DougGrosjean
New member
YB in IN said:Like my dad (BE in IN) said, 24 is only two-lane until you hit Logansport now. From there on east to Ft. Wayne it's now all 4 lane. I concur with my father and I'd hop on 124 south of Wabash to avoid having to ride through downtown Ft. Wayne, to see some of the local color, and to avoid all the cops. Make sure that you're careful on 24 once it turns into 4-lane. The police love to pull people on that road, and it's really easy to crank it up with realizing it. Also, I usually see an Ohio cop everytime that I've picked up 30 right around the Ohio border. See you all there!
You may be correct in Indiana, I can't say for sure as the atlas I just looked in is dated 2001. Last time I was down US-24, to Wabash for a family reunion, was 2002-2003. US-24 was mostly 4-lane from Wabash to Fort Wayne, and a ways east, but at that time it wasn't 4-lane all the way to the Ohio border.
When I looked at the 2001 atlas (admittedly perhaps outdated), it appears about 25-30% of US-24 across IN is 4-lane. That number is likely higher now, but I've no way of knowing how much higher.
However, US-24 is almost all still 2-lane in Ohio, at least it was yesterday. There's a section around Napoleon-Defiance that is 4-lane, but if you take OH-424 instead (it's simply the old US-24 before re-alignment), you will be on 2-lane from the Ohio-Indiana border all the way to just outside Toledo.
From Napoleon east, you can even ride the south side of the Maumee River instead, if you find more traffic than you'd like on US-24.
Eating along the way:
Defiance has Kissner's, a really neat bar-grill dating back at least to Prohibition IIRC.
Waterville has Koral Hamburg, which is a neat 40's era fast-food joint. Local BMW riders congregate there on Sunday mornings early.
Addys for both below:
Kissner's
(419) 782-1116
524 Clinton St
Defiance, OH 43512
Koral Hamburg
(419) 878-7007
12 N 3rd St
Waterville, OH 43566
Also see my other post / thread about "Other stuff along the way". That's mostly stuff to see along US-24 in Ohio. Canal boat ride, gristmill / sawmill, locks, dams, Miami & Erie canal remains, and some "ghost" town sites if you know where to look. The "Other stuff" thread has a link to an article I wrote nearly 20 years ago on Maumee River ghost towns. Couple nesting bald eagles out near Florida, Ohio; east of Defiance. Ohio DNR has built a parking lot and viewing area for visitors.
Interesting if you're into that, dull if you're not. YMMV.
