In the early hours of a Sunday morning, I point the long hood of my car down the Interstate. Dark patches of clouds and light rain showers passing overhead make me worry about my plans for a great morning drive on my favorite back roads will be a bust. The good roads I’m headed towards are 60 miles away, so I press on in hopes the weather forecast, which did not predict any of the rain I’m driving in now, will be accurate at my destination.
Entrance to the playground
As I reach interstate exit serving as the entrance to my playground of back roads, the weather is starting to cooperate. Clouds are breaking up and the pavement is a mixture of dry and damp spots which means there should be plenty of grip. My mood is improving.
Passing through the small town huddled around the exit ramp, I look for the signs indicating the rural highway leading to nowhere and start running my “fun drive” checklist: radio off, sunroof and windows open, A/C off, raise the seat back to me more upright, move the seat a little closer to the pedals, and change the car’s driving mode to “sport”. These small changes all add up to a big improvement in the driving experience. Mechanically the car is now at full alert and I’ll have the best control over the car while hearing the full, unfiltered song of the engine, intake, and exhaust.
Soon, the first bend in the road appears ahead of me and as I shift down two gears I hear the engine’s happy revving noises and the exhaust trumpets it’s great in-line six cylinder song. I am now in the “playground” with endless trees and rolling hills spreading out before me in the broken morning sunshine. The road is now totally dry…it’s going to be a great morning!
Miles of fun
At each turn I carry a little more speed and start finding a rhythm. I’ve taken this car to several autocross events, but it is still new to me and the first time it’s been on these roads. This BMW is a different animal from my GTI, and I need to learn a totally different different approach to these roads.
As the miles start to fly by, I’m in the zone. The tach and speedo become irrelevant as I now drive purely based on sound and feel. At this point, I’m forcing myself to not look at the turn I’m in and actually look ahead to the next turn to find best line and gauge how much speed I can carry. Time seems to stand still. Even though my heart is racing, adrenaline is pumping, and my brain is on full alert to keep up with the pace, I’m actually relaxed and a smile starts to spread across my face as the tension slips away.
My route is roughly square-shaped and since the state highways in this area are all lettered, it makes the way points easy to remember. I really have to force myself to turn at each one because I know they bring me closer to the end of the drive. On at least one occasion I purposely blow right past the turn and explore a few miles of new road, but eventually turn around and get back on the chosen route. These amazing roads stretch for hundreds of miles and reach clear into another state. I could very easily keep driving all day, maybe longer.
Eventually, my circuit is complete. There are family activities I want to attend and I need to return to the “real world”. Some days when I’ve taken this drive, the beautiful weather and thoughts of the drive I just finished makes the decision to head home balance precariously with the choice to turn around and head back into the forest. However, today darkening clouds and the beginnings of a hard, steady rain now pelting my car makes the decision an easy one. There is no more fun to be found today.
Why drive for fun
Why do crazy enthusiasts like me give up precious sleep on a weekend and wake up before dawn just to go driving? For me it boils down to two reasons: it’s therapeutic and it allows me to enjoy the personality and capabilities of the car. I’ll start with the car which is the easy one, and get a little deeper with the therapeutic benefits.
Fun to experience the car
Hopefully, we all have access to a vehicle with some performance potential which separates it from the normal transportation appliances driven by those who find no joy in the act of driving. The problem with driving these vehicles every day is the road and traffic conditions encountered in everyday life never present the opportunity to really drive. Sure, there might be the perfect highway on-ramp, a couple nice turns on your drive to work, or even the occasional open section of highway which allows you to open things up a bit, but those are mostly fleeting opportunities which provide only a few fleeting moments of driving joy.
Finding a back road which allows a meaningful amount of time behind the wheel without the threat of other cars allows you to push your vehicle than you can while slogging through traffic. You get to hear the exhaust call out as the engine hits higher RPM’s, the engine gets to really play in it’s power band, and you can challenge your brakes and suspension beyond what you typically experience in a daily commute. Not only is this fun, but it allows you to explore the limits of your vehicle and experience it’s capabilities.
Cautionary note: Always remember you are still on public roads and conditions are unpredictable. The only way to safely experience your car at its max potential is on a race track!
Therapeutic Benefits
Like many of you, I have a fairly stressful job. You complete never ending streams of tasks, resolve personnel issues, and solve problems ever day. Opportunities to unwind and leave the stress behind for a measurable period of time to really unwind is rare. Taking a long drive on fun back roads is one of those opportunities.
