Roads to Ride pictorials of some local roads Superbike Road (Sandbanks NC1200) Video of NC1200 Quaker Road Raynor Road

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1 July 2009
Where did it go?

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The signs have been there all along that the best back road riding areas where under attack by civilization…. The very first sign was the posting of speed signs in the middle of nowhere a few years ago…

Now a few years later, the wood lots are being cleared and houses are popping up like weeds. This will bring people, pets, and children; and of course worse of all; traffic. Complaints about noise and motorcycles will increase which will result in a greater presence of law enforcement .

As I pass by land under development on my Sunday rides I can't help but think that any day might be the last for the cows in the pasture or the horses grazing in the fields, their grass areas will be plowed under and developed into track housing. Familiar cotton, corn, and peanut fields will disappear too. More and more it will get urbanized….

None of this is in itself is bad for the county, but for us; the motorcyclists, or at least those of us who enjoy the solitude and freedom of back road riding it's the sign of the end. I have always tried to be respectful of the sections were there are a lot of homes on my Sunday morning romps in the back country, I slow down and throttle down to reduce as much of the noise as possible so as not to annoy the inhabitants. I pass churches the same way; no one should be annoyed when they are worshipping their maker.

There were always places with nothing but woodlots or farm fields where the only thing that was annoyed by our noise was a black bird or June bug. But all of that is rapidly changing. With the increase of people will come more reduced speed limits, increased traffic and maybe a shopping center in place of one of the local farms. It's a rather sad thought to think about, after all it's not a great deal of fun being stuck in a line of cars creeping along at or below the speed limit, or having to stop every half mile for a stop sign.

I'm going to miss those back roads and the freedom it brought, even if it was just for an hour or so on a Sunday morning.

The problem is we live too far from the foot hills and the Ridge (the Blue Ridge Parkway); one of the best places in the state to ride. From here it's an overnight ride; we have to ride up there and enjoy the late morning and afternoon on the parkway then, spend the night and return home the next day. Of course thats no until after some morning fun on the parkway and traveling through the foot hills coming home.

Once you get in the foot hills it seems every road is great. There is something different out in the country when you're riding through it on a motorcycle, there is something about the ride you can actually feel besides the bikes movement on the road. These things we feel originate from the smells and sights you see along the way that make it far more enjoyable riding in back country than droning along on the interstate.

The only interstate to impress me is 64 coming out of West Virginia for its sheer beauty; otherwise interstates are the most boring way to travel. Old country roads winding through old forgotten towns with rustic buildings have a lot more food for your soul.

Yes the roads themselves have a lot of appeal too; they twist, rise and fall, and generally meander about following the topography; unlike the interstate which is rather sterile. The interstate straightens and flattens the land as it was intended to keep traffic moving. After all, the motorcycle is a gravity defying machine and good roads with tight corners only make the ride more fun. The less painted lines on a road the better.

I don't think you can get lost on the interstate system; the signage will keep you on the right path. But back roads require a map and sense of direction to navigate to your destination. If you plot your trip via GPS you're going to miss out on some of the best parts of riding on back roads - getting lost. Getting lost isthe best way to meet the locals, without this contact we miss the true flavor of the area.

I can't count the number of times we have gotten lost and then got the best directions from the locals only to get lost again… Country folks are always friendly and ready to give you directions; it's just that sometimes they can be hard to follow.

We discovered on one trip all of the locals knew where they were going but didn't know the names or numbers of the roads they took…. "Just follow the road until you get to the bridge and then turn right…" The one thing they didn't tell you was how they designate a bridge…. Just about every creek has some kind of bridge carrying you over it. So now, just which one is it?

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