Best road you’ve driven/ridden.

cruxiform

By motorcycle/car etc. For me, it’s the Sustan Pass in Switzerland. I rode it in September 2017 and was blown away by it. I was staying in Interlaken the night before and when I got up the weather looked awful for the day but despite that I decided to ride the pass anyway. The ascent was fantastic, the weather at the top was shit and made things scary but the descent was sublime. I’ve ridden lots of roads in Europe but the Sustan tops the lot. This is my video of it all, compressed into 12 minutes. Soz if it appears I’m being a little self indulgent,

https://youtu.be/PbdYyRoUpV0

Would love to hear about roads or routes that have really impressed you guys, especially as I’m always planning trips and looking for ideas. 

LesbianWithAGun

I've ridden on a coach from Dover to London along the M20...
Which is a fun thrill whenever like 7 hours is spent on mainland Europe from Amsterdam (NL) to Calais(FR) via Verne (B) in the same coach...
The flatness of that picturesque trip make the M20 like a roller-coaster/ride... On the M20 that's carved into the hills with bends and inclines and all of that, is way cool after coming from such a flat plain. - then you hit London again and traffic and then that's another hour.

Budgie

I love the drive from the A82 at Glencoe through Glen Etive to the head of Loch Etive. It’s probably not what you meant but it’s a beautiful location with lots of places to stop. In fact most of the highlands has that effect on me. Between Morar back to Fort William past Loch Sunart is a great drive too. It’s years since I’ve been there but Sutherland around Assynt, Ullapool etc is stunning too.

cruxiform

Budgie said:

I love the drive from the A82 at Glencoe through Glen Etive to the head of Loch Etive. It’s probably not what you meant but it’s a beautiful location with lots of places to stop. In fact most of the highlands has that effect on me. Between Morar back to Fort William past Loch Sunart is a great drive too. It’s years since I’ve been there but Sutherland around Assynt, Ullapool etc is stunning too.

Thanks, that’s exactly what I meant! Scotland is on my list, would love to visit Glen Coe. You’ve got me thinking!

John_P

The caledonian 500 from inverness up and around the top is a great circuit.   I did it last summer and plan to go back the other way later this year.

https://i.imgur.com/mQ2VkjI.jpg

KKJale

I think for me it was some obscure road basically going north from Cuenca in Spain through a national park. Narrow two-lane, just surfaced, almost deserted, super-twisty, bonkers rock formations... it went on for ages. I was on a 600cc trailie so it was perfect. There's tons of stuff off the beaten path inland in Spain and Portugal.

I've done the coast road from LA to San Francisco and it was rather romantic, but a rented Toyota econobox with squeaky tyres and the charisma of a kitchen kettle rather took the shine off it as a driving experience 

Teetonetal

Susten pass is alright. Ive cycled it a few times when i lived in Interlaken, but I'm not sure it's the best in switzerland. Bit spoilt here for roads. Furka,  Simplon, Geimsel, Flüela/Albula, Gotthard, Grand st Bernhard are all famous.

I think though that the Stelvio pass in Northern Italy takes the biscuit. 

cruxiform

Teetonetal said:

Susten pass is alright. Ive cycled it a few times when i lived in Interlaken, but I'm not sure it's the best in switzerland. Bit spoilt here for roads. Furka,  Simplon, Geimsel, Flüela/Albula, Gotthard, Grand st Bernhard are all famous.

I think though that the Stelvio pass in Northern Italy takes the biscuit. 

A bit spoilt?! Totally spoilt! I loved Switzerland but unfortunately for me, the weather was not so good to me that time so I only got to ride the Sustan...and I was passing through on my way to the Black Forest. I rode in over the Grand St Bernard which was great too. I need a week out there to cram in all of the passes. So now I’m thinking Scotland and/or Switzerland so far!

Dominic

Ridden the Gotthard ,st Bernard and Stelvio but the best was the Grossglockner in Austria which is recognised for cars and motorcycles as a specific scenic drive with a start gate and finish gate.......it's closed at night.

cruxiform

Twice I’ve planned to go to Austria, specifically to ride the Grossglockner with friends but each time the weather has been so bad I’ve ended up going elsewhere. That happened last year and I ended up going to the South of France, so silver linings and all that...

stimpsonslostson

When I was a child my dad drove us through the Pyrenees from France to Spain. I still remember the mix of awe at the views and terror at the drop! 

