Best/Worest Roads
12-28-2003, 05:44 PM
#17
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Dude, I LOVE this thread...
I know it sounds narrow-minded, but I thought only the sportbike guys were hardcore about Deal's Gap. While I cannot fathom NOT doing the Dragon Tail on anything less than a big ole honker-daddy v-twin sporty bike (KTM Duke990 or maybe the new RC8?), it makes SENSE that it would be a tastey delight in any Porsche. Plus your girl/ wife would be more inclined to tag along.
Now, for you Texas 'listers... WAKE UP! Where, oh where is your sense of pride and honor for the Republic (Native Son, here)?? Devil's Backbone, while VERY short is a HOOT on a bike, probably safer in a sportscar (stop at the white-trash biker bar on top). That's Texas 32 from San Marcos to Fischer. City Park Road in Austin that takes you TO the trails at Emma Long City Park ROCKS; nice decent into the canyons along Town Lake. SH1888 from Luckenbach to Blanco is a delight, but so is ANYTHING in and along the Edwards Plateau (that's Texas Hill Country for the unenlightened). Hwy 21 from Crockett to Nacogdoches is not only a fun drive, but it's riddled with Texas history. ANYTHING in East Texas jams, and you can spend HOURS never leaving more than 3 counties. My bud and I got kinda lost up there one night and the drive was enjoyable even in his 4x4.
You want faster, autobahn-ish stuff. Try 71 from El Campo to Palacios, or any highway off 59 S. to the coast. Almost all of them are deviod of cops (except 60 to 'Gorda), arrow straight with 100mph+ sweepers. I make the run to my bud's bayhouse in Palacios from Houston doing 75mph on US 59, but once I hit 71, it's clobberin' time! Makes me wish I HAD a Porsche.
The second worst drive I've done in my state is Houston to S. Padre Island. US59 South to Corpus is easy and nice. It's SH77 to Padre that bites. We vacationed every Summer down there when I was a kid, and when I FINALLY made the return trip with a fishing bud last year, I understood why my Dad went WACKO on our run through the King/Kennedy Ranch. You hit the King Ranch at about the 4.5 hour mark (after Kingsville), and then... NOTHING. No lights, no roads, no NOTHING. For over an hour. My Dad, stuck driving a truck with a boat behind it, a wife, and 3 kids (all trying to kill one another) just smooth-*** pulled over and started walking. Today it's a lot more populated, but still very barren in appearance.
SH362 from Brookshire to Waller is one of the COUNTLESS pot-hole riddled, slow driving, flying cow-**** roads in my lovely state, but we've got our gems. Sure, nothing like Deal's Gap or PCH1, but I'm sure there's some stuff in the desert of West Texas that's our own slice of heaven. Haven't made it that far out as a driving adult.
Most of the time you talk to anyone who's done a coast to coast drive and they hiss and spit venom when you say Texas. Why? Cuz it's the LONGEST stretch of I-10 and maybe ANY innerstate in the US. I've done Houston to LA, which is ALL of that strip save for the 1 hour to our East, and I must say it is an unGODLY drive. The worst in my state; the kind that can set you off into a paranoid, dellusional psychosis.
C'mon, Lone Star 'listers. Fire up the ones I forgot or, even BETTER, the ones I don't know about...
I know it sounds narrow-minded, but I thought only the sportbike guys were hardcore about Deal's Gap. While I cannot fathom NOT doing the Dragon Tail on anything less than a big ole honker-daddy v-twin sporty bike (KTM Duke990 or maybe the new RC8?), it makes SENSE that it would be a tastey delight in any Porsche. Plus your girl/ wife would be more inclined to tag along.
Now, for you Texas 'listers... WAKE UP! Where, oh where is your sense of pride and honor for the Republic (Native Son, here)?? Devil's Backbone, while VERY short is a HOOT on a bike, probably safer in a sportscar (stop at the white-trash biker bar on top). That's Texas 32 from San Marcos to Fischer. City Park Road in Austin that takes you TO the trails at Emma Long City Park ROCKS; nice decent into the canyons along Town Lake. SH1888 from Luckenbach to Blanco is a delight, but so is ANYTHING in and along the Edwards Plateau (that's Texas Hill Country for the unenlightened). Hwy 21 from Crockett to Nacogdoches is not only a fun drive, but it's riddled with Texas history. ANYTHING in East Texas jams, and you can spend HOURS never leaving more than 3 counties. My bud and I got kinda lost up there one night and the drive was enjoyable even in his 4x4.
You want faster, autobahn-ish stuff. Try 71 from El Campo to Palacios, or any highway off 59 S. to the coast. Almost all of them are deviod of cops (except 60 to 'Gorda), arrow straight with 100mph+ sweepers. I make the run to my bud's bayhouse in Palacios from Houston doing 75mph on US 59, but once I hit 71, it's clobberin' time! Makes me wish I HAD a Porsche.
The second worst drive I've done in my state is Houston to S. Padre Island. US59 South to Corpus is easy and nice. It's SH77 to Padre that bites. We vacationed every Summer down there when I was a kid, and when I FINALLY made the return trip with a fishing bud last year, I understood why my Dad went WACKO on our run through the King/Kennedy Ranch. You hit the King Ranch at about the 4.5 hour mark (after Kingsville), and then... NOTHING. No lights, no roads, no NOTHING. For over an hour. My Dad, stuck driving a truck with a boat behind it, a wife, and 3 kids (all trying to kill one another) just smooth-*** pulled over and started walking. Today it's a lot more populated, but still very barren in appearance.
SH362 from Brookshire to Waller is one of the COUNTLESS pot-hole riddled, slow driving, flying cow-**** roads in my lovely state, but we've got our gems. Sure, nothing like Deal's Gap or PCH1, but I'm sure there's some stuff in the desert of West Texas that's our own slice of heaven. Haven't made it that far out as a driving adult.
