What' your favorite road to ride?

[Vlad]

Back to the original theme of this thread, my favorite road of all time is here. Competition was fierce, especially last season when I rode it for the first time (35,000Km and across the continent), but 129 it came out on top for it's length, scenery, engineering, high quality pavement, no towns, little traffic and most of all the sheer joy I experienced when I rode it. I never felt so in tune with a road and I never rode so smoothly while maintaining some serious speed.

If it was closer or going through populated areas I would keep it as carefully guarded secret, but there's very little chance any squids are going to end up 600Km away from Toronto, in an area with no Tims for hundreds of Km. Those capable of enduring the superslab to get there deserve the treat.

 

[AF4iK]

Looks like a nice road. That route you plotted is about the range of my tank. Were there any gas stations along the way?

 

[Toro Negro]

Just came back from Deals Gap and those are some nice roads to ride.
My favorite has to be Colorado.
Route 34 from Estes Park to Granby.
Route 82 from Aspen to Twin Lakes,
Route 103 from Idaho Springs to Mt. Evans peak!
Hwy 1 from San Fran to San Simeon is breathtaking also but not in the same league as Colorado.

 

[Wheelieboy]

J
My favorite has to be Colorado.

+1!

My favourite is Highway 550 (Million Dollar Highway) in Colorado for its amazing scenery, excitement and twisties Heres a video of my ride from April last year on 550.

[video=youtube;lmqvF9pKl0c]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lmqvF9pKl0c[/video]

 

[regder]

Back to the original theme of this thread, my favorite road of all time is here. Competition was fierce, especially last season when I rode it for the first time (35,000Km and across the continent), but 129 it came out on top for it's length, scenery, engineering, high quality pavement, no towns, little traffic and most of all the sheer joy I experienced when I rode it. I never felt so in tune with a road and I never rode so smoothly while maintaining some serious speed.

If it was closer or going through populated areas I would keep it as carefully guarded secret, but there's very little chance any squids are going to end up 600Km away from Toronto, in an area with no Tims for hundreds of Km. Those capable of enduring the superslab to get there deserve the treat.

Thanks for the heads up, will have to do it one of these weekends

 

[regder]

+1!

My favourite is Highway 550 (Million Dollar Highway) in Colorado for its amazing scenery, excitement and twisties Heres a video of my ride from April last year on 550.

Million Dollar Highway was fun, too bad I rushed through it and didn't enjoy it as much as I should have. Colorado overall is absolutely amazing, not that far either. I hit northern Colorado in two and a half days.

 

[Vlad]

Looks like a nice road. That route you plotted is about the range of my tank. Were there any gas stations along the way?

There are no towns and no gas stations. I would carry a 5L jerry can if I were you. Fuel economy tends to get exponentially worse with speed - mine oscilates between 5 and 7.5L/100Km.

Million dollar highway looks very nice, I'm sorry I missed it last year.

Here are some pics and a video from Beartooth Highway (US 212), "the most beautiful road in America". Next time I'll set up base in Cody or Red Lodge and ride it for a week...

[video=youtube_share;O-HfXlFDl0Q]http://youtu.be/O-HfXlFDl0Q[/video]

 

[Wheelieboy]

I wish I had the time to go up to North Dakota/Montana to ride those roads...maybe next time

 

[Brian P]

Re Ontario's 129 ...

There are no towns and no gas stations. I would carry a 5L jerry can if I were you. Fuel economy tends to get exponentially worse with speed - mine oscilates between 5 and 7.5L/100Km.

I've last been on that road a decade or so ago, and it's high time to do it again - I'm hoping for this summer. Isn't there a store / gas station about halfway up? I seem to recall one being there, but it's not open 24 hours, and even with that station, there is still a stretch of over 200 km with no service. Tentative plan is to go via the ferry and Manitoulin Island, because highway 6 from Manitoulin up to the Trans Canada is another good one.

I've travelled in remote areas before. Never skip an opportunity to fill the gas tank to the brim.

My new cbr125 will easily do 340 km before low fuel starts flashing and I've done 388 km at the time of filling up, and that was without any particular regards for riding economically, so it should be good to go ... it's also the most comfortable bike that I own and the only one that I can put a Givi luggage box on

 

[Vlad]

Isn't there a store / gas station about halfway up?

There could be, but I haven't seen it. I was riding fast enough not to be able to browse the scenery and I didn't go all the way to the end. The entire road is 222Km long and there are definitely gas stations on both ends.

Going there through Manitoulin is a very good idea. I would spend the whole day on the island before making the relatively short hop to Thessalon or Iron Bridge. It's not much shorter and the ferry ride is pretty expensive, but it's much more interesting.

Keeping one's tank full in sparsely populated areas is always a good idea. I usually start looking at 200, although my range is at least 300. 200 is also a nice point for a rest stop and a power nap if necessary.

My new cbr125 will easily do 340 km before low fuel ...

I'm afraid you won't get enough fun out of 129 on a 125 (you are 3 short ). Seriously, you need something more powerful or you will just enjoy the scenery. Very nice scenery, but not worth going all that way just to see it, IMO.

 

[rx_se7en]

general rule, mountains = good roads
too bad we don't have any here in southern Ontario ...

 

[TheNewDude]

So I went riding down side road 4 in Milton today. Was good fun but kinda tough to see around the cornors. I was always scared that another car might be coming down the other way. Plus the road is narrow so you gotta be more careful.

Saw a pack of three riders entering when I was exiting the road too.

