In my past travels, I didn’t give too much attention to Ohio. Ok, some but not much. Last year I stayed with Mr. Wark at the Warkshop, rode with Mark on parts of the “Triple nickel” ( Ohio 555) and thoroughly enjoyed it, then there is always the National museum of the US Air Force in Dayton and my great friends Stephanie and Mike in Columbus who are all my “must see people” when passing through.
This time, however was a bit different. Months ago, Major Carla Cavanagh reached out to ask about my travels and the ADV life. We’ve stayed in touch and I wanted to make it a point to meet up on my way east. We had plans to do some of the Trans Wisconsin Adventure Trail together but our schedules didn’t match up. Since first chatting, Carla picked up a BMW G-650 GS fully farkled and took lessons from Pat Jacques in Colorado at ADVWoman. Carla has done most of a 48 state ride on her two other bikes ( Vulcan cruiser and FJR sport tourer) so she is a seasond rider. It’s also great to see others exploring different styles of riding! She agreed to host me for a few days and show me around. 🙌🙏🙌 One of her favorite spots is the Ohio Veteran memorial in Clinton. She showed me a few of her friends who are recognized there.
Similarly, I found Kane Wagner on Instagram who runs Appalachian ADV He really is the geaux-to guy when needing ADV tracks for Ohio, West Virginia, with parts of Pennsylvania and Kentucky thrown in. He has mild to wild routes so be sure to look him up if you want to ride any of those areas. Kane is also retired US Air Force and a Tenere 700 owner so we have a bit in common.😉 Carla and I spent a few hours chatting with Kane one afternoon about his history and what he wants to do with his website. Kane sets up ADV/ Dual sport tracks and then invites riders to join him for a weekend for an informal type rally. I told him to be careful what he wishes for because with the growing popularity of ADV riding, it won’t take long for him to have an unmanageable gaggle of riders in the woods. That’s from my experience with the PNW Tenere crew over the last several years. It’s great to see the excitement and enthusiasm of riders that want to share their passion with others!
Kane loaded up my GPS with a great set of ADV tracks in Eastern Ohio for Carla and me to explore using Jefferson Lake State Park as a launching pad from the Yamahauler. It’s a quiet little out of the way state park. The leaves were in full fall colors for our day ride. Enjoy the pics!
All of this adds up to Ohio being worth way more then I initially gave it credit for. It’s the people like Bob, Mark, Stephanie, Mike, Carla and Kane. It’s also the beautiful roads like the Ohio route 3(“3C’s” that connects Cincinnati, Columbus and Cleveland) I guess it didn’t hurt to be here right as the leaves were in full fall colors too🙌 So don’t underestimate the beauty in YOUR state. Get out, make friends and explore!
Oh and I almost forgot Dan, a PNW Tenere owner from outside Portland who was in Columbus on business the day I passed through…. how fortuitous 😁
Tenere Across the USA 