Forget the videos you've seen on Youtube, or journalists telling you about their best drives (which were organized by professionals). In reality, these ten famous roads are far from being driving nirvana.
10.) Highway 1, California
RVs are a menace when it comes to stunning sceneries:
I nominate Highway 1 along the California coast from Cambria to Monterey. Sure it is beautiful, twisty, dramatic, and awe inspiring. You will also spent 3 hours stuck behind an RV, dodging cyclists in the roadway, with your foot hovering over the brake pedal waiting for the moron in front of you to slam on the brakes in the middle of the road to take a picture. I suppose it is still worth seeing at least once in your life, but just don't expect to do any "driving".
Suggested By: RidgeFish, Photo Credit: mescon
9.) Route 66, USA
It's not a normal highway anymore, but there are parts of it left which are state roads. Still, if you want to feel slightly bored at 55 mph, go for it, says ncasolowork2:
This road now goes through po-dunk towns in the middle of nowhere. Sure you can get across country, but that's not the way I'd want to do it. Picture a town near you in the middle of nowhere. There's nothing interesting to see just a gas station and a general store. Figure there's that and a whole lot of nothing for miles and a 55mph speed limit.
Suggested By: ncasolowork2, Photo Credit: Wouter Kiel
8.) Abbey Road, London
London is full of traffic jams anyway, but when people stop to stand in the middle of the road in order to feel some rock history in the air, you don't want to be around in a car. Park and get a pint of ale.
Suggested By: Arch Duke Maxyenko, a Dyslexic, Photo Credit: Christiaan Triebert
7.) Lombard Street, San Francisco
Ken Block could have some fun there. The rest of us can't, as most of you confirm.
Lombard Street in San Francisco. It's famous for being the most windy road in the world. 8 hairpins down a 27 degree decline...which was done out of necessity. But let's face it, it's just a road down a hill and now I bet most vehicles (tourists, not local cuz I assume everyone in San Fran drives a Prius or something) won't be able to make those turns. I mean, whatever road you drive down in traffic due to tourists...think about this in comparison.
Suggested By: cazzyodo, Photo Credit: rkramer62
6.) Lake Pontchartrain Causeway, Louisiana
TheCraigy is familiar with those expansion joints:
At 24 miles across it's the world's longest continuous bridge over water. I will from time to time see it on a list of the "best straightaways" etc. but it's really just a long, monotonous drive with fairly heavy enforcement so you can't speed the entire length (however you can between crossover points). That said, a high-speed motorcyclist did succeed in evading the po-po last year...
Suggested By: TheCraigy, Photo Credit: glennaa
5.) Deals Gap, North Carolina
America's number one motorcycle and sports car road is a bit number two sometimes:
As a co-disappointee of Stelvio Pass, let me also throw in the biggie: Tail of the Dragon. Great road, but at noon on a tuesday was crowded as can be, and I have never in my life seen so many cops in one place outside of Woodward Avenue at 11pm during dream cruise. I don't think I broke the abysmally low speed limit once. Great place to pitch a tent on the side of the road and watch the world go by, but as a driver? Fuck that noise.
Suggested By: TheSmokingTire, Photo Credit: NCDOTcommunications
4.) The Autobahn (all over Germany)
I went there to max out a 2014 Volkswagen Golf GTD recently, and max out I did. Still, it's under constant maintenance, there are speed limits on many stretches, and there are way too many trucks.
Suggested By: POD, Photo Credit: Peter Fuchs
3.) Mulholland Highway, California
The last person who could get the most out of Mulholland Highway was David Lynch. gt11 is not impressed:
Littered with cops, squids, and exotics piloted by wannabee racers. It's only popular because of the proximity to the population of LA, it's the only road in the Santa Monica Mountains that has turn radius of more than 5 feet.
That section is maybe 15 turns in 3 miles? After that you're quickly into residential area. It's far from challenging either. All the real driving roads are in Angeles National Forest (and 33, north of Ojai), I guess all those noobs are just too lazy to drive there and enjoy them.
Suggested By: gt11, Photo Credit: simonhn
2.) Pikes Peak, Colorado
You might think you could dance up the road like Vatanen, but the Baron2112's Porsche 944 didn't do the trick:
My vote goes to Pikes Peak. I drove it in June in a Porsche 944. It was too steep, too terrifying to really push the car, and too high in altitude for what I was driving. Frankly, the safety aspect of it is what saps all the fun out of it. It's a major achievement just because you are driving up a 14,000 foot mountain. But as a road to drive on, it's hell. There aren't any guard rails, no run off areas, sheer drops, and you can't enjoy the scenery because you're too busy trying to keep it on the road even though you're going 20mph in 2nd gear.
Worst experience on a drive I've ever had.
Suggested By: Baron2112, Photo Credit: aldenjewell
1.) Avenue de Monte Carlo, Monaco
You expect to thrash around a glamorous F1 track, only to find delivery vans and heavy traffic all around. Not brilliant. Still, great view all around, including as many supercars as you would expect from Monaco.
Suggested By: AbarthGuy ♥'s Overrun Crackles, Photo Credit: Haydn Blackey
Welcome back to Answers of the Day - our daily Jalopnik feature where we take the best ten responses from the previous day's Question of the Day and shine it up to show off. It's by you and for you, the Jalopnik readers. Enjoy!
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