[Mr_Ed]

A group of friends and I are considering the Ohio Windy 9 for a 4-day ride next June.

Is anyone here familiar with the area? Would you recommend it for a bunch of old coots with a motorcycle habit?

 

[Coffee man]

I've rode some of it with a bunch of friends. It was a couple years pre pandemic. The 555 has some blind hills and corners that might be a little exciting if you are going a bit too fast! We enjoyed our rides and would go back. I've got the fabric patch sitting on top of my computer.

 

[Aroxx]

Looks like there is plenty of good riding out there to keep you busy for 4 days. I’ve added the area to my bucket list. I was searching these forums recently to see who else reads RoadRunner magazine and found the below thread. Looks like our friend @the Ferret is familiar with the area. Maybe he’ll chime in and give us the inside scoop on best roads. Seems to me like the Triple Nickel gets mentioned by everybody so probably a good one to incorporate in your plans.

The RoadRunner “Shamrock” Tour is out of Zanesville and is in the April 2021 edition although Ferret mentions Marietta as a better home base for day rides.

Sport-touring Motorcycle mag

Interesting, with so many motorcycle magazine biting the dust, RoadRunner magazine still appears as good as they always have been. This forum is right in-line with what they do, I believe. Their April edition's lead story is of bike comparisons for sport touring? My interest intrigued. They are...

www.fjrowners.com

 

[Mr_Ed]

Thanks for the input. As I said, we're a bunch of old coots, mostly on Harleys or metric cruisers, Goldwings, a couple of trikes. One other man and I are the only two sport tourers in the group. Occasionally, two or three of us will break away on a much more spirited ride, but generally we're a speed limit group out to see the sights.

 

[the Ferret]

All of south east Ohio is a motorcyclist's playground. I have ridden many if not most of the roads in the area and do belive Marietta is a better base for riding in the area, but its all within easy riding distance of Athens. I think Zanesville would be on the northern edge, Marietta on the southern edge and Athens about in the middle.

My group are going to be riding the Windy 9 specifically as mapped out in August. I normally plan my own routes but we thought this time we'd let The Athens Tourism Council do the work with their free maps and we will see how they do.

You can't hardly go wrong with any state route in the area . I will say I prefer the southern half of 555 much more than the northern half due to it being less technical with fewer blind turns and rises, but some guys like the thrill of cresting a rise and not knowing which way the road goes lol.

If you are talking June 2023, I can give you a full report on the Windy 9 in about 2 months.

 

[the Ferret]

Btw if you youtube Ohio Windy 9 there are lots of available vids

 

[Mr_Ed]

Btw if you youtube Ohio Windy 9 there are lots of available vids

Thank you. That would have dawned on me -- sooner or later

 

[the Ferret]

Here are some great routes we ride out of Marietta. You can see they go all around Athens and almost to Zanesville (and one great loop into West Virginia). Many are the same roads covered by the Windy 9

 

[the Ferret]

blow it up and look at all the squiggles lol