Here’s a report on my road trip. Part of this route mirrors some of my latest EFC route, and some of it was just some other ramblings. If you want to follow along, ODOT has some pretty good maps. My favorite is this one, but it’s 6.3 MB – so only if you have broadband.
Started out on my street and reset the trip odometer, at 5:00:32 a.m.
Loveland-Madeira (5.5 miles, 9 minutes, 11 seconds, 35.9 mph)
I-275 North (3.3, 3:16, 60.6)
I-71 North (48.1, 40:13, 71.8) – Up to this point, this was all pretty standard stuff that I’ve driven a billion times.
Got off 71 at US 35 (Exit 65). Stoplight at the off-ramp and another one a few feet later at the on-ramp to 71-south. Started off at 35 mph (0.4, 1:40, 14.4 mph – had to wait at both lights)
50 mph (1.8, 1:39, 65.4)
65 mph (14.4, 13:32, 63.8) – this was a nice highway section, comparable to an interstate. Exits at 72 and then Old 35, before I got off at the N Bickett Road exit.
Right off the off-ramp, and a stop light at Old US 35. This was a 35 mph section with a jog on US 42 – flashing yellow light there (not a regular traffic light) – (1.6, 2:50, 33.9).
Turned left on to Brush Row Road (3.7, 5:44, 38.7). It was 25 as I passed by Central State University (maybe a mile), then a stop sign, then it turned to 45, and then a stop sign at Stevenson Road (Cross-traffic does not stop). In looking at the map, depending on the time of day, it might be better to turn left on 42 from Bickett, and then right on Stevenson and left on Brush Row. Wasn’t that bad here since it was 6 a.m.
Brush Row dead-ended into US 68 N (55 mph) – on that for (0.6, 0:49, 44.1). Turned on to OH 235 North (soft left turn). From the map it looked like this might be somewhat populated, but it was still pretty much the middle of nowhere (6.7, 7:46, 51.8). Stoplight at Dayton-Yellow Springs (3.7 mile marker), Flashing yellow at Byron (5.6) and I wrote down Thebein road crosed at 6.2 – I think because I recognized the name from a different route attempt I had come up with.
I-675 North from Exit 22 to Exit 26B – crossed into Clark County (3.8, 3:35, 63.6)
I-70 West from exit 44A to 24 (20.5, 17:44, 69.4). Saw the Montgomery County Ohio Bicentennial Barn at mile marker 39.
Got off I-70 onto OH-49 North (5.2, 5:58, 52.3)
55 mph (3.4 miles)
35 mph (0.8 miles – Phillipsburg)
55 mph (1.0 mile)
Stoplight at mile 1.1 for US 40 and one for Main St. (mile 3.8) in Phillipsburg
I was a bit worried about this next turn – wasn’t sure what kind of signage I’d get for Montgomery Co Line Rd, but it was fairly easy to spot. You could see the signs for the start of OH 721 off to the right before you made the left onto the County Line road.
Montgomery County Line Road was your typical middle of nowhere road (3.7, 4:31, 49.2). Just to be annoying, Preble County Line Road hits just before the actual county line. There was no sign announcing the start of Preble County, but you could see the back of the sign announcing the start of Montgomery County on the other side of the road. It’s fairly conspicuous since as was previously mentioned, it’s the middle of nowhere :-). There was a tiny bridge over a creek or something right near the county line, and a driveway on the north side just past it that I used to turn around. The return trip back to OH-49 was also uneventful (3.9, 4:26, 52.8)
OH 721 North (5.9, 7:03, 50.2).
55 mph (2.9)
35 mph (0.5 – Potsdam)
55 mph (2.1)
35 mph (0.4 – Laura)
While in the bustling metropolis of Laura, OH, 721 came to a stop and I was unsure where to go. Luckily off to my left I saw a reassurance marker for 571, which was where I was going next. So there was a slight jog there. Was on OH 571 for a short time (0.8, 1:14, 38.9).
OH 55 East (3.3, 4:17, 46.2)
55 mph (2.9)
35 mph (0.4 – Ludlow Falls – there was a jog here of a left and a right before turning left onto OH 48)
OH 48 North (20.0, 20:36, 58.2).
55 mph (3.4)
35 mph (0.9 – Pleasant Hill – there was a neat statue at a sort of mini-roundabout here)
55 mph (3.5)
35 mph (0.5) – stoplight here at OH 41
25 mph (0.2) – stoplight
35 mph (0.7) – stoplight at US 36
55 mph (9.8)
Left onto OH 66. This is the king of all EFC Roads, so I felt like I had to visit it for a bit at least (19.5, 24:22, 48.0).
