Scott Colmer Posted March 27, 2015 Posted March 27, 2015 (edited) Scott's Topic on the Ides of March reminded me of the trip we took to Italy. We stayed on the Amalfi Coast which is essentially an old, old town carved into the side of a costal cliff. It was quite beautiful, but driving there was very scary. The roads are extremely narrow. On one side is a sheer cliff. On the other is the Mediteranian Sea - a few hundred feet down. We decided the were two types of fear on these drives: 1) Dying as passenger with no control. 2) Fear of killing you both as a driver. Things are pretty tight. The are stopped at this point buy that is pretty much how it is when they are moving. Hosted on Fotki Then things get tighter. Hosted on Fotki Post up you favorite or most memorable drives. Scott Edited March 27, 2015 by Scott Colmer
cobraman Posted March 27, 2015 Posted March 27, 2015 Wasn't there a show on TV a few years ago called something like " Most dangerous roads " ? It was about different American drivers going to spots where the tightest and highest and most winding roads. I thought it was pretty good.
Lucas van H Posted March 27, 2015 Posted March 27, 2015 My most fun drive was when I went on holiday to Bavaria. Long, winding roads without another car in sight. My destination was a small (and I mean 'blink and you miss it' small) village in the hills. I have a soft spot for the roads in that area. Lucas.
Rob Hall Posted March 27, 2015 Posted March 27, 2015 I drove the Amalfi Coast in '03 in a Mercedes A140..was quite the drive...scraped mirrors with a car going in the opposite direction at one point. At another point, had to stop and wait for a bus to back up through a village to let the traffic through. Driving in Rome on the same trip was fun also. Traffic signs and lanes seem to be more of a suggestion than a rule in Italy. On the Autostrada I stayed in the middle lane, leaving the left lane open for the fast driving Germans and the right lane open for trucks. On another trip in Italy, I drove an Opel Vectra from Milano up to Lake Como and Lake Maggiore..driving around the lake district was more relaxed than down South...
Roadrunner Posted March 27, 2015 Posted March 27, 2015 I never have gotten around much. The most interesting road I ever routinely drove, was a two mile stretch about five miles north of here; a road with more curves than Marilyn Monroe. Lots of trees, drop-offs, ditches, the occasional deer, and rock outcroppings that have been blasted to create the roadway, seemingly only inches away from the side of the car.
Tom Geiger Posted March 28, 2015 Posted March 28, 2015 Driving in St Thomas, US Virgin Islands. Traffic as tight as in the photos above... up and down mountain roads... now add to the mix that you are driving US left hand drive cars, on the right side of the road! Yea, completely backwards!
jbwelda Posted March 28, 2015 Posted March 28, 2015 yeah let me tell you about four years driving in Papua New Guinea and two in Jamaica sometime. but for now you want a scary drive? drive the skyline blvd road above and between santa cruz and san jose California, sometime. the road isn't bad, its very scenic fun drive actually, running along the ridge top of the santa cruz mountains but whats crazy, especially on the weekends, are the nutso motorcycle riders who split lanes (two lane road that means they are driving on the double yellow line) with massive amounts of traffic coming, them at near 100 mph amongst cars busses suvs etc going 40 max. and doing it in packs, two inches from each other. and veering into the oncoming traffic whenever it suits them. and I am talking HUNDREDS of motorcycles not just a couple, going both directions, lying completely knees on the ground down in the corners (wet mossy gravelly you get the picture). now normally that might not bother me so much as I figure hey if you want to end your life go ahead just don't inconvenience me by having to call an ambulance, but these guys (and girls) are SO out there that its a constant case of having to watch for potential flying wreckage. miraculous not many seem to get hurt but the couple times ive been stupid enough to subject myself to that road on a weekend I have seen two or three bikes either crash, skid out or go over an embankment or a combination of the three. including one time a guy on a hardly worthison trike (what a dumb ass) go straight off the road and into a tree, ejecting himself and that little non-DOT approved brain bucket square into the tree. that was one I stopped for and the guy was dead as a doornail, kind of the way Darwinism ought to work but is so stifled by our need to be "safe" these days. anyway I avoid that road like a plague now a days, was a fun drive back in the seventies. jb
