WARNING: No Curves Ahead :-(

3

3Wheeler

New member
So to say that I’m happy with my new car would be a huge understatement -- I think head over heels in love is much more accurate.



I am, however, mighty choked that there’s nowhere that’s fun to drive where I live now (SW Greater Vancouver). For miles and miles and miles, all the roads are DEAD STRAIGHT! You're on one of these roads, top a small rise, and a ribbon of straight road stretches out as far as the eye can see. :grrr



I don’t know how prairie folks stand it. Man, we may as well change the law, let the flatlanders drink and drive! Yep, just get ‘er pointed straight, set the “Club� (or whatever that steering wheel lock thing is called -- in the prairies I think it’s marketed as an autopilot), and away wheee go.



On Vancouver Island, where I’m from, there are curves aplenty, so I'm very happy to say that I do, in fact, know how to drive. One time back home I saw this flatlander -- Calgarian I think -- whose motor home was parked on the verge of a curve, while he lay in the grass at the side of the road squinting down his putter, as he manipulated it between the motor home and the coming curve. Apparently he’d left Calgary for Port Alberni (about 1,000 miles) about a year and a half earlier.



Anyway, I envy all you driving enthusiasts who have some decent twisties nearby… <drool> Count your blessings…… :(

~3W
 
Well I do have some nice county roads by me but whenever I take my car for a drive I always get stuck behind some old person going about 10 mph under the speed limit.



Not that I'm for excessive speeding, but for me going somewhat over the speed limit allows for that extra grin factor.
 
I have a friend who lives in South Dakota. The area went wild when they put in an overpass with a cloverleaf. The only one within 200 miles. Woohoo!



Enjoy your new car. Time for a driving vacation! :xyxthumbs
 
LOL- we've got lots of fun roads right around here, being in the foothills of the rockies.

There is 1 particular cloverleaf that I'll drive to in town, that is my benchmark test-grounds for new tires.

I LOVE cloverleafs!:bounce
 
droooooooooollllllllllllllll curves in the road :) and not another car in sight





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a few pics of our trip down PCH/Highway 1 from the Bay Area to LA:



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look at all them bugs! The drive was pretty fun, we started out at Stanford, went down through Santa Cruz on Highway 1 to SLO for dinner (Firestone Grill... yum) and hopped on the 101 all the way back down to LA. Took about 10 hours total.
 
Well HotRodGuy and bunmango, thanks (I think ;)) for posting those beautiful pictures of places I drool to drive. Maybe us Autopians should arrange a get together/rally. Now that would be some kind of fun, wouldn't it! :)



Just not here where I live, please!!!!



I burn around clover leafs and any other curves I can find. It just doesn't compare to driving on roads like HotRodGuy and bunmango posted -- a different universe altogether.



There actually is one ( :( ) road close by that has some twisties and is OK to drive fast, but it's well travelled by tortoises (no offence, Tort :) ). What I do is dawdle behind them, letting them get way in front, and then crank it through the turns. Must drive people behind and in front of me crazy. Like I care. ;)

~3W
 
Bunmango, i've got a drive for you if you ever head from LA to San Fran again. That road I took a picture of is hwy 58. It connects buttonwillow fromt he 5 to Santa Margarita right off the 101 a little bit before you hit San Simeon. It's an unreal road. If you start at the 5 the first 30 or so miles are just LONG LONG straights where you can just cruise at 140-150. After that it's a good 60-70 miles of those beautifull twisties I took a picture of. I've driven the road probably a dozen times, have never ever seen a cop and can probably count the other cars i've seen w/ my hands. It's something you've gotta do, the scenery is gorgous!
 
3Wheeler said:
Well HotRodGuy and bunmango, thanks (I think ;)) for posting those beautiful pictures of places I drool to drive. Maybe us Autopians should arrange a get together/rally. Now that would be some kind of fun, wouldn't it! :)



Just not here where I live, please!!!!



I burn around clover leafs and any other curves I can find. It just doesn't compare to driving on roads like HotRodGuy and bunmango posted -- a different universe altogether.



