Free Wheelin'

A lot. Names give us familiarity and insight, and allow for quicker recall of people, places, and things.

No one can top the South when it comes to naming roads, although they do seem to like their reptiles and dragons. Who does not love dragons?

You have the Back of Dragon, Route 16, just outside Marion, Virginia. The Tail of the Dragon, Route 129 along the border with Tennessee/North Carolina. The Arkansas Dragon, Route 123, has a sign that says "impassable hairpin turns ahead,” just to give riders a heads up. There is a road called the Georgia Dragon, also called the Suches Loop, and from personal experience, this part of the Peach Tree State cannot be beat. Plan a ride there, and say hello to Bill at Two Wheels of Suches Motorcycle Lodge.

Sticking with lizards, there is Route 276, the Copperhead Loop, in North Carolina’s Pisgah National Forest, that winds for 81 miles with 8 serious waterfalls along the way. The Pineola Python, Route 181, and the Rattler, Route 209, in North Carolina. In Virginia, you can ride Route 691, the Serpent’s Revenge. The Hellbender, Tennessee’s Route 421, is home to the largest salamander in North America. Not a lizard, but a harmless, if scary-looking, amphibian.

With a less dire-sounding name, the Cherohala Skyway (pronounced Shira Haula), between Tellico Plains, Tennessee, and Robbinsville, North Carolina, is a favorite too. Having a name for a road, route, or section gives it more flair, feeling, and funability, and almost all these routes and loops have great logos too; an image to bring home the miles in a visual way. These logos make for great stickers as well.

We began giving certain parts of our Bigger Better Loop names, too, so we could pinpoint them better on our usual post-ride chat. (Everyone should have these)

There are certain turns, elevation changes, and some sections in our BBL that have a happy je ne sais quoiwhen riding them. 

And when Jenny says Qua… you best listen. 

Because I can, I will tell you where some of these bits and pieces can be found, if you are ever in this part of the Garden State. 

Off of County Road 521, just before Stillwater, there is a road called Millbrook that heads up into the long ridge in the backbone of this part of New Jersey. It twists and turns, and has turns that force you to work to ride in a spirited tempo. Atop this, a small road named for a county in Ireland, Shannon, is a pearl. At one point, the road snakes, viper-like, up and around the creek and pond in an awesome fashion. It always elicits an “I love this road” from one of us. It needed a name, so we simply called it The Snake.

Like Murder Mountain Run in Virginia, Shades of Death certainly didn’t need a new brand, but CR 622, from Anderson Hill Road west up and down and around the Paulins Kill and into Swartswood State Park, I now simply call 8-Mile Road, with all due respect to Mr. Eminem.

These miles are always fun.

The last two names of exciting pavement are a nod to both Reg and Gigi Pridmore, who have mentored us, and so many others. 

The Reg is found on a small county road named 651, between Unionville. Just south of the Jersey state line is a nail-biter of a steep right-hand downhill. A sightless incurvatus in seturn that makes you slow, steady your bike and then slowly roll on the throttle, having great trust in your skill and bike, and that there really is a road on the other side, as you accelerate into the quickly following left sweeper. I bet Reg would revel in this section of roadway.

Then there is a piece of pavement I have dubbed Gigi which is the closest to Backroads Central, along County Road 521 heading north from Stillwater. A gentle bank right, downhill slope into a demanding left bank, with an oak tree dead center, on the edge at the apex to keep you honest. Like the woman, it can be fun and a joy to be around, but if you take the wrong line or bauble in these couple of turns, she is gonna let you know about it.

What’s in a name – I think a lot.

What about you?