2001 BMW R1100R

by Shannon Ford
(Toledo, OH)

2001 BMW R1100R

My husband and his brother found "The Black Beauty" in an ad when they were picking up a pizza, and my husband and I traveled to northern Indiana to have a look. All I could think about the next few days was how I could arrange to own that motorcycle, and two weeks later I was proud to call her my own. She's taken me about 30,000 miles since 2006. We've seen Michigan's Upper Peninsula together, many treks around MI and OH, a great trip through and around Pennsylvania, and even a trip to Maine, via OH, PA, NY, VT, and NH.

This photo was taken as I was leaving on my second solo moto trip to and through Southern Ohio in May, 2010. Camping at night was down to freezing (but I had proper gear), but the roads and historical and archeological 'research' was quite fun. Marietta, OH, is a beautiful little town nestled amongst the banks of the Muskingum river as it empties into the Ohio river. There are many Indian Mounds in the Southern-Ohio region left by the Hopewell and Adena tribes (I think more than 70 have survived), and there are even some sites of Petroglyphs that have been left relatively undisturbed.

And there are a lot of GREAT roads which follow rivers and streams which flow South into the Ohio River. 800, for one, is lovely, with its curves, twists, and descending elevation down the 'highlands.'