It is nice out. I know a good number of us go on cruises, both by ourselves and with others. I myself have taken part in both, sometimes just turning unexpectedly on a road I don't know just to see where it takes me. On fine days (like today), when all the heavy junk weighting your shoulders seems to blow off in the wind as you drive, "getting lost" has fantastic qualities that cannot be ignored. Suddenly, the rush to get places disappears. "Getting things done" takes a back seat (In the S2000, that means rolling off the trunk and clinging to the bumper for dear life). It's the Call of the Open Road. The Open Road is a great thing. It represents freedom to go where ever we want, when ever we want. Life doesn't have to exist in the fast lane of the expressway. There are hundreds of miles of great roads in our area (the UMW) that allow for fantastic driving experiences. From city cruising to country back-roads. From relaxing, stress-melting serenades with the car, driver, and tarmac, to explosive, gear-pounding, throttle blasters to exercise those adrenal glands. However "lost" I am, it always manages to put a grin on my face.

Now, in our areas, we each have our favorite golden roads. We go there and drive on them for pure pleasure's sake just to have fun. Most are right in our back yards from where we live. Others, might take some time to get to them, but are well worth the additional mileage. If we are in the mood to try a new route be it a one way deal or a great loop, how do we know if we wind up on a dud of a road or a fantastic piece of pavement? Shared routes for all to enjoy at some point or another when we feel the Call of the Open Road might solve this.

I am proposing that we share our favorite roads and routes with the UMW, so in those times we want to "get lost" or simply go on a drive to nowhere, we have some great options to do so. Much of this is based on discovery. But I'm figuring we can use "Map My Ride", an Android/iPhone app (its more for runners/cyclists than drivers) to upload and share with the UMW. http://www.mapmyride.com/
New routes and golden roads can be discovered and shared with the community.

I do not have any of my own to share yet. The idea came to me while on one of my adventures today just going wherever wind and road took me. But now that I have the app, I can start tracking explored areas and finding those golden roads, and upload a great route for others to just go for a drive.

Nobody needs to know who or when someone is going to drive on a particular route, if you feel like flying solo, by all means! Sometimes you just need to.

Please post up and share your Golden Roads!

Mountain-man

 

I like this idea! I will be giving it a shot, I go on too many cruises and can't find good roads within a reasonable amount of distance from my house (schaumburg area)

 

Great idea! I find that fun, somewhat twisty roads are hard to come by in the UMW. I took a pretty cool drive yesterday with my buddy out to Gingerman from Kalamazoo:

https://maps.google.com/maps?saddr=K...4,5,6&t=m&z=11

 

Also like this idea. Too bad I dont know of any good roads.

 

Which is one of the reasons I'm hoping this thread succeeds. Some of us already know some great roads in close proximity to each other. Some don't know of any. Those that know great roads or routes can post up their drives. Those who don't know any but feel like doing some exploration can post up their drives for others to give a try. And for those who haven't done any exploration, they now have some options to some awesome drives. But this thread isn't going to fill out on its own. I plan on doing some short runs during the week to post up later. I know of some roads in the area that are fun, but my knowledge is limited. So, I've got some exploration ahead of me.

Thanks for your contribution, GravyRobber!