- This topic has 8 replies, 5 voices, and was last updated 09/22/2022 | 09:22 by .
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I don’t think there is a Perfect Road. There is always something missing or some piece of the road that is marred somehow. As far as a Best Road, the same applies. There are certainly Better Roads and Worse Roads.
I have to say though that I do have Favorite Road(s), in categories. I just can’t narrow it down to a single favorite road. Rather, I have a beautiful scenery favorite, a sweepers favorite, and a country road favorite.
For example, for pure all out zooming along flawless tarmac, with strong ascents and giant sweepers, I’d say that Highway 33, going north out of Ojai is my favorite because it just goes on and on, miles and miles of good hard riding. I usually hit this midweek and have the road to myself. Starting on the lower portion at the beginning, you get a series of tighter S’s and two tunnels as you pass through Wheeler Gorge. Then the long climb to the top followed some sharp turns on a quick and short decent. For me, this road has it all and tops my Sweepers Favorite category.
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Favorite ride?:
From Vancouver through British Columbia via routes 1, 97, 16 and 37 to the Alaska Highway, the Alaska Highway to Tok Alaska, and the Tok/Glenn Highway to Anchorage. Then back to Vancouver via the same route with a few detours.
I rode that around 42 years ago on a 1979 Honda XL500 thumper, and I’ll add that the ride started and ended at the Mexican boarder in San Ysidro and was close to a 7500 mile round-trip. But the part that I mentioned in the first paragraph was the “favorite” ride I’m writing about.
Let me qualify “favorite” though: It was the single most challenging ride I’ve ever ridden. It was too hot and too cold. It was dusty and muddy. A lot of it was desolate and I ran out of gas more times than on every other ride I’ve been on combined. I also rode through clouds of flying insects that were so thick that I’d have to stop every 7-10 miles to clean them off my visor and the cooling fins on the engine because I couldn’t see anymore and the engine would overheat. The bike even suffered permanent damage from all the deet I had to use (it dissolves paint and plastic) and despite all the deet, I was still covered with bug bites for much of the ride.
But I also rode through some of the most beautiful scenery you could imagine. I saw bears, moose, wolves, lynx and other 4-legged critters and eagles, hawks, and other birds in numbers that were mind-blowing. I also had a lot of pan-fried trout and eggs for breakfast and I caught most of the trout myself.
But the one thing that makes that ride stand out above all others was the sense of accomplishment I had when I was finished. In that regard, no ride before or since can compare and that’s why it’s my favorite!
I’m in no hurry to do it again, at least on a motorcycle, but I’m damn-sure glad I did it once.
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I suppose I should mention some recent rides I’ve been on that I really enjoyed. But understand that I’m a lot more into scenery than the ride itself.
One of my favorites is CA-49 from Nevada City to CA-89 in Calpine. I lived in Quincy CA for almost 22 years and I’m very familiar with that route, but I never tire of riding it. It’s plenty technical for those who like twisties and the scenery is excellent.
I rode it in May on my way home from the 49er Rally and was really impressed with how healthy the forest was on that route. Fire and bark beetles have ravaged much of the forest in the Plumas and Tahoe National Forests, but the forest around CA-49 looked real good.
I was also very impressed with CA-299 from Alturas to Redding. I rode that in June on the way back from John Day OR and it was a real pleasant ride. Much of it is open road through farmland (mostly hay and other silage) and it was mostly still green in June. One of the highlights of that ride was seeing both Mt. Lassen and Shasta from the same location. Pretty spectacular!
ok, I’ve double-dipped and now it’s someone else’s turn. 😉
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