Most of the time you talk to anyone who's done a coast to coast drive and they hiss and spit venom when you say Texas. Why? Cuz it's the LONGEST stretch of I-10 and maybe ANY innerstate in the US. I've done Houston to LA, which is ALL of that strip save for the 1 hour to our East, and I must say it is an unGODLY drive. The worst in my state; the kind that can set you off into a paranoid, dellusional psychosis.
C'mon, Lone Star 'listers. Fire up the ones I forgot or, even BETTER, the ones I don't know about...
12-29-2003, 01:09 AM
#18
Escapee
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HWY #105 in northern Vermont is a favorite of mine. The link below is a video of the best 6.5 minutes of the 20 minute drive. No cars and plenty of twisties.
VT Roadtrip
VT Roadtrip
12-30-2003, 12:53 PM
#21
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Paul,
Oh yeah... the Whistler, B.C. to Lillooet drive, awesome! Perhaps you might recognize Duffy Lake in my avatar?
Another fantastic Canadian drive is north from Creston, B.C. along Kootenay Lake to the Balfour/Nelson ferry.
I agree, Destination Highways is a must.
Oh yeah... the Whistler, B.C. to Lillooet drive, awesome! Perhaps you might recognize Duffy Lake in my avatar?
Another fantastic Canadian drive is north from Creston, B.C. along Kootenay Lake to the Balfour/Nelson ferry.
I agree, Destination Highways is a must.
07-16-2004, 04:13 PM
#22
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On Saturdays I take the Pacific Coast Highway north to Malibu Canyon Road. Up into the hills for an hour or so, then back to the beach. Stop in at Neptune's Net for some fish, and back home to Venice.
Nice!
Nice!
07-16-2004, 04:44 PM
#23
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Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!! I just moved to NC and I didn't know any good road around here...
My wife is in Europe for the next 3 weeks.... tomorrow and Sunday I have a DE at the Carolina Motorsports Park.
Next Saturday... Dragon here I come.... It looks fantastic from the map....
I can't wait...
Again thanks for this great thread
My wife is in Europe for the next 3 weeks.... tomorrow and Sunday I have a DE at the Carolina Motorsports Park.
Next Saturday... Dragon here I come.... It looks fantastic from the map....
I can't wait...
Again thanks for this great thread
07-16-2004, 05:10 PM
#24
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Every Autumn I drive from my home in Ann Arbor to Vermont via the Adirondaks in New York state. I take either my 911 or 356 and spend the whole time driving from town to town and discovering remote, out of the way roads. Vermont (and the Adirondaks) offer some of the best Porsche roads on the East Coast. If in Vermont, places to go would be almost any side road off of Rt 7 near Manchester, which is also the home of the Mt Equinox Hillclimb. There is a toll road to the top and if you've not done it, you're missing out! Also Rt100, which dissects the state Nort-South, is listed by Automobile magazine as one of their top ten driving routes. It goes on forever and ever. Rt125 is a mountain pass between Rt7 and Rt 100. Rt 108 climbs up Mt Manchester, which is the highest peak in the state, and be a bit tricky at the top, but lots of fun.
In The Adirondaks, Rt8 and Rt30 offer miles of twisties, perfect for your Porsche.
If you are on the east coast and have not done these roads, I would highly recommend them.
In The Adirondaks, Rt8 and Rt30 offer miles of twisties, perfect for your Porsche.
If you are on the east coast and have not done these roads, I would highly recommend them.
07-16-2004, 06:42 PM
#25
Instructor
Worst roads is easy - Washington DC and suburban MD.
Bestest?? Hmmmm....the high road from Hammondsport, up past Bully Hill to Hunt Country; the back road from SJCapistrano to Lake Elsinore; Rte100 Bridgewater - Ludlow (say Hiiiiiii to the "Screamer") back up 106 to S.Woodstock, then 12 N to Brookfield, south on 14 to Sharon then thru EBarnard back to Woodstock. But Rte89 (the Boulevard) from Ithaca to my place is so sweet, too. Take the ferry from Fort Ti to Larrabee's Pt and take any road in any direction. There - now find them and GO!
john
Bestest?? Hmmmm....the high road from Hammondsport, up past Bully Hill to Hunt Country; the back road from SJCapistrano to Lake Elsinore; Rte100 Bridgewater - Ludlow (say Hiiiiiii to the "Screamer") back up 106 to S.Woodstock, then 12 N to Brookfield, south on 14 to Sharon then thru EBarnard back to Woodstock. But Rte89 (the Boulevard) from Ithaca to my place is so sweet, too. Take the ferry from Fort Ti to Larrabee's Pt and take any road in any direction. There - now find them and GO!
john
07-17-2004, 01:11 AM
#28
Oregon Roads....
Too many logging trucks - if they don't kill you, they'll drop wood peices and dent your car.
If you are forced to drive thru, stay close to Portland.
Too many logging trucks - if they don't kill you, they'll drop wood peices and dent your car.
If you are forced to drive thru, stay close to Portland.
07-17-2004, 11:32 PM
#30
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Originally posted by Sebastian Gaeta
Rt 108 climbs up Mt Manchester, which is the highest peak in the state, and be a bit tricky at the top, but lots of fun.
Rt 108 climbs up Mt Manchester, which is the highest peak in the state, and be a bit tricky at the top, but lots of fun.
Great road, just got to watch the vacationers.If you find yerself down Rt. 100 near Waitsfield, you *have* to take Rt. 17 up over the Appalachian Gap. Truly a 911 experience. The road surface is excellent and traffic is minimal. I'm talking twisties here and lots of elevation change. No disappointments.
