AARoads Forum

What is your favorite?

The less straight and populated, the better.  Something like US 129 Tail of the Dragon.  Just a blast to drive.  Elevation changes are fun too, and I always like good scenery.

Provided I'm not stuck behind someone going well below the limit, I'd rather spend 200 miles on a 2-lane road (with no traffic lights) than an interstate.

Nexus 6P

Although I chose Interstate in the actual poll itself, actually for me it depends on what it is I am hoping to accomplish for that partuclar trip.

I love interstates, when I absolutely positively need to get there and soon.

I love my trips to the western NC/eastern TN mountains and cutting up on roads such as the aforementioned Dragon, or the Cherohala Skyway, Blue Ridge Parkway, or any number of US, or NC/TN state routes.

Lewisberry, I haven't been to PA in about 30 years but I seem to remember there are some pretty cool roads up your way, too. Someday my wife and I want to go do some railfanning up at the Horseshoe Curve, it looks like the trip there will be just about as much fun as the actual visit to watch the trains!

I've become much more of a US/state route fan over Interstates in recent years. I'm starting to understand this famous quote about interstates a lot more:

Quote from: Charles Kuralt
"Thanks to the Interstate Highway System, it is now possible to travel across the country from coast to coast without seeing anything."

Yeah, yeah, I know that will rile up the Roadgeekteens and FritzOwls of the world.

Two-lane or less up in the mountains, asphalt is optional. 

For me it really depends.

I chose "other" because I like all roads equally. I don't choose favorites.

Interstate? But chose other. The common place interstates bore me to tears. It's the access controlled roads with obstacles that force the designers to change up the sections (Split grades) ie Glenwood Canyon (I-70) or Missouri Highroad (MO465)

Quote from: slorydn1 on May 10, 2017, 02:08:38 AM
...actually for me it depends on what it is I am hoping to accomplish for that particular trip.

This is the only proper answer.  :clap:

I love farm to market roads.  I think they should be the official state road system of Texas (in the sense of things like the state tree and state bird).  They're generally narrower and less-traveled, but what I really like is that they're less well graded.  They follow the shape of the ground.  They also tend to follow the alignments of the older county roads they replaced, which tend to run along old property lines so they have more curves, due to the metes-and-bounds survey system used here.  They're generally smooth and well maintained and suitable for higher speeds.  A lot of them have 70 and 75 mph speed limits.  But the horizontal and vertical curves, along with the generally more rural character, make them more fun to drive.

A Texas Monthly article from 1983 gives a pretty good description of what I like about them, as well as a short overview of their history.
http://www.texasmonthly.com/the-culture/texas-primer-the-farm-to-market-road/ (http://www.texasmonthly.com/the-culture/texas-primer-the-farm-to-market-road/)

Quote from: wxfree on May 10, 2017, 12:07:53 PM
I love farm to market roads.  I think they should be the official state road system of Texas (in the sense of things like the state tree and state bird).  They're generally narrower and less-traveled, but what I really like is that they're less well graded.  They follow the shape of the ground.  They also tend to follow the alignments of the older county roads they replaced, which tend to run along old property lines so they have more curves, due to the metes-and-bounds survey system used here.  They're generally smooth and well maintained and suitable for higher speeds.  A lot of them have 70 and 75 mph speed limits.  But the horizontal and vertical curves, along with the generally more rural character, make them more fun to drive.

A Texas Monthly article from 1983 gives a pretty good description of what I like about them, as well as a short overview of their history.
http://www.texasmonthly.com/the-culture/texas-primer-the-farm-to-market-road/ (http://www.texasmonthly.com/the-culture/texas-primer-the-farm-to-market-road/)

They certainly are fascinating, about the guarantee you have is that the FM Roads at least are "maintained" to a degree and should be passable.  Signed County Routes in California and Arizona are essentially the same wild card in that you never know what kind of road quality you'll get.  I think that I've been featuring more County Routes this year over state highways in the Pacific Southwest board this year. 

Quote from: wxfree on May 10, 2017, 12:07:53 PM
I love farm to market roads.  I think they should be the official state road system of Texas (in the sense of things like the state tree and state bird).  They're generally narrower and less-traveled, but what I really like is that they're less well graded.  They follow the shape of the ground.  They also tend to follow the alignments of the older county roads they replaced, which tend to run along old property lines so they have more curves, due to the metes-and-bounds survey system used here.  They're generally smooth and well maintained and suitable for higher speeds.  A lot of them have 70 and 75 mph speed limits.  But the horizontal and vertical curves, along with the generally more rural character, make them more fun to drive.

A Texas Monthly article from 1983 gives a pretty good description of what I like about them, as well as a short overview of their history.
http://www.texasmonthly.com/the-culture/texas-primer-the-farm-to-market-road/ (http://www.texasmonthly.com/the-culture/texas-primer-the-farm-to-market-road/)

you realize that I did put a farm to market option on my poll.

Quote from: Roadgeekteen on May 10, 2017, 01:06:48 PM
you realize that I did put a farm to market option on my poll.

Yes, I noticed that.  Without that list I probably wouldn't have thought of it.

You don't have realized there are a few forumers from outside the US. I'm nowhere near an Interstate, US Highway, etc. (At one point I set my location to "3,229 miles [in a straight line] from a numbered American highway", that being Alt US 1 near Hamlin ME), and seeing there is no generic "freeway", "regular road", "Texas superhighway", "Alanland goat path", etc. in the poll, this leaves me to no choice but "other".

My favorite kind of road is the one I haven't yet taken.

Quote from: CNGL-Leudimin on May 10, 2017, 04:48:37 PM
You don't have realized there are a few forumers from outside the US. I'm nowhere near an Interstate, US Highway, etc. (At one point I set my location to "3,229 miles [in a straight line] from a numbered American highway", that being Alt US 1 near Hamlin ME), and seeing there is no generic "freeway", "regular road", "Texas superhighway", "Alanland goat path", etc. in the poll, this leaves me to no choice but "other".

I would do

Interstate = Freeway
US Highway = Improved road (Shoulders+Limited access)
State Road = Unlimited Access
Farm to Market road = ??? I honestly have no idea how to describe this
County Road = Limited maintenance road
Scenic byway = Again, I would say a road that is signed as such.

Quote from: CNGL-Leudimin on May 10, 2017, 04:48:37 PM
You don't have realized there are a few forumers from outside the US. I'm nowhere near an Interstate, US Highway, etc. (At one point I set my location to "3,229 miles [in a straight line] from a numbered American highway", that being Alt US 1 near Hamlin ME), and seeing there is no generic "freeway", "regular road", "Texas superhighway", "Alanland goat path", etc. in the poll, this leaves me to no choice but "other".

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True but, on the other hand, the poll was posted to this site specifically, which states on its homepage...

Quote from: www.aaroads.com
A variety of topics on AARoads aids in trip planning and research while providing the latest information on an assortment of subjects covering roads across the United States.

Can't fault the guy too much for using US lingo on a US-focused site.