And today I discovered one of the most fun parts of riding - the comrawdry between riders. All the riders I passed acknowledged me and I them. Just an instant acceptance. Definitely a great part of riding.

 

[Vlad]

I was always scared that another car might be coming down the other way.

It's OK to be scared, fear is an evolutionary mechanism that keeps us alive and help us reach the age of reproduction . You should always approach blind corners, crests, etc. as if there is a big truck coming your way or there is a bear sitting in the middle of the road. Why? Because one day there will be a truck or a bear.

This picture was taken on Duffey Lake Rd between Lillooet and Pemberton, BC (another fantastic road to ride). It's twisty and scenic with a lot of blind corners, but bambi fortunately decided to lick the salt in the middle of one of very few straights. This picture was taken off the bike and without zoom, that's how close he let me get to him.

 

[TheNewDude]

It's OK to be scared, fear is an evolutionary mechanism that keeps us alive and help us reach the age of reproduction . You should always approach blind corners, crests, etc. as if there is a big truck coming your way or there is a bear sitting in the middle of the road. Why? Because one day there will be a truck or a bear.

This picture was taken on Duffey Lake Rd between Lillooet and Pemberton, BC (another fantastic road to ride). It's twisty and scenic with a lot of blind corners, but bambi fortunately decided to lick the salt in the middle of one of very few straights. This picture was taken off the bike and without zoom, that's how close he let me get to him.

Wow that really is a nice experience.
Thanks for all the pointers. Really had a good time riding yesterday. Was racing home though to be off the road before 9:30pm. (Stupid M1). Can't wait till June 15th!!

 

[Vlad]

You are welcome. Just keep riding and accumulating experience.

You'd be surprised to find out how many seasoned riders don't ride at night or try to avoid it whenever possible. IMO, days are long enough in the summer - If you start early enough you can easily ride over 1,000Km before sundown. I won't shy away from riding at night but I prefer to enjoy the scenery.

 

[Vlad]

Look what I just stumbled upon:

[video]http://www.mefeedia.com/watch/53283114[/video]

That would be simply fantastic to ride if the surf wasn't that high. For a somewhat similar but much more tame experience I recommend the Florida's Overseas Highway. This is the Seven Mile Bridge (new on the left, old on the right):

 

[shanekingsley]

Re:#129 from Thessalon to Chapleau - I was last on that road last fall and a good section of it (I think near Cummings Lake about 40km north of the TransCanada) was ripped up for road repairs. It was soft gravel. Not sure if it's still gravel or has been repaved.

Personally, I found that the southern section of the 129 was quite entertaining, but the 2nd half wasn't technical. You'd have to ride it at well beyond license suspension speeds to have reasonable fun and at that point you're putting yourself in serious danger from sudden hazards like bear, deer, moose and more.... As Vlad said, the scenery is ok, but to really enjoy it, you must speed considerably. The southern section is awesome.

I recall that there was a gas station and store located just north of the intersection with the #556. The #556 that intersects it (Ranger Lake Road) was a real treat, but was twisty, hard-packed gravel the entire length (82km), so not the best choice for some people. There is an awesome 30km paved section of the #556 that leads from the TransCanada to Searchmont Ski Resort - a great out and back just north of the Soo.

 

[MacDoc]

So I went riding down side road 4 in Milton today. Was good fun but kinda tough to see around the cornors. I was always scared that another car might be coming down the other way. Plus the road is narrow so you gotta be more careful.

Saw a pack of three riders entering when I was exiting the road too.

And today I discovered one of the most fun parts of riding - the comrawdry between riders. All the riders I passed acknowledged me and I them. Just an instant acceptance. Definitely a great part of riding.

Great slow scenic road - I've never met a car coming the other way but you always need to treat blind corners or hills as if something is coming around and set your line accordingly.

If you went left at the top down Walkers then across SideRoad 1 or 2 - it's a nice ride behind Waterdown but be careful of the vicious left at the top of the escarpment ( think it's SR1 )

Next time you can go up Appleby and test your hairpin skills at Rattlesnake - then up to the 401 underpass but go left through Campbellville and across to Swiss and south - Swiss can be treacherous in spots so take it easy.
Then pick up Cedar Springs and play around that and Burnamthorpe.

•••
ah Shane - been so long since I drove that route - really want to do that this summer in tourist mode. Solo on that road means more caution.

 

[Vlad]

Re:#129 from Thessalon to Chapleau - I was last on that road last fall and a good section of it (I think near Cummings Lake about 40km north of the TransCanada) was ripped up for road repairs. It was soft gravel. Not sure if it's still gravel or has been repaved.[/QUOTE)

I was there last fall too, but I had time only to ride the Southern half, once each way. The pavement was perfect, so it may be after they repaved it.

We also rode the 546/639/108 loop and it was very nice. First half was twisty and scenic but the pavement was a bit difficult. Second half was pretty much like 129, but we didn't speed much because it's a busier road.

Amazing how many interesting roads are in that area. What's better is that they are all very long and more-less void of traffic and human settlements of any kind. I noticed 556, but there wasn't enough time. When I get back it will have to be for at least a few days, hopefully a week...

 

[Ikan]

To many roads to remember but recently did Lake Placid, N.Y., then Vermont including HWY #17 in Green Mountain National Forest (both ways ), then New Hampshire including Mount Washington. New hampshire makes Ontario seem like an endless 401. 507 is nothing compared to the 2 -3 days of nothing but hills, mountains and curves, curves, curves. The east half was all new to me.

In addition I had the perfect riding partner on their own bike which was the cream on the top so to speak.