Challenging Roads
05-28-2014, 05:33 PM
#1
Registered Member
Thread Starter
Challenging Roads
Hello all,
Thought it might be fun to post your location and any roads that have challenged/scared you the most in your G so maybe others can give them a go with some spirited driving :-)
I am in Frederick, MD:
-Hamburg Road, down from or up towards Gambrill Park Road.
-Ijamsville Road southward.
-Shookstown Road coming from Gambrill Park Road.
It isn't really the windy-ness, but more so the quick changes in pavement elevations and unevenness of the roads. Good luck :-)
Thought it might be fun to post your location and any roads that have challenged/scared you the most in your G so maybe others can give them a go with some spirited driving :-)
I am in Frederick, MD:
-Hamburg Road, down from or up towards Gambrill Park Road.
-Ijamsville Road southward.
-Shookstown Road coming from Gambrill Park Road.
It isn't really the windy-ness, but more so the quick changes in pavement elevations and unevenness of the roads. Good luck :-)
05-28-2014, 07:50 PM
#2
In southwest Missouri there are all kinds of fun/challenging roads. The most popular is highway 125 from Rogersville down to the lake (and across the ferry if you want). If you do the ferry ride and grab lunch it can be a 4-5 hour round trip.
05-28-2014, 08:01 PM
#3
Registered User
Located in San Francisco, CA.
If I'm in the mood for a drive, I find myself hitting these locations:
- Hwy 84 "La Honda Road" (Section between Int. 280 and Hwy 1)
- Kings Mountain Road (off of Hwy 35)
- Sierra Road (in San Jose, CA)
If I'm in the mood for a drive, I find myself hitting these locations:
- Hwy 84 "La Honda Road" (Section between Int. 280 and Hwy 1)
- Kings Mountain Road (off of Hwy 35)
- Sierra Road (in San Jose, CA)
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Bravo at (06-03-2014)
Phoenix to Peyson, oh-yeah!
05-29-2014, 12:52 PM
#6
Registered User
Key West Has the most challenging roads for lowered cars IMO. It feels like you're riding in a farm one hole after another, its sooo annoying you don't go a day without hitting a pothole trust me i try.
05-30-2014, 03:56 PM
#11
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05-30-2014, 04:48 PM
#12
Registered User
Tomball, Texas.
Back roads where there's extremely light traffic. Curvy roads, excellent visibility in case I need to slow my butt down. Best time is early in the morning right after all the kids go to school and people go to work. No traffic, no cops because they haven't made their way back there yet.
Back roads where there's extremely light traffic. Curvy roads, excellent visibility in case I need to slow my butt down. Best time is early in the morning right after all the kids go to school and people go to work. No traffic, no cops because they haven't made their way back there yet.
05-31-2014, 12:07 AM
#13
Registered Member
Thread Starter
Tomball, Texas.
Back roads where there's extremely light traffic. Curvy roads, excellent visibility in case I need to slow my butt down. Best time is early in the morning right after all the kids go to school and people go to work. No traffic, no cops because they haven't made their way back there yet.
Back roads where there's extremely light traffic. Curvy roads, excellent visibility in case I need to slow my butt down. Best time is early in the morning right after all the kids go to school and people go to work. No traffic, no cops because they haven't made their way back there yet.
