Tigerboy's Domain
Ohio Valley Vintage Trials : Jun 4 - 5, 2011

Getting to Ohio Valley : Jun 4   |    Vintage Trials Jun 4-5    |    Coming home from Ohio : Jun 5


I've been going to the Ohio Valley BSA Club Vintage Trials Rally for quite some time, off and on for the past several years, volunteering as a checker for the event. I thought I would finally write one of these trips up.

I get everything packed on my MZ Baghira, ready to head out.
Tent, sleeping bag, cot, etc. Even some raingear. It's a tight squeeze on that skinny bike of mine, but I've done it before.

I get on the road by 8:00am. I don't really want to leave much later than that as I always like to take a different back-roads way of getting there. The rally is about a 100 miles away, longer if I get lost, and it takes me about 3 hours wtih all my photo-stops. I like to get there by 11:00am.

I take US 250 to WV 218 where I head north to Fairview, but just before there I stop along this country road.

For a good reason since my odometer just changed over to 33333.3 (that's in km, not miles).
I even set the trip indicator to 333.3 so that every digit is a '3'

From WV 218 at Fairview, I take Cross Roads (County Rd 17) to WV 7, which I then take for a short jaunt east until I get to the turn-off north, that leads me over railway tracks as a long freight trains moves slowly across.

Past the train tracks, is a small town called Brave (just over the Mason Dixon Line in PA) where I get Jollytown Rd that will take me to PA 18. I notice this sign, which I love to see when I'm on my bike:

Connecting to PA 18, I think head north and get Aleppo Rd which I then plan on taking into Cameron, WV, but for some reason I get a bit lost and end up north of there, which turns into WV 891 as I cross back into WV. This meets up with US 250 at a crazy loop intersection. I head north a few miles and get a road I planned to take, which I find easily enough, called Fork Ridge Rd (County Rd 17). This road, according to the map, will lead me into Moundsville if I can stay on it.

It's a wonderful twisty undiscovered (by me) road that rides atop a ridge with great views, passing through farmland that you wouldn't expect to see in this part of the state. I love finding roads like this.

Now I descend upon a pretty large dealer of heavy farm equipment and tractors.

More of the farm scene view. Love my MZ shadow.

Now, the descent into the Ohio Valley begins, with the expected breathtaking view below.

That's the city of Moundsville. Near the top left of the photo, you'll note the old prison, which is now a historical museum.
They used to make the West Virginia license plates there until about 1995 when it closed.

The road descends into town, and conveniently leads me to a bridge that crosses into Ohio.

Welcome to Ohio, greeting me with a clean-coal plant on my left.
There will be more of that, as I'm now in what is well known as one of the Rust Belts in the country.

Crossing into Ohio, I'm now on OH 7, which will take me due north to the Vintage Trials meet which is a few miles north of Steubenville.

I come up to another coal-fired generating station on the right. Notice the railway tracks that bring the coal in.

The same coal plant, looking South.

I decide to scoot off OH 7 to take a closer look at some of the industrial buildings along the tracks.

In between two bridges. US 22 on the left, and an old railway bridge on the right.

Click here to take a look at the Ohio Valley Vintage Trials Rally

Click here to skip the vintage trials and simply follow my different way home


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Page created Jun 12, 2011