There actually is one ( :( ) road close by that has some twisties and is OK to drive fast, but it's well travelled by tortoises (no offence, Tort :) ). What I do is dawdle behind them, letting them get way in front, and then crank it through the turns. Must drive people behind and in front of me crazy. Like I care. ;)

~3W
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they get out of my way when they see this ;)



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I love the Oak Creek Canyon road that goes between Sedona and Flagstaff, Arizona... plenty of switchbacks and hairpin turns on the mountain that make yoyu want to say "yeeee hawwww!



Posted by 3Wheeler

On Vancouver Island, where I’m from, there are curves aplenty, so I'm very happy to say that I do, in fact, know how to drive.
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I have friends that live in Malahat!
 
3Wheeler said:
There actually is one ( :( ) road close by that has some twisties and is OK to drive fast, but it's well travelled by tortoises (no offence, Tort :) ). What I do is dawdle behind them, letting them get way in front, and then crank it through the turns. Must drive people behind and in front of me crazy. Like I care. ;)

~3W
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If you are really into twisty roads, go get yourself a copy of Destination Highways. They are on sale at most motorcycle shops like Burnaby Kawaski, Richmond Motorsports, etc. They outline and rate all motorcycle roads in BC. And of course, if they are good for bikes, they'd be great for cars too. :)



You are talking about the Sea to Sky? Take it further, and continue past Whistler to Pemberton, Lilloet, and then up the Duffy Lake Road, all the way up to Cache Creek, and then turn down to Princeton and come back on the no. 3 Highway.



There are plenty of great roads on the mainland, but you just have to want to drive a bit. The Stave Lake Road in Mission is quit a challenging road also.



If you want a short spin on a challenging road, go up to Cypress Bowl and Mt. Seymour. I rode side by side (I was on my sportbike) with a BMW 325i all the way up to Hollyburn on Cypress Bowl. Plenty of fun. Enough 2nd gear corners to keep most people happy - just a bit short.
 
Hey HotRod, I wouldn't be getting out of your way, you'd be getting out of mine (at least, after my mods are finished)!! ;)



Hey Gonzo -- 'tis a small world, as they say. :) If you're ever coming up for a visit, give me a call. Maybe I could show you how to drive on that very cool road over the Malahat Mountain. ;)



When I had my Alfa Romeo GTV in the early eighties, I used to commute to university over the "Hat". At one point, I felt like I could drive its twisties with my eyes closed. I only had one speed: FAST!!



Man, I'd race anybody going over that mountain (when you're that young, you're invulnerable), including some very surprised motorcyclists and guys in racier cars. I think often the result of those sorts of races isn't determined so much by the car, but by the driver -- his nerves (or lack thereof) being of central importance (of course it also helps if you can drive :) ).



Damn, just thinking about it makes me want to get on the ferry and do the Hat!



Happy driving, you lucky SOBs! :D
 
Hey Gary,



Thanks for all the great info!! :) I'll definitely be checking it out.



Unfortunately, I wasn't talking about the Sea to Sky Hwy (for non-Vancouverites, it's the road thru the mountains between Vancouver and Whistler) -- I think that's a pretty good road, except for its lengthy one lane stetches where you get stuck behind tortoises. It's going to all two lane though, isn't it, with Olympics upgrades? Then it should really be something! :cool: I'll just have to remember to keep my eyes on the road, not the magnificent new vistas appearing around every 4th corner! ;)



Nope, I was talking about the tiny bit of twisties on Crescent Beach Road (I'm out in White Rock). There are about eight good corners, populated (as is this whole area) by retired folks.



I'm spoiled by Vancouver Island, where a decent road always seems at most a 10 minute drive from anywhere you are. <sigh>



You suggest that I might try going

2wheelsx2 said:
....past Whistler to Pemberton, Lilloet, and then up the Duffy Lake Road, all the way up to Cache Creek, and then turn down to Princeton and come back on the no. 3 Highway.
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How long would that drive take? Sounds like a great adventure. Last I heard, a friend of mine lived in Pemberton, so I'd definitely have to stop and see him -- meaning staying at his place until I sobered up! :) I thought there used to be some gravel roads involved in that circuit -- am I wrong, or has it changed?



