Ten Best Roads in the US

After all this talk about Deals Gap, I thought it might be interesting
to see what favorites you folks have out there. This "10 Best" list
just showed up on Forbes, but I think it is geared toward the cruiser
crowd and for those who just like to soak up the scenery.

http://www.forbestraveler.com/advent...rintslide.html

I've ridden all ten of these roads (though I had entirely the wrong
bike at Palomer Mt.), and I'd say only three are really sportbike
roads.

What are your favorites (if you aren't militantly keeping them
secret)?

"Vaughn" <vbrandt@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:83dc6308-f541-464f-b1d8-91ab15607f7f@o6g2000hsd.googlegroups.com...
>
> What are your favorites (if you aren't militantly keeping them
> secret)?
>
>
>

I like this one: http://www.so-utah.com/hwy12/hogsback/hogsair.jpg

This one is nice and it's only 10 minutes away:

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=e...&t=h&z=13&om=1

And this is good one also:

http://www.juabtravel.com/map_nebo_loop.htm

Vaughn wrote:
>After all this talk about Deals Gap, I thought it might be interesting
>to see what favorites you folks have out there. This "10 Best" list
>just showed up on Forbes, but I think it is geared toward the cruiser
>crowd and for those who just like to soak up the scenery.

Isn't a change of scenery the reason you travel? Why speed through beauty,
why not just
slow down and stop and smell the flowers and try to identify the birds and
enoy the wild animals?

>I've ridden all ten of these roads (though I had entirely the wrong
>bike at Palomer Mt.), and I'd say only three are really sportbike
>roads.

Roads that are built so automobiles and trucks can travel safely from point A
to point B
are not very good "sportbike roads", what you really want is a race track so
you can extract all the cornering and acceleration performance from your
machine.

If you're riding a sportbike through some intensely beautiful national park
just to see how fast you can take the corners, you're missing out on the real
reason for being there.

I rode I-15 from Los Angeles to Las Vegas, through Zion and Bryce NP's on
magnificent Utah 12, paused at Capitol Reef, and then sped down the White
river to Glenn Canyon, stopped briefly at Natural Bridges NP, and rode on to
Mesa Verde NP. That took three days.

I realized that the sportbike I was riding demanded too much of my ego, it
tempted me to ride too fast. I rode through the Navajo reservation Tuba City
and on to Flagstaff and then took I-40 back to I-14 and continued back to Los
Angeles at sportbike speed in 100 degree heat. The return leg took two days.

Two or three months later, I took a week long bus tour through Arizona, and
New Mexico with a group of senior citizens. The tour guide was a former
school teacher and she kept us interested by showing postcards and playing
Tony Hillerman books on tape.

I got as much enjoyment from that bus tour as I got from the sport tour.
>
>What are your favorites (if you aren't militantly keeping them
>secret)?

There's a nut who has ridden just about every back road in California and
taken pictures
of the empty two-lane blacktop to prove it. Now he actually wants people to
*subscribe* to his site. Fortunately, he hasn't "discovered" my secret forest
roads.

--
Message posted via MotorcycleKB.com
http://www.motorcyclekb.com/Uwe/Foru...tbike/200711/1

On Nov 23, 12:48 pm, "Albrecht via MotorcycleKB.com" <u33665@uwe>
wrote:

> Isn't a change of scenery the reason you travel? Why speed through beauty,
> why not just
> slow down and stop and smell the flowers and try to identify the birds and
> enoy the wild animals?

What if they try to eat me?

> If you're riding a sportbike through some intensely beautiful national park
> just to see how fast you can take the corners, you're missing out on the real
> reason for being there.

Or you could enjoy the motorsickle mambo for awhile, stop up on the
mountain, crack open an abaloney, and spit on the people of non-
Scottish heritage below.

> There's a nut who has ridden just about every back road in California and
> taken pictures of the empty two-lane blacktop to prove it. Now he actually wants people to
> *subscribe* to his site.

Crazy people and their irrational desire to make a living...

On Nov 23, 11:36 am, Vaughn <vbra...@gmail.com> wrote:
> After all this talk about Deals Gap, I thought it might be interesting
> to see what favorites you folks have out there. This "10 Best" list
> just showed up on Forbes, but I think it is geared toward the cruiser
> crowd and for those who just like to soak up the scenery.
>
> http://www.forbestraveler.com/advent...cycle-rides-pr...
>
> I've ridden all ten of these roads (though I had entirely the wrong
> bike at Palomer Mt.), and I'd say only three are really sportbike
> roads.

You've been very busy for a 30 somethin dood.

Pick a road in West Virginia. Pretty much every road in the state
belongs on the list. I even had a nice drive on their toll expressway
coming back from Virginia last month.

On Nov 23, 9:36 am, Vaughn <vbra...@gmail.com> wrote:
> After all this talk about Deals Gap, I thought it might be interesting
> to see what favorites you folks have out there. This "10 Best" list
> just showed up on Forbes, but I think it is geared toward the cruiser
> crowd and for those who just like to soak up the scenery.
>
> http://www.forbestraveler.com/advent...cycle-rides-pr...
>
> I've ridden all ten of these roads (though I had entirely the wrong
> bike at Palomer Mt.), and I'd say only three are really sportbike
> roads.
>
> What are your favorites (if you aren't militantly keeping them
> secret)?

This one's not a secret but may as well be cause' it's way out in the
boondocks or about 6 fast riding hours from PHX and close to that from
Albuquerque. Traffic is maybe one car every 10 miles in the Summer and
it's closed in the winter. It's called by sereral names 191 old 666,
Coronado Trail & "The Devils Highway" due to having the highest death
rate of any US HWY considering total vehicles traveled from Morensi to
Alpine AZ. If you manipulate the mapquest link you can see a
connecting loop into NM on HWY 180 & 78 for a total of ~200 miles of
twisties.

http://www.roadtripamerica.com/drive...nado-Trail.htm

http://www.mapquest.com/maps/map.adp...y=US&geodiff=1

Bob Nixon.

