First Day Trip

April 29, 2008 – One day trip to Marietta, Ohio (230 miles)

View a map of the ride

At my workplace, a group of riders has recently formed up and organized. Our first destination was Marietta, Ohio. Marietta is located in Southeast Ohio along the Ohio River. From Columbus, there are some great roads takign you there that are full of curves and hills.

Our rally point was the Flying J out in Kirkersville which is a little ways East of the Columbus area. When we arrived, firetrucks were there and the place was evacuated. It was kind of cool until we realized this meant that there would be no breakfast. We filled up and hit the road at 9:15 AM. It was brisk morning and in the high 50s. The weather got better by the hour for the entire day.

Not only was this the first ride for us as a group. It was also my first long ride on my new bike. I was very excited.

The first small town we passed through was Baltimore. We stopped and picked up some snacks to hold us over until lunch. This will sound strange but I was very much in awe over the first sights of farmland and sweeping fields. I’ve been living in the city for a long enough time to cause that.

The miles started piling on. Hills and Curves came and went. It was fantastic. We started passing through town after town. They main streets were lively. People always waved as we rode by. When we entered Somerset, the town center was filled with people that had just started a large BBQ. It smelled incredible. I wondered if any of them watched us ride by and wished that they were out riding. I think any of us would have traded places for at least a little while!

We reached McConnelsville and continued on RT 60. It was very peaceful out here. I wondered what it was like to live so far away from a metropolitan area. What do people do out here? It seems like a place were things don’t change very much. In the middle of nowhere we saw a sign for a development called Beverly Hills maybe this is a up and coming area. We all had a good laugh about it at the next rest break. My bike and I were getting along just fine.

We entered Marietta around noon and found a very nice town. Multi storied buildings lined the main streets. It had an Americana feel about it. U.S. and Ohio flags lined the streets. We found our destination spot. The Marietta Brewing Company on Front St.

We took RT 33 back home to Columbus. This is a really popular stretch of road for leisure driving. It’s very scenic and runs through a national park. After People branched off and went separate ways. I missed my friends as they rode off. I guess I prefer to be riding in a pack then to be alone.

I got home around 4PM. I was exhausted.