Thanks again, Gary! :xyxthumbs

~3W
 
3Wheeler said:
Hey Gary,



Thanks for all the great info!! :) I'll definitely be checking it out.



How long would that drive take? Sounds like a great adventure. Last I heard, a friend of mine lived in Pemberton, so I'd definitely have to stop and see him -- meaning staying at his place until I sobered up! :) I thought there used to be some gravel roads involved in that circuit -- am I wrong, or has it changed?



~3W
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Crescent Beach road? That thing is full of driveways and is super slow. I haven't ridden there for years. Yeah, do the Sea to Sky and then the Lilloet loop. It should take in the neighbourhood of about 7 or 8 hours, depending on how often you stop. It's only 800 km or so. Or if you like, just pop up to Kelowna and overnight, and take it the wine country too. There are plenty of fantastic roads up that way.



Ummm....part of the Duffy used to be gravel, but now it's all paved. Lots of frost heave though, so you have to watch that you are not pushing too hard. There are some corners where people have run off, so there is sand and gravel, but it's all pavement. After a repave, it's beautiful, but it's been about 3 years now, and the freeze/thaw cycles up that way heaves the road badly.



As you get to know the area better and better, you'll see that there are plenty of great roads here, but they're all just a bit further out of town than the good ones on Vancouver Island.
 
HotRodGuy said:
Bunmango, i've got a drive for you if you ever head from LA to San Fran again. That road I took a picture of is hwy 58. It connects buttonwillow fromt he 5 to Santa Margarita right off the 101 a little bit before you hit San Simeon.
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Interesting... I'll keep that in mind... how long does it normally take? On the way up, we just charge up the 5 to the 152 to the 101 into San Jose (last time we did it in 5 hours door to door, including a gas stop :o)



The trip down PCH to the 101 took about 10 hours...
 
Thanks a lot Gary -- I really appreciate it. I'll post in this forum -- hopefully with pics! -- once I've tried them out! :)
 
i have a nice road that goes along the coast that i like to drive enthusiastically on. there is a nice left-right section i love. too bad so do a lot of slow-driving tourists....



but your mazda3 is awesome on curvey roads. it's a shame it's awesome suspension isn't being put to the test.



i got to test drive a 3s sedan (same color as yours) on this really nice curvey road and i loved it! it gives you good confidence and just hugs the road without feeling unstable. it's kinda funny in that it was during a test drive for my friend who ended up buying it. :p
 
Hey Reid,



Man, you're my new friend, talking about my baby like that! :D



I'm working on making the handling even better!! ;) A few days after I got the car, I traded the stock Goodyear Eagel RS-A 205/50/17s in on a set of Kumho Ecsta ASX 225/45/17s -- man what a difference!! In a couple of weeks I'm putting in Progress lowering springs (1.3 inches all round) and also their adjustable rear sway bar. Then I'm afraid I'm going to have to move to someplace where the roads aren't all straight.....hey, maybe I could move to Hawaii!! ;)



Actually, as you'll see from Gary's posts above, there are great roads in my vicinity. This isBC after all, where the Rocky Mountains and all kinds of other cool geography live.



The good roads are just a little further away than I'm used to. I was spoiled on my Island, but not quite as much as you are on yours, I don't think!:p (I picked the green smiley, because I'm a little jealous of your Island ;) ).



Anyway, if I'm in Honolulu can I give you a call, maybe borrow your friend's Mz3 and check out the road you're talking about? Man, that would be an adventure and a half!! :cool:
 
man, there are so many great roads in Vancouver, you just gotta drive around a little bit.



IF you're not adverse to breaking the law, I recommend driving up through the British Properties in West Vancouver. There are incredible hairpins and switchbacks all the way up. The only problem is that it is all residential through there! Personally, I wouldn't drive through there, but many people call it "the playground."



Good luck
 
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