Best Road Close to Home

[LongRanger_imp]

Gone in 60, great write up! I haven't ridden Santiago since 2000 and would probably be dismayed at all of the recent development.

We have a similar road here, Bear Creek Canyon, which is 11 miles of smooth, curvy, two-lane nervana, from Evergreen to Morrison, CO. 35 mph speed limit but it tempts you to go 70, with nary a passing lane in sight. It's a scenic and sensory delight on weekdays but on weekends, watch out. Everyone's on it, from bikers, to bicyclists, to drunks, to gawkers. I absolutely avoid it then.

[Stichill_imp]

Gi60! As much as we rue the interstate grind, imagine a world without them. My dad used to talk about the torture of fighting your way to a destination on a crowded 2-lane highway, in the days before multi-lane divided highways, when non-air conditioned cars would blow radiator hoses and fan belts at the drop of a hat and having a good spare tire was a serious necessity.

A good motorcycle road close to home, almost by definition, has to be a road that is less traveled.

Gone in 60, great write up! I haven't ridden Santiago since 2000 and would probably be dismayed at all of the recent development.

We have a similar road here, Bear Creek Canyon, which is 11 miles of smooth, curvy, two-lane nervana, from Evergreen to Morrison, CO. 35 mph speed limit but it tempts you to go 70, with nary a passing lane in sight. It's a scenic and sensory delight on weekdays but on weekends, watch out. Everyone's on it, from bikers, to bicyclists, to drunks, to gawkers. I absolutely avoid it then.

Re: 35 mph, I'm reminded of Django's "Colorado pampers the traffic" comment.

Edit: By the looks of it, that is easily a 65+ mph road. Here in Kentucky we would put up a sign at the end of town saying "End 35 mph limit" and turn you loose on it. The lack of visibility-killing vegetation on that road would be delightful. We only enjoy that on ridgetop roads. Most everywhere else, vegetation grows close the highway and you have to be vigilant if you want to ride at the lawful 55 mph speed.

[Cormanus]

Gi60! As much as we rue the interstate grind, imagine a world without them. My dad used to talk about the torture of fighting your way to a destination on a crowded 2-lane highway, in the days before multi-lane divided highways, when non-air conditioned cars would blow radiator hoses and fan belts at the drop of a hat and having a good spare tire was a serious necessity.

A good motorcycle road close to home, almost by definition, has to be a road that is less traveled.

Gone in 60, great write up! I haven't ridden Santiago since 2000 and would probably be dismayed at all of the recent development.

We have a similar road here, Bear Creek Canyon, which is 11 miles of smooth, curvy, two-lane nervana, from Evergreen to Morrison, CO. 35 mph speed limit but it tempts you to go 70, with nary a passing lane in sight. It's a scenic and sensory delight on weekdays but on weekends, watch out. Everyone's on it, from bikers, to bicyclists, to drunks, to gawkers. I absolutely avoid it then.

Re: 35 mph, I'm reminded of Django's "Colorado pampers the traffic" comment.

Edit: By the looks of it, that is easily a 65+ mph road. Here in Kentucky we would put up a sign at the end of town saying "End 35 mph limit" and turn you loose on it. The lack of visibility-killing vegetation on that road would be delightful. We only enjoy that on ridgetop roads. Most everywhere else, vegetation grows close the highway and you have to be vigilant if you want to ride at the lawful 55 mph speed.

And, I suspect, one you don’t have to commute on.

[Rocky_imp]

Well, tragically, it happened again just yesterday. I wanted to visit some old coworkers on the far side of Santiago Canyon road, my old, two-lane twisty commute, and the road was closed. I had a bad feeling why, and my suspicions were justified this morning. Two motorcycles hit head-on while one of them was in the oncoming lane passing a slower vehicle. From the video news footage, the dotted line would show that he was attempting to pass in the one legal area you can do so along the 12 mile stretch. Unfortunately, each bike was carrying a passenger, and all four perished.

This is so tragic and so avoidable.
The same thing happened on a Florida road a few days ago.
Two middle-aged riders who knew the roads and Florida traffic very well, collided head-on while passing on a two-lane road and perished.

[Rocky_imp]

On today's ride I realized how really blessed I am (as are others in differing locals) to have absolutely great roads to ride all around me. What a joy to be able to leave the house anytime of the day, in the cool morning or evening when the temps are high in the mid day, or during the warmest part of the day when temps are cold, and ride beautiful curvy country roads with very little traffic.

Good thread Stichill

We don't get the heat you do, but we have our warm days so early morning and evenings can be the most comfortable times to ride.
We have some lovely rural roads to ride with practically no traffic, but the winding coastal roads right on the Atlantic Ocean are the gems here.

And very fresh fish about, or a-boot, ... about, err, abound.

And very fresh fish about, or a-boot, ... about, err, abound.
Contrary to popular belief, we don't say "a-boot" or "eh" - at least those of us who made it past grade six

[Cormanus]

S'funny... Americans think Canadians sound sorta 'British'. And the British think Canadians are, er... Americans...??

In California, I was once asked "Are you Australian?" despite my impeccable English accent. I replied "No, I'm English. Are you Canadian?"
A moment's pause then he burst out laughing... Fortunately, 'cos he was a big fella !

What does this mean, Bazbro? Elton? Cockney? Yorkshire? Devon? Somewhere else?

There was a wonderful Steven Fry video where he goes round the UK using every county’s accent, but I can’t find it.

[Bazbro_imp]

S'funny... Americans think Canadians sound sorta 'British'. And the British think Canadians are, er... Americans...??

In California, I was once asked "Are you Australian?" despite my impeccable English accent. I replied "No, I'm English. Are you Canadian?"
A moment's pause then he burst out laughing... Fortunately, 'cos he was a big fella !

What does this mean, Bazbro? Elton? Cockney? Yorkshire? Devon? Somewhere else?

There was a wonderful Steven Fry video where he goes round the UK using every county’s accent, but I can’t find it.

What does this mean, Bazbro? Elton? Cockney? Yorkshire? Devon? Somewhere else?

There was a wonderful Steven Fry video where he goes round the UK using every county’s accent, but I can’t find it.

I speak almost unaccented English, tainted slightly by 'London' (not Cockney!) because of my 40 years working there.
We have an incredible number of different accents here in the UK - for instance, Manchester alone has at least five distinct separate accents.
Strangely, my 'Englishness' is emphasised when I'm abroad - dunno why.

[Bazbro_imp]

Splendid!

Actually, it's pretty hard to know what 'unaccented English' sounds like

It used to be "BBC English" - a standard way of pronunciation, very clear and precise, not "posh" but just, well, straightforward clear English. The BBC has lapsed and now permits accents from all the UK's regions (Scotland, Wales, Ireland) including local accents, some of which are awful and often difficult to understand. For so-called "communicators" this is appalling.
Most British newsreaders on TV speak clear unaccented English, though some do have an accent.