A couple of weeks ago, I had the opportunity to ride - so I headed out to Rt 555 that I heard about. Some people labeled it Dragon Jr. - IMO - a good "Ohio" road, but not near as enjoyable as the Dragon or the Smokies

Rt 555 from Zanesville South is about 70 miles of back roads. Rt 555 deposits you out at the Ohio River a few miles from Parkersburg WV.

It was a brisk morning (50) when I left my house at 7AM. My wife left the same time in her cage for work. Hmmmmm, I suspect I burnt a few brownie points on that coincidence.

Took Rt 94 South (starting halfway between Akron and Cleveland) to Rt 585 South into Wooster, then headed South on Rt 83 down to Millersburg (Amish country). While I was cold on the bike, the Amish in their mode of transportation (horse drawn carriages) didn't look any warmer than me. The temperature (I have a thermometer on the bike) began to rise to near 60.

After travelling thru Millersburg, I contined on South on Rt 83 into Coshocton. I split off onto Rt 16 over to a postage stamp town called Trinway (I've live in Ohio all of my 50+ years and never, never heard of this town). After passing thru this tiny town, I picked up 60 South which took me into Zanesville to pick up Rt 555. In Zanesville, I stopped for gas and to warm up in the local Micky D's. I could barely hold the coffee cup as my hands were frozen. (dummy me - I only had my light gloves with me rather than the really warm ones!)

From Zanesville, Rt 555 South to the Ohio River - about 70 miles of tight turns, sweepers, hill climbs (some blind with a roller coaster effect). Then accross Rt 7/50 into Parkersburg, WV. I then super slabbed it home on Rt 77 North - total trip was 400+ miles. Fun day.

Rt 555 - lots of turns, even 150 degrees, lots of tree coverage, farms, and country life (more corn and cows than anything else). As it had rained the night before, and the leaves were already just starting to turn, I had to be careful in the turns due to the leaves. An occasional corner of stones (farm tracker tracks in some of the corner dirt) was another pain.

All in all - I recomend Rt 555 to anyone with a wish to ride the country with a challenging road. By the way, mid afternoon, it got to 70 degrees!.

Here are some pics of Rt 555.



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more pics


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and more pics


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Thanks for the pics. Me an a 'bro ran it about 2 months ago and went a route similar to yours from Wooster down to Coshocton and picked it up outa Zanesville. We didn't run it all the way down tothe river as we picked up another road which took us east to Marietta. We rode Route 7 north out of there and found what is billes as Ohio's version of the dragon. Route 536 which you pick up in a little town called Hanibal. It runs about 10.5 miles and my 'bro said it made 555 seem like to Bonneville salt flats. I've run the original dragon and can tell you 536 is a hell of a road which is a hell of alot closer to get to for me. Even though it was a Saturday there were no squids around.THe road ends into SR 78 which is another great road and takes you back to 7. Give it a try sometime if you get the chance, you will enjoy it. Check out the DVD"Ohio RIde Guide" if you get the chance. It has many excellent roads on it.

 

Rt 250 from New Philly on down is a great road also, as is Rt 9, long sweepers, can really keep your speed up.

 

Yes indeed that road will take you past Tappan Lake one of the prettiest in Ohio. You gotta love it.