BikePGH Message Board Archive

Biking to Lisbon Ohio

I’d like to do a day trip or two biking from Weirton or Wellsburg WV to Lisbon Ohio and back. Do you know a good route? Previously I’ve biked from Pittsburgh to Weirton and from Lisbon to Niles and from Niles to Ashtabula, so if I could just knock off this “missing link”, I’ll be able to say that I’ve "biked from Pittsburgh to Ashtabula". The best I’ve come up with involves a lot of biking on WV Route 2 (which is four lane and high speed) or Ohio Route 7 (which is similar) and it still has a lot of hills. http://ridewithgps.com/routes/4636984?privacy_code=SUiavlMMs3dO5e9G. I haven’t tried this route. Finding a good route is a tradeoff between dangerous roads, hills, and long distances. Has anyone biked this connection?

paulheckbert

2014-06-19 17:00:12

Paul, I don't know the roads, but looking at the terrain it looks like the ridewithgps route is basically the right idea. It follows the river valleys as much as possible, crossing over to hills only when it's necessary.

jonawebb

2014-06-20 20:49:05

I biked this route Saturday and my conclusions are: Avoid Route 2 in WV if possible. Shoulders are 0 to 3 feet wide, often gravel strewn, often with rumble strips, cars zip by at 60 mph. Route 7 in OH on the other side of the river is a little better (wider shoulder) but still unpleasant. The hilly roads were far more pleasant. The nice areas are: roads near Beaver Creek State Park, OH; roads near Yellow Creek, OH (though Steubenville Pike Rd turns to gravel); Newell WV and the Newell Toll Bridge http://bicyclingoverbridges.com/2013/11/02/6-newell-bridge/ ; Toronto OH. If you like old steel mills and industrial decay, visit Weirton. Wow.

paulheckbert

2014-06-25 13:01:03