When did you start liking roads?
I don't remember when I started liking roads, but we traveled a lot when I was a little kid, and I was apparently fascinated with all of the signs.
Since when I was 8. I talked about the highways a lot.
Since around age 3 before I could talk, so I was pointing at everything.
Pretty much always. I recall building the Lodge Freeway for my toy cars in my sandbox when I was a toddler.
Around 7-8 yrs old for me. I started paying more attention to road signs, lane layouts and traffic signals on trips since then.
About 3, if not a tad younger. I was pointing out one way signs.
When I was a baby. I don't remember not being interested in two things: old cars and roads.
One of my first memories is when I was about 2 or 3, I noticed all the traffic signs along US 27 (or other nearby roads) and made up a sound effect that went with the yellow diamond curve sign. I think I really got into roads when I was about 4 with the Lourdes Lane stuff, just before that street was torn down to build I-471.
I actually remember another time possibly even before all of that when I was laying down on my back and looking at a local street map.
I think all of this was between about 1975-78.
Probably age 5-6 when I started looking at AAA maps and road atlases. I first really got into Massachusetts state routes, in fact I probably knew almost as much about them at age 7 than at age 17.
13-14, surprisingly.
We built road layouts in the sandbox with hills, tunnels, etc. We used croquet balls for vehicles, since they rolled in the sand and toy cars and trucks didn't.
In late elementary, my friend and I were drawing out city street designs on large sheets of butcher paper.
In middle school we had a trip to Washington DC. My mom gave me a map to follow our progress. (So by that time I was thoroughly into trips and maps.) I thought I'd be made fun of for having it, so I didn't get it out for the first half or so of the trip. But when I did look at it, others on the bus were interested in how far we still had to go.
As long as I can remember and even earlier than that. I would always be looking out the window on car rides, noticing the signs, signals, and street names. I would also spend much of my youth drawing roads on notebook paper, setting up fictional cities on an old pool table using board game boxes to represent "buildings". Later on, I even made some rudimentary BGS which I printed out and taped to popsicle sticks stuck in clay bases.
Roadgeekery isn't just a hobby—it's a lifestyle.
As long as I can remember, although as a little kid I mostly liked looking at maps.
We took a road trip from Minnesota to Arizona to visit my grandparents when I was 6. I was given the AAA maps and helped to navigate.
Chris
like, since the first time my mom had to pull to the side of one to change my diaper, basically.
when i was in my tween years, i used to draw them, insane fusterclucked interchanges, with little numbers alongside them to indicate what signs went where, drawn on another sheet.
I drawed maps on paper grocery bags. Sometimes they were fictional places, but sometimes they were attempts to show real places. I think the first one I remember was when I was about 4 when I drew the aforementioned Lourdes Lane area.
That was an area around Newport or Woodlawn (Ky.) that we used to drive through on shopping outings. I really liked this area, but one day we discovered it was all torn up to build I-471. But I was interested in it before I heard I-471 was going in there. I'm guessing this was 1977 or 1978.
6 years old. First time I was handed an atlas and everything went from there.
This has inspired me to create a document on my roadgeeking history especially with my fictional highways.
Since I was a toddler, at least. I was always pestering Mom to "go exploring" and take new routes to and from the grocery store when I would go along with her.
My first experience with the wonderful world of ODOT signage was this sign (photo by Eric Stuve). Even at age 4 I knew there was something weird about it.
(https://www.aaroads.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.okhighways.com%2F092802%2Fi35exit125b.jpg&hash=51fc43df20d49e7dd7101e805cc3cbbd89ec52dd)
When I was 3 years old and wondered why I-280, CA-480, I-80 and US-101 had different shields if they were freeways.
Note I didn't realize that US-101 is a scenic coastal road in Oregon and Washington state until I saw videos of US-101 being called Pacific Coast Highway in other places.
My favorite book as a young child was cars and trucks and things that go
I was around 6 when I became aware of different types of roads & highways. I was from Southern California so streets and freeways were all I knew, along with 2 lane highways that ran up into the mountains (Big Bear, etc.). I began to pay attention to various road signs around that time too. I became aware of US 66 around that time as well since we had to use it due to I-40 not being completed at that time. I was more enamored by I-40 at that time rather than US 66 since I had a thing for freeways.
