Question of the Day: What's Your Favorite Road?
Published: July 25th, 2008
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A few weekends back, while putting a few (hundred) miles on an Audi Q7, my wife and I went into the Blue Ridge Mountains in north Georgia. When I programmed our address into the GPS for the return trip, it directed us down the Unicoi Turnpike (part of Georgia Highway 75), which turned out to be full of switchbacks, twists, hairpins and everything else that makes a road fun, along with some beautiful scenery. The map showed other roads in the area that looked even more fun. We didn't have time to explore them then, but we're already planning a trip back to check them out. So what about you? What is your favorite road for becoming one with your car and having pure unadulterated fun while driving?
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Hwy 89 through North Arizona through the Grand Canyon National Park. Absolutely amazing. There are a bunch of great back roads outside of Memphis, as well as a great road up and down a hill/mountain in Huntsville, AL that is amazingly good. Though I must say that Germany seems to have us Americans beat in terms of great twisty roads with nice scenery.
@matt 89 is a great road. I may or may not have been in a C32 AMG attempting to determine if AMGs were governed to 155 like other Benzes. Results: inconclusive. The test vehicle ran out of road at 160 and had to slow down.
Highway 70 from Encampment to Baggs, Wyoming. It's a paved two-lane mountain pass with a lot of turns, is only open during the summer, and has very, very little traffic. It's great for a sports car! But just be careful and make sure your brakes work as it's open range!
Different roads for different driving moods: I liked driving the Appian Way from Naples to Rome and back a few times. Scenic. Lots of little towns and Roman ruins to stop and visit. Parco Abruzzi Natzionale was really nice and generally empty. I like the downtown Naples roads for driving like Ronin. We drove like idiots and still couldn't better the locals... Wrong way on one ways. Sidewalks for avoiding large buses. Red lights are decorations. Sometimes the challenge is not how fast you can go but how lost you can get or how narrow a space you can pass your car through. Smacked mirrors with a Volvo in my Beetle one time. Remember the Beetle had those fenders hanging out on the sides... I liked the Costeria Amalfitana south out of Naples for the view but the road was narrow and the traffic heavy so it was best to pick an off-day or an off-season to drive it with the least amount of hassle. The roads south from there are just as challenging without the traffic because you are beyond the tourist zone. I like all of the southern Autostrada b/c we could run flat out without fear of the local law. They didn't care unless the driver was being reckless by speeding in dense traffic, fog, rain, snow, etc. 100mph/1.8 liter/90HP US Spec VW GTI/Rabbit 'verts are fun... Drafting with a Merc in front and a BMW in back with a 40HP Beetle at 80 mph+ for 20 miles with tunnels, Jersey barriers and one lane late at night was fun too. Closer to my current are dozens of empty TN roads full of curves, hills and bridges. These roads are smooth and empty and get the smallest amount of mention in the big road atlas. Just as fun as the "Dragon's Tail" in east TN but without the police or the crowds. Just remember that you have to share the road with the locals, stray cows, and 40 mph pickups. Oh - and sometimes you are a long way from a hospital...