As an adult I love the road from Craignure to Fionphortt especially in an evening as the sun starts to drop. 

cruxiform

stimpsonslostson said:

When I was a child my dad drove us through the Pyrenees from France to Spain. I still remember the mix of awe at the views and terror at the drop! 

As an adult I love the road from Craignure to Fionphortt especially in an evening as the sun starts to drop. 

I rode to the Pyrenees with my mate in 2016. Loved it. The N240 and N260 are fantastic roads. We based ourselves in Jaca, another place I’d like to go back to. 

MtB

Three spring to mind for me - all done on motorbike. First is the ZA-925 out of Sanabria in north western Spain and heading towards Braganca in Portugal (where it becomes the N103). Takes you through the Montesinho national park. About 25 miles in length. I rode it 4 times while over there on hols - and don't think I saw more than a dozen cars on it.

The next is the N106 in France, between Ales and Mende - through the Cevennes national park. It's 102km of biking heaven.

And last but definitely not least is the D906 in France. Starting at Chamborigaud (once you've done 75% of the N106 route above in a southerly direction), and following the D906 all the way to Vichy. Its in the region of 300km in total (takes in a little bit of motorway) and takes you though some of the most beautiful countryside in central France.

Guitar_Slinger

The first was my first Christmas riding up to Liverpool by bike when people were advised not to travel. It was so windy on the motorway, I missed the M6 turn-off but didn't realise until and it was too late and found a free map at the services, which showed a road towards Manchester that eventually turned into the M56. The road was the A628 in the Peak District National Park. It was about 9pm, the wind had dropped, the road was dry and there was a full moon lighting the roads. I was 21, on a 2-stroke 250 and felt like I had a racetrack to myself. Wheee! 

The second was the SS125 across the mountains in SE Sardinia, in my brother-in-law's Fiat Panda. It was like a Super Mario Kart. Have been going there for 23 years but have still to ride that road on a bike bigger than an unrestricted Aprilia scooter.

gubble

The A18 from Ramsey Hairpin until you get to Creg Ny Baa.

It's even better when the road is closed to two way traffic or closed to the public all together

TheBigDipper

Nurburgring Nordschleife - it is, after all, technically a one-way toll road... 

I don't seek out riding mountain passes, mainly because I like to poodle along and look at the scenery in those situations, rather than ride the road - missing out on some of the riding challenge of it all. 

One of my best days riding ever was going from Krakow to Prague on a cross-country route using rural roads, little traffic yet (once I left Poland) on well-surfaced roads. Much of the route was in hilly country and very pretty. From memory, I couldn't tell you the roads, but I'm going to go back to my maps and see if I've still got the route written down. 

All motorcycling, of course. I've driven cars in Sardinia and Corsica. I wouldn't mind going back with a bike. 

Snap

A57, Snake Pass. Luckily on my doorstep, and I never tire of it.

Pacific Highway, especially through Big Sur, north to south. Pretty amazing

Legionreturns

I've ridden so many amazing routes by bike. (Proper bike, not the motorised kind!) 

I think my favourite was a 60ish mile loop from Edinburgh airport over the hills to the Kincardine Bridge, then back down the other side of the Forth before finishing across the Forth road Bridge. Just the right mix of hills, stunning views and fast bendy descents. Even a cobbled section through on of the villages in the North side. Did it in a touch over 4 hours so not too shabby either. 

EricTheWeary

I’ve driven across the Burway in Shropshire a couple of times in the past which gives some lovely views across the hills but is a very tricky road ( steep and narrow, sheer falls to the side. It’s an interesting short drive, not sure it’d make any great drives of the world list.

This year we did a lot of the Dutch coast and across the Afsluidtijk dyke which was kinda cool. 

https://i.imgur.com/537bm5R.jpg

Dominic

gubble said:

The A18 from Ramsey Hairpin until you get to Creg Ny Baa.

It's even better when the road is closed to two way traffic or closed to the public all together

Mad Sunday ? I thought I could ride pretty well and was a track day hero until I got behind some of these guys and realised I am a gutless wimp with no real skill at all !

Ravenous

Cycling over the top of the Langdales, in the Lake District. Fantastic stuff.  (The road up is marked as 1:4 so don't stop whatever you do, you might have trouble getting restarted.)