Twisty Roads

[lkraus]

 

No, it's not my grandmother's varicose veins.

It's https://roadcurvature.com/, an interesting tool to find the roads we like.

[RandyShields]

Cool!  Look forward to exploring this.

[92Merc]

And North Dakota is a barren wasteland.  I guess that was to be expected.  Only 2 pieces in the whole state, and those are in Federal Parks.  Really short rides.  And the northern one has been half closed for 2 years due to road slumps.  They just can't keep it open.

Which is why I go to the Black Hills for the twisties!

[Cap]

Thanks for posting.  I checked it against roads I know and ride frequently across the western US.  It misses some of the best, but also shows some that I hadn't noticed.  The problem for me is that all the roads I hadn't noticed are shown as "unknown" surface.  I am willing to do some well-graded gravel for short distances to avoid having to retrace my route -- but my RT is not a dual-sport and the prospects of dropping it on a remote dirt road are daunting.  

 

What I would like to see is an application like this "Curvature" one that has definitive information on road surface.  My scouting routine is to use Google Maps, and switch on the satellite view, and zoom in very close.  If I can see paint stripes on the road, then I know it is paved.  Sometimes you can get the photo-view to discover the road surface, too.

 

Planning for a long trip with the goal of maximizing twisty roads is time consuming.  Switching forth and back among mapping applications takes a lot of work.  I have used Butler maps, and find them very useful, especially in states like Idaho that have lots of great moto roads.  The Butler map for Montana, in contrast, is a waste of money.  Recently, I bought the Scenic app, and downloaded a bunch of the US states, and I am learning to use it.  So far, it seems effortful, but promising.

 

Cap

[LittleBriar]

Just as I suspected, there isn't a curvy road within 100 miles of my house. It's nothing but flat cornfields up here in Michigan's Thumb. We do have some nice Lake Huron Shoreline views but that's not the same as a nice twisty 2 lane.