"Bob Nixon" <bigrex2005@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:d0873fbb-3840-4e46-b5ec-4d4d1209cb69@e6g2000prf.googlegroups.com...
>
> http://www.mapquest.com/maps/map.adp...y=US&geodiff=1
>
> Bob Nixon.

The 191 has some nice sections in Utah as well.

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&hl=e...&t=h&z=12&om=1

On Nov 23, 11:13 am, "BryanUT" <nestl...@comcast.net> wrote:
> "Vaughn" <vbra...@gmail.com> wrote in message
>
> news:83dc6308-f541-464f-b1d8-91ab15607f7f@o6g2000hsd.googlegroups.com...
>
>
>
> > What are your favorites (if you aren't militantly keeping them
> > secret)?
>
> I like this one:http://www.so-utah.com/hwy12/hogsback/hogsair.jpg
>
> This one is nice and it's only 10 minutes away:
>
> http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=e...te=&ttype=&q=e...
>
> And this is good one also:
>
> http://www.juabtravel.com/map_nebo_loop.htm

Thanks for those Bryan. Now that winter is here, I'm starting to plan
my next trip - which will be a 12 state motocycle tour bachelor party
run, with a final destination of SW Utah. It is one of my favorite
states for scenic beauty and hiking - and there's a lot of road there
I haven't tried yet.

I'll be headed that way the last week in May of 2008 on the Strom, so
thanks for the recommendations.

On Nov 23, 11:48 am, "Albrecht via MotorcycleKB.com" <u33665@uwe>
wrote:
> Vaughn wrote:
> >After all this talk about Deals Gap, I thought it might be interesting
> >to see what favorites you folks have out there. This "10 Best" list
> >just showed up on Forbes, but I think it is geared toward the cruiser
> >crowd and for those who just like to soak up the scenery.
>
> Isn't a change of scenery the reason you travel? Why speed through beauty,
> why not just
> slow down and stop and smell the flowers and try to identify the birds and
> enoy the wild animals?
>
> >I've ridden all ten of these roads (though I had entirely the wrong
> >bike at Palomer Mt.), and I'd say only three are really sportbike
> >roads.
>
> Roads that are built so automobiles and trucks can travel safely from point A
> to point B
> are not very good "sportbike roads", what you really want is a race track so
> you can extract all the cornering and acceleration performance from your
> machine.
>
> If you're riding a sportbike through some intensely beautiful national park
> just to see how fast you can take the corners, you're missing out on the real
> reason for being there.
>
> I rode I-15 from Los Angeles to Las Vegas, through Zion and Bryce NP's on
> magnificent Utah 12, paused at Capitol Reef, and then sped down the White
> river to Glenn Canyon, stopped briefly at Natural Bridges NP, and rode on to
> Mesa Verde NP. That took three days.
>
> I realized that the sportbike I was riding demanded too much of my ego, it
> tempted me to ride too fast. I rode through the Navajo reservation Tuba City
> and on to Flagstaff and then took I-40 back to I-14 and continued back to Los
> Angeles at sportbike speed in 100 degree heat. The return leg took two days.

I do hear you. Movement AND stillness, they are both important for
the soul.

But hitting the corners quick on a well set up sport/adventure/touring
bike is way fun (but not so much in National Parks). Then sitting
back and enjoying the scenery on the straights until finding some
unpaved road to go explore for prime camping/hiking spots, is
basically my style.

I tried touring on my Triumph 675 last summer, and I agree that a
dedicated sportbike like that isn't appropriate for the job - I always
wanted to go faster, though there was no reason for it in many parts
of the trip.

I enjoy touring on a more versatile do-it-all bike much more. But I
hate bus trips.

On Nov 23, 12:21 pm, saddlebag <saddle...@aol.com> wrote:

>
> > I've ridden all ten of these roads (though I had entirely the wrong
> > bike at Palomer Mt.), and I'd say only three are really sportbike
> > roads.
>
> You've been very busy for a 30 somethin dood.
>
> Pick a road in West Virginia. Pretty much every road in the state
> belongs on the list. I even had a nice drive on their toll expressway
> coming back from Virginia last month.

Yup! I tend to ride around a lot. I just totally love the freedom
and movement of camping across the continent off a sport touring style
bike.

The SE is indeed pretty much all prime stuff - Eastern KY and TN, SC,
and W. VA area all great riding, and fairly unpopulated in many parts.

My new favorite area for ease of access from Madison, WI is So MO and
N ARK. Great riding in the Ozarks, and not many people.

But my personal top five list (in the US) for fun and scenic roads
would have to include include:
Warwoman Highway (N. GA)
Angel's Crest (Highway 2) (East of Pasedena, CA)
The Alton/Doniphan Route (SoMo)
Cache de la Poudre Hwy 14 (N. CO out of Ft. Collins)
Beartooth Pass, WY/MT

And if ya go South of the Border:
Espinoza del Diablo (from Durango to the Pacific)

And in the Alps:
Stelvio/Timmelsjoch Pass (N. Italy to Switz.)

There's a ton more in Canada, too:
Cassiar Hwy (N. from Vancouver to Prince George, then West from there
into the Yukon = a million times more fun than the Alcan)
Crow's Nest Pass (Alberta/BC)
The roads through Jasper and Banff Prov. Parks
And the gravel roads South of Whitehorse to Atlin Prov. Park