Blasting from turn to turn and pushing the performance of a car is a very physical experience with no room for emotion. All your focus on is the road and controlling the car. Your partner in this adventure is a machine, purely mechanical and totally devoid of any emotion. I find the time focusing strictly on the physical environment around me and the machine at my fingertips to be really relaxing. You can totally forget everything else going on in your life and simply drive. When I leave home, my grip is tight on the steering wheel, my arms and shoulders are tense, and my jaw is slightly clenched. A few miles down the back roads things start to change. By the time I reach the end of the route and head home I am completely relaxed and might even smile a little. At some point during the drive I’m pretty sure I even involuntarily laugh out loud as I hit the perfect line and feel the the suspension load up.
Tips for making the most of your fun drive
If taking a fun drive isn’t something you’ve done before, here are some tips.
Plan, plan, plan….
Time is valuable. Here are some things to consider in order to make the most of your drive:
- Set a day well in advance. This will allow you to schedule around all the other obligations in life and make the most of it. Give yourself at least an hour or two on the run roads themselves and calculate travel time to and from those roads. Also, consider the day of the week and time of day to ensure there is as little traffic as possible. For me Sunday mornings right after dawn is ideal.
- Think about weather. If you run summer tires on your car, these drives need to happen when the weather is still warm enough to get the most of the tires and still be safe. Also, think about temperatures from a mechanical standpoint. Engines perform better when breathing in cool air and if you can turn off the A/C, you’ll find the engine is a little happier without the parasitic load. A morning in the 60’s to low 70’s Fahrenheit is perfect. As the day gets closer, watch for potential weather issues like rain which can make the roads slick.
- Plot your route in advance. Google Maps has really made rout planning much easier. I pull up a potential area in the traditional map view and start looking for the squiggly lines. Find one and then start connecting it to others to make a good route. You can always drive the same road twice. Often driving a road in the opposite direction creates totally different experience. There is nothing wrong in driving a single road to a stopping point and then simply turning around and heading back. Also check the condition of the pavement. The last thing you want is a great road which is cratered with pot holes. It is really surprising how many roads in the middle of nowhere Google has photographed for Street View, so use that feature to check surface conditions. Hopefully the images aren’t too old.
- Prepare your car. Fill it up with gas the night before, check everything under the hood, and take a look at your tires to make sure they are in good shape and have the right air pressure. The last thing you want is a mechanical problem to ruin your drive. Also, make sure your windows are really clean inside and out. I was really surprised on one drive when early morning lighting conditions in a wooded area combined with a dirty windshield made visibility challenging.
- Prepare yourself. Get a good night’s sleep and don’t do anything the night before which will make you feel bad, or be less alert the day of the drive. You need to be mentally sharp. Give yourself time before departing to eat and get on the road. The whole idea is to reduce stress and relax, not create more. Finally, take fluids with you to stay hydrated. Just be aware that a bottle or cup needs to be secured when you hit the good roads so it doesn’t go flying around the cabin of the car when you’re really having fun.
While on the road
I’ve been taking these drives for years now and here are some simple tips to remember while on the road.
- Drive to your abilities and the road conditions. Be safe! This is supposed to be a fun drive. You won’t have any fun if your car is damaged or totaled. The last thing you want is to over cook a corner and either harm another motorist or go flying off the road. The roads I drive are in a thick forest and the trees come right to the edge of the road andhere is no way I want to launch myself into them. It won’t end well.
- Never forget you’re on public roads. Public roads aren’t controlled like a track and there are lots of variables. Prepare to encounter slower moving vehicles, on coming traffic in your lane, wildlife of ALL sizes, bicyclists, fallen tree limbs (or even trees!), and even huge farm equipment taking up the entire road. I personally have encountered everything on that list except for the bicyclists. You need to be ready. Keep your speed within reason and if you go with a friend(s) DO NOT RACE!!! Save that behavior for the track.
- Don’t be a jerk. Depending on where you’re driving, performance cars and people out driving for fun might be a totally foreign concept. The roads I drive are typically used by normal people driving pick-up trucks and the occasional SUV. Don’t be the outsider in the flashy “sports car” who flies up on these slower moving vehicles and starts tailgating them until you can pass or simply drives over aggressively and take too many risks. The last thing you need is for the locals to start complaining to law enforcement who will then step up patrols in the area. If you do get stuck behind slow moving traffic, back off and wait for them to get out of your way. You can always pull over and let them get far ahead of you or even turn around and go back the way you came.
- Take a cool photo of your car. I think this one is mandatory, but sadly great driving areas don’t always allow safe places for great photo ops.
Go do it!
It’s now time to start prepping for your next fun drive. I really look forward to the few I take and can’t wait until the weather warms up and I can do it again.
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