Tom Geiger Posted March 28, 2015 Posted March 28, 2015 (edited) Sounds like rush hour on the Garden State Parkway in New Jersey! I survived eight years of that one. A road that is six lanes in each direction. Traffic is going 75 mph near bumper to bumper. Then someone hits their brakes and everyone stops dead. You'll sit there for a minute still, then the traffic starts inching, and in a minute it's back to 75 again. Every frickin day there are accidents. Same one over and over. Someone smacked into the back of the car ahead of them. Cars pull into the shoulder, then everyone inches by to get a look. I had a 60 mile ride to work.... 50 minutes on a Saturday morning, 1.5 hrs on a regular work morning, 2 hrs on the way home! Edited March 28, 2015 by Tom Geiger
Scott Colmer Posted March 29, 2015 Author Posted March 29, 2015 (edited) William, I think I know the Santa Cruz road you are talking about. On a trip too Santa Cruz I found this amazing winding road through the forest. It was early am just after sunrise, so it was pretty clear. I had a turbo RX7 at the time. It was FUN. Not sure I would do the same thing now that I am older. was about 86. I did not see a lot of motorcycles. Scott Edited March 29, 2015 by Scott Colmer
jbwelda Posted March 30, 2015 Posted March 30, 2015 (edited) heres a fun sunday drive for your Samurai up: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N6Gi_aCVtUw and down: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bJ7Auk1ZT4s I have ridden over the lions back but never driven it. no way. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fpbkTncjEOs jb Edited March 30, 2015 by jbwelda
Toast Posted March 31, 2015 Posted March 31, 2015 (edited) I was going to post some pics of trails we drive that are along the edge of a cliff but they pale in comparison to the Lion's Back. That trail is no joke! Edited March 31, 2015 by Toast
FullPowerGarage Posted April 11, 2015 Posted April 11, 2015 (edited) My dad is always complaining how much he hates the Ring of Antwerp.. Edited April 11, 2015 by FullPowerGarage
lysleder Posted April 12, 2015 Posted April 12, 2015 Atlanterhavsveien (Atlantic Ocean Road), Norway,
Scott Colmer Posted April 12, 2015 Author Posted April 12, 2015 I looked up the ring of Antwerp. Its a road, but I could not find a picture to show it's insaneness. That Santa Cruz, drive looks like the one I remember. Beautiful. On the other hand the Atlanta Ocean Road looks plain scary. What's worse, the off ramp or the crashing waves?
Chuck Most Posted April 13, 2015 Posted April 13, 2015 I don't need to find any "exciting" stretch of road, what with an 80-mile round trip commute on good old US-127. Being an interstate highway, it's pretty much arrow straight, but even then it gets mighty interesting. The first part of the trip has actual intersections- no overpasses, just secondary roads with stop signs. It never ceases to amaze me how many people will wait until they can see the whites in my eyes before flooring it across four lanes of traffic. I don't even know if I bother lifting off the gas for those people anymore, much less letting off or hitting the brake. Even once you get past that section and the speed limit bumps up to 70, the fun doesn't stop. From there on it's the doofus who tailgates you while texting, the old geezer in the Buick who's doing 10MPH under the limit and weaving between the lanes, and the 16 year old girl behind the wheel of Dad's Suburban... seemingly after taking a handful of Mom's Valium. Just a few days ago I thought I was going to get to watch a pile-up happen right in front of me... (relatively) slow moving traffic in the passing lane and a guy in the right lane who, seemingly being unaware of the purpose of a deceleration lane, started to slow down rather dramatically in the right lane itself. The line of cars behind him (unable to pass due to the slow-moving left-lane traffic) became like a row of mobile Christmas lights as the drivers behind him hit the brakes. Sort of related.... "maintaining a safe following distance" seems to be a lost art. It gets really fun in winter... especially after the first big snow, or if it's icy. I have no idea how you can live (and drive) in a place like Michigan your whole life and have no idea how to drive in slippery conditions, but it seems like there are always huge pileups, or you'll see clusters of cars in the ditch or on the median. We like to call them "The Summer Tires Support Group". Nobody seems to remember the laws of physics, or how they pertain to a vehicle in motion- yes, you can drive 70 miles per hour on snow or ice... but your abilities to turn or stop are greatly hindered, even if you have every traction, braking, and/or stability aid known to man. If it's raining badly enough it's almost as bad. Certainly there are times I wished the roads in the US were more like the roads in India. That would certainly thin out the idiot driver herd by quite a fat margin. Barring that, there are days I really start to think that maybe the Amish have the right idea about transportation.
FullPowerGarage Posted April 14, 2015 Posted April 14, 2015 Ring of Antwerp is indeed a normal road. But it is (to Belgian standards) the worst place to be in at rushhour. At normal 120 km/h's you are past Antwerp in half an hour. At rushhour my dad does 3-4h.. And that is like everyday
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