2025 Ride Routes and Downloadable GPX Files

97 Miles, about 2 hrs 25 min

Ride through Ohio’s coal country, where once-booming mining towns tell stories of “black diamonds,” immigrant workers, and the birth of miners’ unions. Along the way you’ll pass remnants of canals, company towns, and even an underground coal fire still burning since the 1880s.

Highlights include:

• Haydenville – Historic clay company town with unique brick and tile buildings.
  
• New Straitsville – Site of the nation’s first miners’ union and legendary mine fire.
  
• Murray City & Buchtel – Mining history and a natural spring for fresh water.

Finish in Athens, home to Ohio University and three craft breweries worth a stop:

• Jackie O’s – 24 W Union St
• Little Fish – 8675 Armitage Rd
• Devil’s Kettle – 97 Columbus Rd

Some highlights:

• Buchtel Spring
• Adams San Toy Covered Bridge
• Barkhurst Mill Covered Bridge
• Historic Kincaid Cave
• Hoffman Road (water crossings)

A potential lunch stop is at roughly mile 60 in Chesterhill, at the Triple Nickle (555) Diner

Gas:

• Chauncey – Mile 0
• Buchtel – Mile 8
• Glouster – Mile 16

Routes: St Rt 13 → St Rt 78 → St Rt 821

Step back into aviation history with a ride tracing the story of the USS Shenandoah, America’s first rigid airship, which tragically crashed in 1925 during a storm over southeastern Ohio.

The route takes you through rolling hills and historic towns to three memorial sites marking where sections of the Shenandoah came to rest:

• Crash Site #3 (Bow Section) – Along St Rt 78 near Sharon, OH.
  
• Ava, OH (Federal Memorial) – A handsome monument in the center of town.
  
• Crash Sites #2 & #1 – Fields near Ava marking where the main section and control car fell.

These sites honor the 14 lost crew members and tell the story of America’s brief but dramatic Navy airship program.

Ohio’s Windy 9 is a motorcycling destination comprised of 9 routes that begin and end in Athens, Ohio. The abundance of curves and elevation change along these roads make this a popular destination for motorcyclists.