[Kiwi Steve]

I rode up north out of the city this morning, attended to my business, and turned around to ride home. Because I had an appointment up there, I'd ridden up on the motorway. But coming home I had the time to make the choice between the motorway straight home or the back road around the top of the harbour. The longer road around the harbour won the day.

WOW! After nearly three years in tropical Queensland with it's largely flat roads, straights between long corridors of sugar cane, and well built, large, even radius curves, what a pleasure it was to ride on a normal Kiwi road again. Up and down, into and out of valleys, corner after corner (even some decreasing radius corners where you have to increase the counter steering part way through the curve to tighten up your turn), and through a couple of lovely villages with cafes which look like they'll be well worth a later visit in their own right.

What a treat, what an amazing buzz that was. I think we Kiwis take what we've got for granted. I'm looking forward to discovering all the other out of the way roads in the area.

 

[soupy1957]

Your discussion of the roads there, in New Zealand, in comparison to Australia, made me think of a movie that Paul Hogan did, not all THAT long ago, about a man who's dear wife dies, and he goes into a depression.

Out of concern and love for him, his older son who had been somewhat estranged from him, perhaps by his own drive to "be somebody" other than a farmer like his Dad, comes to find his Dad in a bad way, and decides to take him on a road trip that goes from the Sydney area, all the way up to the northern most tip of Australia.

The film takes you along with them, and the adventures they encounter along the way (it's like a week-long trip). It also delves into the father/son relationship, and how that grows; and the recovery of his Dad, from the sudden loss of his wife of many years.

The film: "Charlie & Boots"
http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://ia.media-imdb.com/images/M/MV5BMTY3MDE0MDU1MV5BMl5BanBnXkFtZTcwNDEwMTM3Mg%40%40._V1_SY317_CR0,0,214,317_AL_.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1276110/&h=317&w=214&tbnid=YWcEfcqm1cN7fM:&tbnh=160&tbnw=108&usg=__832CG-ujmbfFnehvUlkahZYkzl0=&docid=LkJ3tqmcrhpfcM&itg=1

It's not a motorcycle journey, so that's a bit non-related for this particular Forum, but it is still a great film and worth watching!!

-Soupy

 

[vito]

There are good roads for riding in many places that the average person doesn't see if they stick to the major highways. I live in northern Illinois and often have reason or desire to be in Wisconsin. So much of that state is flat and boring, and if you keep to the Interstates you could easily believe that Wisconsin roads are a bore. But as I did just recently, I went riding the county roads in Iowa County (particularly HH and T), just west of Madison the state capital (in Dane County). The area is just beautiful, and the roads fun to ride, enough that some friends who rode with me exclaimed that they could not believe this was still Wisconsin.

Some folks love riding the major highways, and I certainly use them when I need to get somewhere quickly. And in some cases there are no good alternatives to the Interstate unless you are willing to really take the long way on local roads. But often it just takes a little will to explore the smaller roads and find the great rides. I recommend that the nervous rider who might be fearful of getting lost or otherwise inconvenienced, just buy a GPS device and then they can always hit the "Go Home" button if they get too far afield on the little back roads. Discovering the good riding roads is one of the real pleasures of riding a motorcycle.

 

[hogcowboy]

Now you know why I'm always traveling secondary roads. Most people have no idea just how beautiful some states are. If I want to do boring I do it in a cage with the rest.

 

[Metaldoc]

Roads that are boring in a cage can often be quite interesting on a bike.

 

[vito]

But not all secondary roads are fun to ride. There are whole swaths of this state (Illinois) where everything is flat and straight. The biggest challenge is to not fall asleep while riding. And I truly feel sorry for riders who live in major metropolitan areas where it might take an hour or more of slow stop and go riding just to get out of the urban jungle onto something approaching open roads. (When I visit Long Island, just east of NY City, where my brother lives, I never go by motorcycle. The whole area is just an endless suburban sprawl with an dense urban city to the west. I see a fair number of bikes on the roads there and wonder if that environment is actually what those riders think riding is all about.)

I envy some of you who live in parts of the country where almost all the roads are great bike roads, like parts of North Carolina, Tennesee, and some parts of the Northwest. I wanted to move and buy a house on or near the Blue Ridge Parkway when I retired almost two years ago, but I just couldn't convince my wife, and maybe myself, that I should give up living near my kids and grandkids. Maybe as the grandkids get a little older and have less and less time or interest in being with Grandpa it will be easier to leave.

 

[soupy1957]

Now you know why I'm always traveling secondary roads. ...............

I thought EVERY person who rode a motorcycle, LOOKED for the Secondary Roads, more than any other?!

-Soupy

 

[dilbertrob]

I envy some of you who live in parts of the country where almost all the roads are great bike roads, like parts of North Carolina, Tennesee, and some parts of the Northwest. I wanted to move and buy a house on or near the Blue Ridge Parkway when I retired almost two years ago, but I just couldn't convince my wife, and maybe myself, that I should give up living near my kids and grandkids. Maybe as the grandkids get a little older and have less and less time or interest in being with Grandpa it will be easier to leave.

In the North Carolina mountains, you can basically go anywhere and find great roads to ride. I have ridden every back road and found a ton of great roads near me in the Raleigh area. What I do is whenever I have a few hours to kill, I'll jump on the bike and just head down a road that I've never been on. I'll take random turns and just see where the road leads. Like they say, the journey is the thing, not the destination. When I've gotten lost enough, I'll stop and use the GPS to find a different way home than I came.

 

[hogcowboy]

You have to be prepared to do dirt riding in many cases. Some are just not up to that and aren't very good at U-turns. Texas roads are extremely bad about that. You might go 5 to 10 miles and just suddenly hit gravel which soon turns to dirt. Fun times in this state.:thumbsdown:

 

[anybike]

Its good living in the hills.

 

[billo]

Downhills make good starters

 

[Porky]

It's good riding all over southern Missouri. There are major Interstates N-S-E-West but I try to take nothing but Country/ farm, meandering, curvy roads whenever I can, 90% of the time. My favorite rides take me south about 50 miles to the Arkansas line and it seems like all of the State is beautiful for riding. I have ridden a lot in TN and it's one of my favorites. I lived southern, CA, where I was born and many rides found us exploring the west coast from San Diego all the way to Port Angeles/ Neah Bay, Washington, staying on hwy 1 or 101, a stones throw from the Pacific.

GOD's creation is amazing and for us to enjoy!

Sam:biggrin:

 

[Oldman47]

But not all secondary roads are fun to ride. There are whole swaths of this state (Illinois) where everything is flat and straight. The biggest challenge is to not fall asleep while riding.

Easy there Vito. You are talking about where I live. At least it is easy to find your way home with a grid of roads a nice even 1/2 mile apart. In many ways it reminds me of the roads I have been on in Iowa. Returning home from a long trip I decided to avoid the interstate and had the identical scenery as at home. When the corn fields stopped, the bean fields started.