at the north end of the route.

[suhawk305]

All good road will lead you to a DQ!
Like you, I have my favorite local roads that are not too affected by influx of summer people.

[the Ferret]

Having a good local road is a blessing. Glad you found one.

Still liking that Turnip Stichill?

[Cormanus]

I was going to ask the same question as the Ferret.

Good to have an agreeable road on the doorstep. I miss that.

[GoldOxide_imp]

Good therapy to have Escape Routes.

[Stichill_imp]

All good road will lead you to a DQ!
Like you, I have my favorite local roads that are not too affected by influx of summer people.

Wisdom!

Having a good local road is a blessing. Glad you found one.

Still liking that Turnip Stichill?

Thanks, ferret. I credit you with the inspiration to appreciate the value of a great local ride. My prior mindset had been "unsatisfactory local ride" vs "long, far away but great ride". Now I feel like I can have a conveniently local yet great and satisfying ride.

I was going to ask the same question as the Ferret.

Good to have an agreeable road on the doorstep. I miss that.

The Thunderbird is a very easy motorcycle to like. I think it has a lot in common with the CB1100 inasmuch as it is relatively compact and heavy with copious torque. It has a lower center of gravity but a higher rake angle, so the low-speed handling is about a wash.

What it doesn't have in common with the CB1100 is sewing-machine smoothness. The Thunderbird rumbles under ordinary conditions and when the rpms climb it roars. If you are just puttering around, you rarely if ever need to exceed 3500 rpm and that is how most riders operate this bike. When I'm on my meditative rides, I do the same.

However if I want some excitement, the remedy is to run this modern DOHC liquid-cooled engine up over 4500 rpm where any resemblance to a docile, rumbling Harley disappears and the hooligan Triumph comes out to play. It is so lively and responsive and there's absolutely no distress running it to redline. It adds up to a bike that is very entertaining at any rpm.

On the downside, it's not as well-suited to touring as I'd hoped. Luggage capacity is limited. And the engaging character that makes it so enjoyable about town grows wearisome when you're laying down a lot of daily miles.

LongRanger and I chatted about it in a PM. Although I don't miss my BMW F800GT, I do miss the role it filled as a capable no-fuss touring platform.

[the Ferret]

Great description of the bike Hank. Thanks.

[LongRanger_imp]

Stichill, remember to keep your rose-colored goggles clean. The F800GT, while it does offer some endearing sport-touring qualities and capabilities, certainly is no smooth operator. Though economical, the engine does get vibey at speed (5000+ rpm, or about 80 mph). But to me, the bike's handling and agility make it a sweet ride. For some reason, my two ex-F800ST's were smoother than my current F800GT.

From what I've read, the new China-sourced 850 engines are considerably smoother than the Rotax-built 800's. Perhaps someday we'll see an F850GT.
As far as great roads close to home, I've got several, but top of mind is CO 5 (Mt. Evans Road) which runs from Bergen Park, CO, to Idaho Springs, CO, via Juniper Pass, Squaw Pass, and Echo Lake. 28 miles of excellent curves and magnificent views, and zero traffic during the week (watch out for bicyclists on weekends). The road begins two miles from my house and makes for a terrific loop. The tourists who never get off I-70 are oblivious.

[Stichill_imp]

Stichill, remember to keep your rose-colored goggles clean. The F800GT, while it does offer some endearing sport-touring qualities and capabilities, certainly is no smooth operator. Though economical, the engine does get vibey at speed (5000+ rpm, or about 80 mph). But to me, the bike's handling and agility make it a sweet ride. For some reason, my two ex-F800ST's were smoother than my current F800GT.

From what I've read, the new China-sourced 850 engines are considerably smoother than the Rotax-built 800's. Perhaps someday we'll see an F850GT.
As far as great roads close to home, I've got several, but top of mind is CO 5 (Mt. Evans Road) which runs from Bergen Park, CO, to Idaho Springs, CO, via Juniper Pass, Squaw Pass, and Echo Lake. 28 miles of excellent curves and magnificent views, and zero traffic during the week (watch out for bicyclists on weekends). The road begins two miles from my house and makes for a terrific loop. The tourists who never get off I-70 are oblivious.

Lol, I'm in no danger of getting bikesick for the F800GT!

Stichill, remember to keep your rose-colored goggles clean. The F800GT, while it does offer some endearing sport-touring qualities and capabilities, certainly is no smooth operator. Though economical, the engine does get vibey at speed (5000+ rpm, or about 80 mph). But to me, the bike's handling and agility make it a sweet ride. For some reason, my two ex-F800ST's were smoother than my current F800GT.

From what I've read, the new China-sourced 850 engines are considerably smoother than the Rotax-built 800's. Perhaps someday we'll see an F850GT.
As far as great roads close to home, I've got several, but top of mind is CO 5 (Mt. Evans Road) which runs from Bergen Park, CO, to Idaho Springs, CO, via Juniper Pass, Squaw Pass, and Echo Lake. 28 miles of excellent curves and magnificent views, and zero traffic during the week (watch out for bicyclists on weekends). The road begins two miles from my house and makes for a terrific loop. The tourists who never get off I-70 are oblivious.

Apparently the new 850 engines went from the 180-degree crank of the 800s to a 270-degree crank in the 850s, which I think is just great in a parallel twin. It was about seven years ago that Husqvarna took the same Rotax 800 twin, bored & stroked it into a 900, and gave it a 270-degree crank for their Nuda 900 and 900R. [url=https://www.cycleworld.com/2012/08/21/husqvarna-nuda/]Transformational to say the least.

Stichill, remember to keep your rose-colored goggles clean. The F800GT, while it does offer some endearing sport-touring qualities and capabilities, certainly is no smooth operator. Though economical, the engine does get vibey at speed (5000+ rpm, or about 80 mph). But to me, the bike's handling and agility make it a sweet ride. For some reason, my two ex-F800ST's were smoother than my current F800GT.

From what I've read, the new China-sourced 850 engines are considerably smoother than the Rotax-built 800's. Perhaps someday we'll see an F850GT.
As far as great roads close to home, I've got several, but top of mind is CO 5 (Mt. Evans Road) which runs from Bergen Park, CO, to Idaho Springs, CO, via Juniper Pass, Squaw Pass, and Echo Lake. 28 miles of excellent curves and magnificent views, and zero traffic during the week (watch out for bicyclists on weekends). The road begins two miles from my house and makes for a terrific loop. The tourists who never get off I-70 are oblivious.

Great description of the bike Hank. Thanks.

Ferret as a torque junkie, you'd probably get a kick out of it. You can ride the torque curve from 2000-3000 rpm all day long. It only starts lugging below maybe 1800 rpm.

[GoldOxide_imp]

Seems more and more modern inline twins are moving to the 270 degree configuration.