Cheetos Boredom Buster
Interstate highways aren’t for driving enthusiasts. The Eisenhower-era system was a cold-war project, built as much to move peaches out of Georgia as to deliver Abrams tanks to the landing site of a Russian sea attack. The design assumed speeds of 75 mph and dictated pancake-style flatness of no more than a six percent grade. Such road-building conservatism may make intercity travel more efficient, but for serious drivers it’s like taking a shower in a Hickey Freeman suit.
So how do you find great driving roads off the beaten path? That’s the subject of this week’s Cheetos Boredom Buster.
Searching every road in the US for the best places to stretch out your BMW M3 or MG TC would be a lifetime project without Google Maps.
The western US holds some of the newest and most beautiful roads in the country. The key to finding the best ones for driving is to follow the natural terrain of the region using Google’s terrain view. The trick is to look for elevation changes. Check out these examples from the Rockies and Sierra Nevada ranges.
Roadbuilders use rivers and streams as reference points, which is why most b-roads follow water sources. Once you find a promising spot, turn on Google Streetview to see if it’s as good as it looks from above. Look for road conditions like busy intersections, the presence of zombies or the nests of giant mutant lobsters that could ruin your day out. Then, just print out directions and hit the road. The best part is you can do all this at work without anyone getting suspicious. If they only knew…