Quote from: Scott5114 on May 09, 2021, 03:03:05 PM
Since I was a toddler, at least. I was always pestering Mom to "go exploring" and take new routes to and from the grocery store when I would go along with her.
I used to do this same thing. I remember once when I was about 7, we went to some department store to have a portrait taken, and my mom said something like, "If you're really good, we can drive down Three Mile Road on the way home." Or maybe it was Bramble Avenue.
During the summer when I was about 8, a bunch of us would visit yard sales all over the county. I'd give my mom a route to the next yard sale, and she always thought I was making up the route just so I could explore some new roads.
Since I was a kid. I recall looking at old map books and pull-out maps from back in the day. Some of them were definitely older than others (it took awhile for I-287 and I-295 to be completed, and I recall Middlesex County filling in CR 522). NJ has had its share of antique signage and alignments, though I've seen things being lost to progress over the years (like some new development off of the Old Road, which is technically the former Lincoln Highway, right near where I used to live).
One of my earliest memories was of my laying out highways and setting up BGSes with building blocks in my babysitter's basement, before I could read. (Age 3, maybe?)
Quote from: 1 on May 09, 2021, 06:17:03 AM
13-14, surprisingly.
What started your interest? I joined the forum at 13.
Quote from: Roadgeekteen on May 09, 2021, 07:56:23 PM
Quote from: 1 on May 09, 2021, 06:17:03 AM
13-14, surprisingly.
What started your interest? I joined the forum at 13.
I'm not exactly sure. I've always been interested in numbers since I was a little kid; maybe that had something to do with it?
Quote from: 1 on May 09, 2021, 08:14:08 PM
Quote from: Roadgeekteen on May 09, 2021, 07:56:23 PM
Quote from: 1 on May 09, 2021, 06:17:03 AM
13-14, surprisingly.
What started your interest? I joined the forum at 13.
I'm not exactly sure. I've always been interested in numbers since I was a little kid; maybe that had something to do with it?
Didn't you join the forum at age 14?
Quote from: Roadgeekteen on May 09, 2021, 08:15:03 PM
Quote from: 1 on May 09, 2021, 08:14:08 PM
Quote from: Roadgeekteen on May 09, 2021, 07:56:23 PM
Quote from: 1 on May 09, 2021, 06:17:03 AM
13-14, surprisingly.
What started your interest? I joined the forum at 13.
I'm not exactly sure. I've always been interested in numbers since I was a little kid; maybe that had something to do with it?
Didn't you join the forum at age 14?
Yes.
Always. When I was really young I'd draw fake roadmaps. I could look at maps for hours.
Quote from: texaskdog on May 09, 2021, 08:46:03 PM
Always. When I was really young I'd draw fake roadmaps. I could look at maps for hours.
I used to draw fictional highways on Rand Mcnally atlases.
I liked cars a lot, and I guess by extension I started liking roads, as I would draw roads and maps for my toy cars to drive on
Quote from: Roadgeekteen on May 09, 2021, 03:42:09 PM
things that go
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KeFoGo3N_4g
I couldn't give an exact answer, but I was young. I generally think of it as being sparked by our annual summer trips from Indiana to Maine.
Quote from: Roadgeekteen on May 09, 2021, 07:56:23 PM
Quote from: 1 on May 09, 2021, 06:17:03 AM
13-14, surprisingly.
What started your interest? I joined the forum at 13.
i'm actually impressed... i thought this forum would be all old farts like myself...
I know Noelbotevera is one of the youngest to join the forum at 11 from looking at some of the welcomes; are there people that joined here at an earlier age than him?
Quote from: SkyPesos on May 10, 2021, 10:53:14 AM
I know Noelbotevera is one of the youngest to join the forum at 11 from looking at some of the welcomes; are there people that joined here at an earlier age than him?
How is that even eligible? Are they banned?
Quote from: Angelo71 on May 10, 2021, 10:54:47 AM
Quote from: SkyPesos on May 10, 2021, 10:53:14 AM
I know Noelbotevera is one of the youngest to join the forum at 11 from looking at some of the welcomes; are there people that joined here at an earlier age than him?
How is that even eligible? Are they banned?
Early in this forum's life, there was an age minimum of 13 (by law). It's been removed, and there's no age minimum now. As noelbotevera never caused any issues, the "typical kid" problem never happened.
