Sunday, January 14

Sharon to visit Sharon

Late last season, I thought of some quirky rides that I could turn into interesting ride reports. I’ve never really liked my name, mainly because I rarely meet anyone under 70 with the name—not that there’s anything wrong with that. I started wondering just how many cities named "Sharon" are out there? Wouldn’t it be neat, I thought, to visit each one and take a picture underneath the city sign, possible with me holding my own cardboard sign with “Sharon” crudely printed on it with an arrow pointing to me? Why that’s interesting to me, I don’t know. Winter boredom, perhaps?

Here are the Sharon cities I’ve found along with mapquest one-way estimates that assume interstate travel, which underestimates the miles I’d travel to get to each given my preference for backloads and scenic routes.

Sharon, CT 850.17 miles
Sharon Springs, KS 800.70
Sharon, MA 989.26
Sharon, MI (Kalaska) 313.06
Sharon, MI (Washtenaw) 251.46
Sharon, ND 735.22
Sharon, PA 413.86
Sharon, WI 83.63

If anyone knows of other Sharon cities not listed, please let me know. I can begin chipping away at the Midwest Sharon cities this summer; the others will require more planning.

UPDATE: Thanks to those who have helped expand the list of Sharon places to visit!
These miles reflect approximate round trips (RT).

Sharon, LA 1,016 miles
Sharon, MS 1,446.28; 1,713.40 miles (requires visiting two counties)
Sharon, VT 1,860.32 miles

Sharon, Kalmykia Russia!

Update: 1/28/07--Ask, and people answer. I have a bunch of additional Sharon cities since asking on this blog and on the Motorcycles.About.com forum. I haven't done the mileage and city research on these yet, but I wanted to place them here so I can get back to them.

Sharon, CA
Sharon, ID
Sharon Grove, KY
Sharonville, North Cincinnati, OH
Sharon Center, OH
Sharon Township, OH (Columbus suburb)
New Sharon, MA
Sharon, NC (in 4 different counties)

And, Sharon, Queensland, Australia (to be continued...)

6 comments:

K P in VT said...

Sharon, Vermont.

http://www.google.com/maps?q=Sharon,+Vt&sa=X&oi=map&ct=title

Sojourner's Moto Tales said...

Kevin,
Thanks! Vermont is a state I'd be very interested in riding in...Great find!

Steve said...

This is a great idea! Here are a couple from my area:

Sharon, MS (off HWY 59)
Sharon, LA (HWY 152 by the Arkansas border)

And just for fun:
Sharon, Kalmykia, Russia

Sojourner's Moto Tales said...

Steve,
Thanks for the more Sharon locales! Oh my, the Russian one would be a great way to culminate the journey!

Anonymous said...

I found you one in Texas... Sort of...

Rosharon, TX. Just a bit SW of Houston.

I am told that the town name is really a shortening of it's original intent...

Ride On SHARON... or Rosharon for short!

:-)

Sojourner's Moto Tales said...

Ronn,
Thanks! I particularly like this one. "Rosharon" is probably a mix of Rose of Sharon, which of course describe me! Ride On Sharon--has a nice ring to it!