Nice PostAutumnal Ride

I'm envious, Gordon.  The road around here never seem to be empty anymore.

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Thanks for these Canterbury tales, Gordon.

It certainly makes for better Speedster driving if the roads in an area were originally laid out for horse traffic and not for cars. Rural Pennsylvania and northwestern New Jersey are much as you describe. The old roads meander from one village to the next. That would all change when those hooligans in their Model A Fords would eventually come along and need to get everywhere in such a rush.

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We have similar roads near us in the Hudson Valley NY area. I go out during the week, too many weekenders otherwise.

Enjoy it, Gordon.

@Sacto Mitch posted:

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It certainly makes for better Speedster driving if the roads in an area were originally laid out for horse traffic and not for cars.

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I've recently discovered, via a member of the Connecticut VW club, that there is a "Trail" that starts in Hartford, CT and goes to both Albany, NY and Boston, MA.  It's called the "Tavern Trail" and, believe it or not, a lot of those old Colonial taverns along what's now called "The Post Road" or something-or-other "Turnpike" still exist, although none that I know of are still working Inns except for Longfellow's Wayside Inn in Sudbury, MA along a northern part of the route.  Two old tavern buildings are near me, both now residences, and one of those is at an old Granite slab on the side of the road in Sutton on the Post Road, which is carved and says, "41 Miles to Boston".

I don't know how far apart the taverns are, usually 20 - 25 miles or less, or the distance one could make in a day in a coach.  The Interstate Highway System totally avoided those old post roads but the roads are still there and are a lot of fun to drive.

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Gordon, as a biker you probably know about the East Coast Bike Trail (could be another name now). I think it has now morphed into a route along as many off-road bike paths as possible, but when I first learned of it (in the late '70s) it was entirely on public roads. It ran from New England down to Georgia (Florida?) and used roads like the ones we've been talking about here.

California has some outstanding secondary roads off the beaten path, but not nearly as many as the more densely populated East coast. Folks there have been farming and having to haul stuff around by wagon (and building roads to do that) for 200 years longer than we have.

If you want to be a little creative, I think it's still possible to ride a bike up and down the whole East Coast without ever seeing heavy traffic, something it can be almost impossible to do here. There are even a few places here where you're permitted to ride a bike on the shoulder of the freeway because there is literally no other way to transit the area.

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