Quote from: 1 on May 10, 2021, 10:58:47 AM
Quote from: Angelo71 on May 10, 2021, 10:54:47 AM
Quote from: SkyPesos on May 10, 2021, 10:53:14 AM
I know Noelbotevera is one of the youngest to join the forum at 11 from looking at some of the welcomes; are there people that joined here at an earlier age than him?
How is that even eligible? Are they banned?
Early in this forum's life, there was an age minimum of 13 (by law). It's been removed, and there's no age minimum now. As noelbotevera never caused any issues, the "typical kid" problem never happened.
Oh.
I would have to say around 5 or 6. My grandparents used to keep road maps in a compartment in a table in their living room that I always read, plus my dad was in the car business and his dealership was always giving out free road atlases. I found myself drawing my own maps based on what I saw. Of course, this was wayyyyy before any kind of board like this.
As long as I can remember. At some point when I was young my parents bought several county atlases of MD, and one day I discovered them and began to "read" (not sure if that's the right term for an atlas, but can't think of a better one) thru them page by page. I think they still have a giant tub somewhere around their house filled with all my road drawings from over the years :-D
My parent's favorite story to tell of when they realized the extent of my interest: We were somewhere in Arlington for the day, and upon returning home we were on VA 7 west (https://www.google.com/maps/place/Rt+7+Leesburg+Pk+%26+Haycock+Rd/@38.8966411,-77.2078634,14.5z/data=!4m5!3m4!1s0x89b7b4d2379066b9:0xe2004034a5688b8c!8m2!3d38.894652!4d-77.190082?hl=en) with the ultimate goal of crossing the Legion Bridge on I-495 and heading up I-270. As we approached the I-66 interchange, my parents figured they'd hop on I-66 west for one exit to I-495 north. Of course as us roadgeeks know, this movement is missing from the 66-495 interchange due to nearby VA 267. Thus, young me began screaming from the back seat to NOT get on I-66 west and instead just continue on VA 7 directly to I-495. My parents, as you'd reasonably expect, figured "how could a 6-year-old possibly know directions?" and took the ramp onto I-66 west despite my objections. Sure enough, minutes later they realized I-66 west only had a ramp to I-495 south; they then continued to exit 62, u-turned, and got on I-495 north from I-66 east. Somewhere during that detour, I slid in a smug "I told you so".
My navigational abilities were never questioned again after that :-D
I was probably about 6 or 7. My grandpa gave me a road atlas, and together him and I planned the route to get to a family reunion in Ohio. I became fascinated how the blue lines represented freeways, and I'd trace their route to see where they went, and imagine what the road would look like there. Looooooooong before Googe Streetview.
Vehicles and roads of any sort interested me before I was even in kindergarten. Transportation and communication seemed like such miracles! Radio was the "communication" side of things which entranced me.
Rick
I was 37, because I can't prove my roadgeekiness back to my second trimester.
Okay, in stages from 5-6 on up with maps and cars. Didn't really have an obsession until I was old enough to drive...so 16 it is.
I can't remember what age I was, but my interest certainly developed from the combination of riding around in my parents' cars and looking at their road maps and atlases. It probably started before I was 10.
Definitely by age 7. I have a Rand McNally atlas from then that I spent hours poring over, and I Fritzowled in lots of additional freeways in California.
As long as I can remember. I still love looking at maps and atlases. Growing up in the 60s, it was always exciting to get a new map or atlas and see what new segments of the Interstate system were added since the previous year. I also inherited my grandfather's love of reading train schedules and planning imaginary trips.
When I was in first grade, I drew an outline map of the US (lower 48) from memory. My teacher was very impressed. I still have a copy of it - it's pretty crappy (Texas looks like a pair of udders) but it's probably better than 90% of people of any age could do from memory.
I have always been fascinated with numbering systems of every kind - highways, license plates, telephone numbers, clocks, calendars, etc. At various times in my life I was pretty fluent in both the Dewey Decimal system and the Library of Congress Classification System.
I can remember telling a bus driver that she was going the wrong direction as early as age 4. I was building roads and the like in the sand and used plaster to cast roads for my toy cars which I painted black with the yellow and white lines. I even cut out highway signs and really like the Florida state route system and the county roads.
I can remember asking my parents to use the business routes so I could see more than just some boring interstate. I asked to go down the interstate roads that were not yet completed to detour off onto usually the US highways.