Calling All Scouts Ride Recap
By Wanda Carlisle - Chapter President and Ride Leader
If You Name It, They Will Come
The call was put out for the Scouts to come out and play, and they answered. Five Scouts joined our President’s shiny new Scout to lead seven of their bigger cousins (and one friend) to Beaver Creek State Park for a picnic by the creek. Our storm laden forecast continued to be “wrong” as rain Sunday. It was a hair hot (hotter for the “friend”), but we had nothing but blue skies and sunshine until after the ride was over.
It was the first chapter ride for several Scout riders as we welcomed new members Kim and Jim Minard and Jerry D’Antonio; Mike Bates and Aaron Jarvis were experiencing a chapter ride for the first time, too, on their Springfield and Roadmaster, respectively. We met up at Sheetz and after several rounds of “Ooh, what did you do to your Scout?” we were on our way.
The original route was to have taken us down a nicely curvy 172 from Paris nearly all the way to Lisbon, but ODOT had a different idea. Sometimes detours have a way of showing you the best new roads, though, and this ride was no different. Next time you’re on 172, try taking Fox Ave (CR 107) down to 30. My favorite part? The vine covered tunnel that was once a railroad overpass.
We stopped in Lisbon to pick up sandwiches from Subway (it’s slim pickins on Sundays) and after dodging an SUV driving the wrong way down a one-way, headed up scenic and curvy 517 and 558 to East Palestine to pick up AMA Top 15 motorcycle road, 170 down to Calcutta. If you think you have to go to southern OH for the good roads, guess again. You just can’t go wrong in Columbiana County. Even the road back into the park is curvy and pretty.
After we pulled the picnic tables into the shade, we dug in and got to know our newer members a little better. Tom and Logan kicked their shoes off for a stroll in the creek and Kevin showed us all how to picnic in style! Beaver Creek State Park is truly a hidden gem with its historic buildings and beautiful scenery (especially in the fall). And yes, it is in Ohio, not Pennsylvania, although the border was not far away.
Then after a quick stop to check out the shortest covered bridge in Ohio and a gas stop for the Scouts, it was back to Lisbonwhere we jumped on one of Wanda’s favorite roads, 164, to 39 in Salineville and CR 71 outside Mechanicstown (thank you Mike Newbold for that recommendation) to 171 through Waynesburg and 44 to ice cream! Thank you John Breda for recommending Almost Heaven in Plains Township, even though he wasn’t able to join us on the ride. The storms stayed at bay until we finished our ice cream and we all got home dry.
Next up for Chapter 1963 – Ohio’s Best Roads on Sunday, July 11th. See you there!