55 mph (1.6)
40 mph (0.7) – stoplight at OH 47
55 mph (2.4)
50 mph (0.5)
35 mph (0.9) – stoplight at OH 705, and one at OH 362
50 mph (0.2)
55 mph (1.9)
35 mph (1.2 – Minster, SLs at OH 362 and OH 119)
45 mph (0.2)
50 mph (1.5)
45 mph (0.3) – another stoplight
35 mph (0.6) – stoplight
25 mph (0.1) – stoplight at OH 274
45 mph (0.2)
50 mph (0.3)
55 mph (6.2)
35 mph (0.8) – 3 stoplights – one at something I didn’t write down, one at South, and then one at OH 29.
Turned onto OH-29 (4.7, 5:47, 48.8). First part of it was in regular city roads in St. Marys (2.1, 3:10, 39.8), and then a limited access highway that I originally erroneously called US 33 (2.6, 2:37, 59.6).
35 mph (0.9) – 2 stoplights
50 mph (1.2) – 3 stoplights
The limited-access highway ends just past the Mercer county line – I was able to turn around by pulling a U-turn at Harris Road.
As I drove back on OH-29 East which turned into US-33 East by just continuing the highway (16.1, 14:27, 66.9), I first called home to check in and then I had a decision to make. Upon approaching I-75, I could either turn north to head into Hancock and Hardin counties or turn south to go back to Shelby and then head into town. I wanted to get where I needed to be in Columbus by 10:30 and it was at this point that I did my first cursory examination of the data and found I was making good time. So I decided to go north. Not a whole lot of exits here – OH-66 at 4.5, Hardin Pike at 14.0, and OH 67, 198 and 501 at 14.7 are all I wrote down.
I-75 North from Exit 110 to Exit 135 (25.0, 20:42, 72.5)
Took a local road called E Lincoln Hwy that paralells what appeared to be a limited-access US 30 (4.2, 4:36, 54.8). When I turned off this road south on to Hancock Road, it did have an intersection with US 30. So it may be slightly faster to take US-30 east from 75, though probably not a whole lot faster since Lincoln Hwy was pretty quick.
Hardin Road (1.0, 1:35, 37.9) and then a left on Huber Road (3.0, 3:49, 47.2), which is on the Hancock / Hardin border.
OH 235 South (19.7, 25:41, 46.0)
55 mph (2.7)
35 mph (1.4) – 4 stoplights – this was Ada, home of Ohio Northern University
55 mph (3.9) – stopsign and a jog.
35 mph (1.3) – At 9.3 of my OH-235 journey I looked down and saw my car hit 80,000 miles exactly.
OH 117 East (8.1, 8:42, 55.9). Just north of Huntsville, I saw the end of OH-366. Also just north of Huntsville, I decided to jog west on OH 274 (0.6, 1:03, 34.2) for a reason which was probably much clearer then…
US 33 East. This was another very nice highway – interstate standard. The map had it as a regular US route for part, a divided highway for part and limited-access for part, but I didn’t really notice a distinguishable difference the whole time I was on it (21.0, 17:20, 72.7). Exits for OH-292, OH-247, and then OH-739/OH-287/Honda Pkwy, which is where I got off.
Stokes Road or Twp Hwy 168 (0.3, 1:10, 15.4) then a quick jog onto W Darby Road (3.4, 4:50, 42.2). There was a jog here at the intersection of N. Lewisburg road. I actually realized here that I got off at the wrong exit from US-33, at least according to my printed plans. I should have continued one more exit east, and got off on Darby-Pottersburg road, gone south about a mile and then left on to W Darby. I expect that either way it’s about the same. There was a danger of high-water sign as I crossed over Big Darby creek, but even though it had rained pretty good all night and most of the morning, there wasn’t really any water on the road. I did see a buzzard eating something on the side of the road.
Right turn on to OH-245 West (1.0, 1:31, 39.6) to get me into Champaign County. There was a sign here and a convenient driveway in which to turn around. Back on OH-245 East (5.9, 6:18, 56.2). At this point, I was approaching US-33 again, and judging from the map, it looked like there might be some city traffic if I continued on OH-245 (involving a likely stoplight at W 5th Street in Marysville. So I detoured right onto Paver-Barnes (0.8, 1:10, 41.1), Left onto Collins (1.1, 1:54, 34.7), and left onto US-36/OH-4 (0.8, 0:50, 57.6) – stopped for awhile at a stop sign trying to turn left here. In retrospect, I think continuing on OH-245 would have been quicker.
