THE TRIPLE NICKEL
- A CHECK OFF THE BUCKET LIST
It always lights a fire inside us when people start talking about going on a bike trip, right? Usually, these conversations happen when riders start talking about the places they’ve been or the places they want to get to. I couldn’t tell you how many times I’ve listened to others talk about riding the Triple Nickel in Ohio and what a great ride it was. Well, the opportunity arose, and it’s now checked off our bucket list!
The five-day trip that started on Wednesday morning and ended with us coming home late Monday evening. When we pulled into the garage and got off the bike, we had managed to roll 1,729.9 miles. Yup, I wish I could have caught the .9 before rolling into the garage because I would have gone around the block before turning the bike off. That’s my OCD kicking in and it hasn’t stopped bugging me since. When we arrived at our Airbnb in HilIsboro, OH I made a point to log our arrival miles at 380.4 from our driveway to the house we rented. It probably would have been less miles and time if we had ridden the expressway, but we all agreed to take the scenic route and to avoid the highway as much as we could. About 30 minutes before our destination, we stopped at a covered bridge for some pictures with the group and the bikes.
Rolling into town we made mental notes of places to eat and grab a drink as we passed by them, but found ourselves heading back to the nearest place to home after a long day and unloading the bikes. That place happened to be the Beechwood Pizza & Carryout. Keep in mind this is a small town and things aren’t open so late and we were hungry! Luckily, we had picked the right place because the owners and staff were soo friendly and even though the kitchen was closed when we walked in, they took care of us anyway. They fired up the oven and we all agreed that it was some of the best pizza we’ve had. They visited our table as we ate and shared the day’s ride with them over some drinks. That hospitality and friendliness reverberated everywhere we went.
We came to ride, and we squeezed in as much seat time as we could with the time we had. We rode to Black Sheep H-D and Hillbilly Hot Dogs in West Virginia, CinCity H-D in Cincinnati, the NADA Tunnel in Kentucky, and the 555 from the south end to the top. Before leaving Black Sheep H-D we asked if they could recommend a fun spot to check out before we headed back to Hillsboro, and they suggested Ford’s Garage. They were right, it had a pretty cool design like an old Ford assembly line. On our last day before officially heading home, we reached the top of the Triple Nickel where we stopped at the Triple Nickel Saloon and met the owner Uncle John. We picked up some patches and stickers from him and surprisingly found out there was another Uncle John that owned Uncle John’s Riverside Café just 1.5 miles south of the Saloon. We had passed it on our way and decided to go back and check it out. Again, everywhere we went the people were so kind and friendly. On one of the previous days we were out riding, we found ourselves at Lisa’s Wayside Inn in the town of Russellville for a bite to eat. While we were there, we met the owner of the bar and yup, her name is Lisa. She was so kind, just like everyone else we had met on our travels. So kind in fact, that she offered to make us some special cobbler if we came back the next day. Of course, we did, and it was totally worth it!
There’s no question we’ll find our way back in the future. Even though we struggled with the H-D navigation system’s inaccuracies, it 100% took us on the twisty routes we requested. The Triple Nickel is great, but none of the hills and curves disappointed, no matter the direction.
With all the riding we got in, we wanted to relax at least one of the nights around the fire but that’s hard to do without firewood and being on bikes. So, we made a call to the owner of Beechwood Pizza and Carryout and took him up on his offer to deliver us some bundles of wood. See what I mean? Super friendly peeps! It was the perfect night to sit around the fire and relax. That was until we discovered that the Northern Lights were happening, and we had a front row view. It was so cool to experience the amazing show the night sky was putting on in front of our eyes. That was another first for us and could not believe how beautiful it was as we started seeing pictures online from back home in Michigan and all over the states.
After riding the Nickel and making a few stops afterward, we stayed the night in Zanesville. One of the couples that came along with us had to make their way home the day before and didn’t get to enjoy the ride with us there, but we did get some really great rides together the days before. The next morning (Monday) Aly and I slept in as the other couple we were with made their way back too. After loading up the bike we made our way to the Muskingum WW II & Korea Memorial. Let me say, it is a very moving monument that the town came together to create. Check out the Veterans Corner in this issue for more pictures and information. We had a long ride ahead of us, so we pointed our scoot toward home. What a fantastic trip we had, but it’s always good to be home, right?
