New Discoveries in the Buckeye State.

It had been years since I’d spent any time in Ohio, so returning home from a trip through the South seemed like the perfect opportunity to revisit the 17th state. I knew there is a lot of great riding in southeastern Ohio — it is, after all, just across the river from “Mountain Mama” West Virginia. And I knew the most famous routes are the Triple Nickel, which runs from Little Hocking to Zanesville, and the Windy 9, an exceptional collection of loops based out of Athens. But because I had enjoyed these on several previous adventures, I was on the lookout for something new.

So after descending from the Kentucky hills, I crossed over the Ohio River and picked up the Ohio River Scenic Byway, a historic ribbon that meanders along the banks and offered almost continuous views of the water. The entire road runs over 1,517 kilometres and spans three states — making it an outing for another time. But my wandering homeward journey allowed for a byway sampling, and I began in Ripley.

The Underground Railroad

Positioned directly across the water from the slave state of Kentucky, Ripley had been home to John and Jean Rankin, two of the earliest and most active “conductors” on the Underground Railroad. Their solitary red brick house stood high on a bluff overlooking the village and the river. I toured their home and, as I stood on the front porch, I imagined the lantern they faithfully set in their front window every night as a beacon. 

Then immediately below on the riverbank, I visited the home and iron foundry of John P. Parker, a freed slave who, by day, worked as a skilled tradesman and, by night, joined the Rankins in shuttling over 2,000 slaves north to freedom. While they necessarily kept a low profile, history would recognize the trio for their courageous heroism.

As I turned east, sunlight danced on the olive-green surface of the river. Through the blur of trees, I glimpsed a heavy barge moving slow under its burden of coal. And rolling through Portsmouth, I noticed that, like many Appalachian towns, it was pressed into an oblong shape between the steep slopes and the river. 

Mothman

In Gallipolis, I stopped to explore the Silver Bridge Disaster Memorial commemorating the 1967…