I took off for a couple of hours this afternoon on my motorcycle. I found a nice short ride north of Columbia. It’s always a good sign when you pass other bikers on the route and I saw both cruisers and sport bikes along the way.

I took Stadium Dr. north out of Columbia, which turns into Route E, then 124 West to Harrisburg and south on J to 40/240, which turns into I-70 and east to Columbia. That circle was about 40 miles and took me about an hour, including some off bike time to snap a couple of pictures in Harrisburg.

barber shopThis picture is of the local barber shop. It is open limited hours, but from all of the notices and flyers taped to the front window, it appears to serve as the town bulletin board.

Antique ShopThen, just east of the barber shop is Chalkboard Antiques & Gifts. They were closed today. I can’t remember what the hours were, but if I go through here again, it might be fun to poke around and see what I can find. Their sign advises they’ve been in business since 1897 if you count, as they do, the time when it was Mueller (Beasley) Hardware.

E has some nice curves of all different types–lots of tighter 30 mph curves to both the left and right, including a few just after each other and some longer sweepers at 40-50 mph. I didn’t push any of them too fast as it had been a while since I’d ridden, and it was still fun to just laze my way through them.

There was no shoulder to pull onto and most of the driveways were gravel so I couldn’t stop enroute to take pictures. The surrounding area is nice. I bet during the summer and fall it is really pretty. Today the hills were that brownish green-grey of winter. I saw some really nice log cabins and even a Victorian. There were quite a few small private ponds.

When I got back to Columbia, I wasn’t ready to go in yet so I took 63 North past the Bass Pro Shop to 124 West and then south this time on Route E to Columbia. This circle was about 38 miles and took me another hour.

Next time I want to try YY. When I looked at it this morning on Mapquest, it didn’t look like it went all the way through. However, on the map I’m looking at now it looks continuous and runs somewhat parallel to E, only it is much more curvy, including what looks to be a couple hairpin turns. I didn’t think the area had any such turns, but I’ll check it out next time.

I was pleasantly surprised by these roads. I didn’t think there were any nice roads like this (curvy, light traffic, somewhat smooth pavement, just a few road kill, and only one deer crossing sign), close to where I live. When I need a break from studying next semester, I can take either of these circular routes for an hour’s break.