05-31-2014, 01:34 AM
#14
Registered Member
I live in South San Jose, CA. Sadly, most of these roads have traffic so you can't drive them as fast as you'd like but most are technical offering lots of elevation changes on turns, hairpins and vertical drop offs to keep the blood pumping. These are my favorites:
Mt. Hamilton Road - Lots of switchbacks and elevation changes; off camber turns and unguarded drop offs make it a white knuckle drive if you want to go fast. Add an occasional ice storm or snow in the winter and double your pleasure - https://www.google.com/maps/@37.3373...21.6627262,15z
Mt. Umunhum Road - This is the (slightly) improved road up to an abandoned military radar tower once used in WWII. Its been closed to public access until last year for lead paint contamination. The road is less twisty that Mt. Hamilton road but has lots of elevation changes and sweeping curves. The temperature change is rather unique since you start out in the Almaden valley which is typically warm in the summer and you end up on a peak overlooking the valley and the Sierra Azul Open Space Preserve. I've recorded up to 30 degrees temperature difference between the start and endpoints. - https://www.google.com/maps/place/Mt...5dd0119a0f925d
HWY17 Between Scotts Valley and the Lexington Reservoir. Not a lot of hard turns but this stretch is fast. The locals rarely dip below 60MPH because they know the road. This is a twisty bit of blacktop with sudden drops on one side and K-Bar lane dividers on the other. Often the lanes are squeezed down to accommodate erosion of the road bed. Long sweeping turns with off-camber bumps keep the drive interesting as well as the tons of trucks and suicide jockeys who think they can drive anything add a bit of drama to the ride. This stretch would be a blast of it wern't for the traffic but even so, Ive never taken a "out of towner" on this road and not gotten comments about the experience. - https://www.google.com/maps/place/Si...b907b48ef92ede
La Honda Rd between Wunderlich County Park and San Gregorio State Beach. This is a nice road with a lot of hairpins and tight curves early on. Closer to the beach the road straightens out but there are a lot of elevation changes as you cross canyons and ridges. Dark shadows across the road mask dips and ruts so you've got to have your eyes open if you want to do this road fast. Traffic is about nill during the mid-day but picks up towards the evenings and on weekends. There's also several homes along the road so at times you'll feel like your creeping along. This drive is all about consistency, weight transfer and smoothness- https://www.google.com/maps/place/Si...b907b48ef92ede
NF-99 in Washington. For those of you in the state, you'll recognize NF-99 as the access road to the Mt. St. Helens National Park, Spirit Lake and the crater basin. Traffic can at times be a bear on this road but thousand foot drops, moon like scenery and the stark landscape make the drive breathtaking even without the fine grit that coats the road lessening your grip. If you can drive this road in the early spring before the tourists show up, you can test your wet road skills. Late in the summer the area is hot and dry and that grit becomes more of a detriment - https://www.google.com/maps/place/Mt...ddb4f4b6cf94c7
Mt. Hamilton Road - Lots of switchbacks and elevation changes; off camber turns and unguarded drop offs make it a white knuckle drive if you want to go fast. Add an occasional ice storm or snow in the winter and double your pleasure - https://www.google.com/maps/@37.3373...21.6627262,15z
Mt. Umunhum Road - This is the (slightly) improved road up to an abandoned military radar tower once used in WWII. Its been closed to public access until last year for lead paint contamination. The road is less twisty that Mt. Hamilton road but has lots of elevation changes and sweeping curves. The temperature change is rather unique since you start out in the Almaden valley which is typically warm in the summer and you end up on a peak overlooking the valley and the Sierra Azul Open Space Preserve. I've recorded up to 30 degrees temperature difference between the start and endpoints. - https://www.google.com/maps/place/Mt...5dd0119a0f925d
HWY17 Between Scotts Valley and the Lexington Reservoir. Not a lot of hard turns but this stretch is fast. The locals rarely dip below 60MPH because they know the road. This is a twisty bit of blacktop with sudden drops on one side and K-Bar lane dividers on the other. Often the lanes are squeezed down to accommodate erosion of the road bed. Long sweeping turns with off-camber bumps keep the drive interesting as well as the tons of trucks and suicide jockeys who think they can drive anything add a bit of drama to the ride. This stretch would be a blast of it wern't for the traffic but even so, Ive never taken a "out of towner" on this road and not gotten comments about the experience. - https://www.google.com/maps/place/Si...b907b48ef92ede
La Honda Rd between Wunderlich County Park and San Gregorio State Beach. This is a nice road with a lot of hairpins and tight curves early on. Closer to the beach the road straightens out but there are a lot of elevation changes as you cross canyons and ridges. Dark shadows across the road mask dips and ruts so you've got to have your eyes open if you want to do this road fast. Traffic is about nill during the mid-day but picks up towards the evenings and on weekends. There's also several homes along the road so at times you'll feel like your creeping along. This drive is all about consistency, weight transfer and smoothness- https://www.google.com/maps/place/Si...b907b48ef92ede
NF-99 in Washington. For those of you in the state, you'll recognize NF-99 as the access road to the Mt. St. Helens National Park, Spirit Lake and the crater basin. Traffic can at times be a bear on this road but thousand foot drops, moon like scenery and the stark landscape make the drive breathtaking even without the fine grit that coats the road lessening your grip. If you can drive this road in the early spring before the tourists show up, you can test your wet road skills. Late in the summer the area is hot and dry and that grit becomes more of a detriment - https://www.google.com/maps/place/Mt...ddb4f4b6cf94c7
06-02-2014, 11:15 PM
#15
Registered User