Back on US-33 for awhile (16.4, 13:21, 73.7) and then got off at OH-161 / Post Road. Took that west (1.4, 1:50, 45.8) crossing through Franklin Co. and into Madison Co. where I had to pull a U-turn at Kile road). Back east (1.6, 2:32, 37.9)
Got back on US-33 (2.6, 2:39, 58.9) and then took I-270 South from Exit 17 to Exit 10 Roberts Road (6.5, 5:24, 72.2). At this point I got gas and my road trip was done. I did do a few more experiments on my way home, which I will describe here in a second, but here is the county-by-county breakdown.
Hamilton Co (10.8, 14:10, 45.7) – approximation – I didn’t write down the exact time/mileage I crossed into Warren Co.
Warren Co (23.2, 18:36, 74.8)
Clinton Co (15.0, 12:56, 69.6)
Greene Co (4.1, 3:32, 69.6)
Fayette Co (7.6, 8:15, 55.3) – approximation – the Fayette border sign was either missing or not easily visible due to highway construction.
Greene Co again (27.7, 30:04, 55.3)
Clark Co (4.9, 4:21, 67.6)
Montgomery Co (22.3, 20:57, 63.9)
Miami Co (0.6, 0:52, 41.5)
Darke Co (3.0, 3:24, 52.9)
Preble Co (0.2, 0:35, 20.6) – just turning around
Montgomery Co again (3.8, 4:06, 55.6) – south side of County line road
Miami Co again (23.9, 28:08, 51.0)
Shelby Co (13.0, 14:55, 52.3)
Auglaize Co (15.8, 19:30, 48.6)
Mercer Co (1.1, 1:21, 48.9)
Auglaize Co again (23.1, 20:12, 68.6)
Hancock Co (1.0, 1:35, 37.9)
Hardin Co (24.9, 32:00, 46.7)
Logan Co (26.6, 23:49, 67.0)
Union Co (5.5, 7:55, 41.7)
Champaign Co (0.1, 0:20, 18)
Union Co again (31.3, 32:43, 57.4)
Franklin Co (0.7, 0:55, 45.8)
Madison Co (0.2, 0:35, 20.6)
Franklin Co (0.7, 1:02, 40.6)
Union Co again (2.0, 1:58, 61.0)
Franklin Co again (8.0, 7:43, 62.2)
Afterwards, I took I-270 North from Exit 10 to Exit 17 (6.8, 5:38, 72.4), and then continued on to Exit 22 (5.8, 5:16, 66.1). Got off onto OH-315 North (1.9, 2:52, 39.8) – two traffic lights here and then there was a nice church parking lot to turn around in just into Delaware county.
OH-315 back south (1.4, 3:08, 26.8) and then continued on 315 as it became a limited-access highway (12.4, 10:56, 68.0). I was eating my free Frostys at this point. Continued on 71 South (4.3, 3:42, 69.7) and then made my way onto 270 East with a very long ramp (2.5, 2:22, 63.4).
Took US-23 South (5.3, 5:47, 55.0), and there was not much traffic at all (it was about 12:30 pm). From the map, I was expecting this to be a pretty built-up area, but I went through it pretty quickly. I was also worried about knowing when to turn around since I hadn’t printed out a map of this section, but it was pretty easy. There were 3 traffic lights, and a fourth just south of the Pickaway border at which I turned around. Northbound was more of the same (5.5, 5:54, 55.9). 270 West (2.4, 2:32, 56.8) and 71 South to Exit 97 (4.8, 4:44, 60.8).
This was my 2nd foray into Pickaway county and going in I was expecting it to be faster. I don’t think it was though, and so I’m not going to detail exactly how I got there, but it was (3.2, 5:22, 35.7) in and (3.2, 6:35, 29.2) out – big wait at a traffic light trying to turn onto OH-665 – should have just cut through the Citgo. Coupled with the 5 miles of Interstate both ways that I’d have to use to get down here, and it appears that the optimal Pickaway detour is on US-23.
I also timed that from Exit 97 to Exit 75 on I-71 was (22.2, 18:26, 72.2) – Exit 75 is just across the Madison Co line if you wanted to pick up Pickaway and Madison that way, and there is an emergency turn-around at mile 76. I also saw the Madison Co Bicentennial Barn. For completeness I-71 from Exit 75 to Exit 19 was (54.9, 45:54, 71.8), after which I stopped writing things down as I went to Meijer and got paid 5 bucks to take 4 boxes of Froot Loops, 4 boxes of Mamma Bella garlic bread, 4 boxes of Totino’s Pizza Rolls and 16 boxes of Hamburger Helper.
What? You’re still reading all this? Crazy person! I will probably post a summary of all this and how it affects EFC tomorrow.