Drove up to Carmel from LA last month for a weekend getaway. Came across an awesome stretch of road that I wanted to share.

After I stopped for gas at the Coalinga exit off the 5 North (map) , my GPS wanted me to continue on the coalinga exit road which cut West over towards the 101.

I figured what the heck, it was after midnight and any shortcut is a-ok with me. The 5 is freaking boring up in that part.

After 10 miles I ended up in some po-dunk one-horse town. The main building in the center of "town" was a cheezy bar...with a CHP sitting in front taking a siesta.. lol. I quietly putted by at the posted limit of 25mph.

So I was about to flip a u-turn and head back to the 5 when I noticed the road ahead led into a valley and foothills and the posted speed limit jumped back up to 50. Saw the sign "CA 198". Not a single car on the road, thought I would check it out a bit.

The next 38 miles were freaking awesome! Perfect asphalt, well moon-lit night, wide two-lane road, and more well-banked twisties than I can remember seeing on a single stretch of road. There were numerous great portions that had you hauling *** out of a straight, coming up over a rise and immediately dropping downhill into a tight perfectly banked sweeper. I really got to push the car and get a feel for its limits, which frankly are still beyond my driving skills.

......and all this time not a single car on the road for all 38 miles (well it's almost 2am by now.. hehe) - The road ended up putting me on the 101 with a total "Enzyte Bob" plastered ear to ear grin on my face.

They should charge admission to this road, seriously, it was that fun. There are almost no houses on that road, and no intersections or places for a speed trap. The road is wide and well maintained.

Thought I would post about this in case any of you are up near that area or will be heading that way. It's worth the detour.

 

i'm jealous dude

 

very nice. maybe the crew going down to LA from SF for the race can check this out...

 

yah. been on that on our trip to frisco and the ave of the giants......loved it. but shhhhhh.......don't everyone up there right??

 

Love those sweet road trips.

 

You should try HWY166 from the 5 Fwy to Santa Maria, CA. Awesome road, no traffic, well maintained mountain road.

 

very nice! 38 miles is a nice stretch... having 2-3 p-cars would be such a blast.

 

Thanks for sharing Kurt

 

^ no prob, glad to contribute something fun and noteworthy. I'm just happy that I remembered the darn highway so I could map it!

You know next trip up there I'll be hittin it again


Was thinking- if anyone else knows of good open roads in SoCal / NorCal post 'em up! I've been in LA for 4 years now and still don't know any of the "good" places to go driving.

 

there are three highways connecting to 101 from the area where I live. check 'em out. 128 from Cloverdale to hwy 1. 20 from Willits to 1. 1 from Leggett to the coast. I have 2 p-cars. decisions, decisions.

 

Befor I bought my C4 I had an SL65 V12TT MB. the best Drive I ever had was a meeting in yosemite hitting 140 from merced then through mariposa. What made the trip exceptional was from 99 to catheys valley you have an extremly straight run which you can see for miles ahead of you then you get into some of the greatest banked tight turns going into the park. these turns were really tight the ones that teach you humility as you laugh the whole time. The reason I liked so much is it was the only time I reached the upper speed limit of the 65 ( atleast my limit, there is a point where you lose nerve afterall) since I got the C4 I have been itching to do it again since I much prefer it to the sl. As for speed traps I think I might have just been lucky.

 

that's quite a big statement given how rare and cool the sl65 is - care to hit us up with a review of the SL65 and how it compares to the much less expensive c4?

 

Interesting.....
Considering I am the one who got you both cars and the Porsche, you have 2 children and a wife that depend on you... VERY IRRESPONSIBLE.
I must say I thought a lot more of you before reading this! I never act this irresponsible considering we have a 2 year old and 7 year old.... guess what when you have responsibilities like you do. This is not OK and not written off to "boys will be boys" ALSO just a side note... your life insurance WILL NOT cover us if something happens to you while smiling and racing like an *** while on a supposed business trip.

Your wife.

 

Wtf? Either someone has a twisted sense of humor... or someone just got seriously busted!!

 

now that's interesting...