Most interesting stretch and why?

[Awf Hand]

Hey all, we're in the doldrums of winter here (with occasional outdoors trips to go skiing) and I was just thinking about my trip that I took across my home state last year.  Somebody had asked me what my favorite stretch was and why.
I had to think a bit, but I said that I enjoyed travelling through a med/larger city.  I started early in the morning in a very rural area and biked for a few hours on town/county roads until I had reached the outskirts of a sizeable city.  Within an hour or so, I'd made my way into the heart of the city and was surrounded by the concrete jungle, dodging traffic.  I spent the late morning and early afternoon surrounded by concrete as I worked my way through and emerged from the other side.  Within another few hours, I was again in a very quiet rural area, the hustle and bustle of cars in the city giving way to the quiet hum of my tires rolling along.
For me, seeing the contrast of a rural/metro/rural was the neatest 'stretch' of my ride.  The city was not important, nor was it a destination.  The contrast was what I enjoyed.

Do any of you have any travel memories from a day's stretch that stand out? 
(I'd like to see this become a long thread.)

[staehpj1]

There have been quite a few so it is hard to pick.  If it is about the stretches of road then it would be about scenery and wildlife for me.  In that case the following are hard to pick from:

• The day when early in our first tour we went over McKenzie Pass.
• Any number of days in the Rockies.
• Hoosier Pass.
• Yellowstone, either day we were there.
• Sequoia NP.
• A couple different days in Yosemite.

I could also list some favorite places we stayed with great hosts, but will only say that some of the people we met on tour were pretty awesome.

[johnno]

The most recent memorable stretch would be the Icefields Parkway (Banff National Park), Canada.  Even though I had been living in the southern Rockies for a year, it still blew me away.

Cycling to Uluru (Australia), the day we got there when it slowly grew bigger on the horizon.  I had seen enough images of it before the trip that I thought it would be a non-event.  Far from the truth.

Another memorable, but not particularly interesting, stretch was in western Queensland (Australia). About 4pm we decided to camp under the next tree.  We ended up riding until 9pm when we got to the next town.  No joke, its pretty flat and treeless out there!

[John Nelson]

What makes a stretch most interesting isn't just the road. It's a combination of the road, the weather, the animals, the people, the time of day, the clouds, the wind, etc. Some of my most memorable rides have been at dusk on a deserted road when the countryside seems to come alive.

[Stevenp]

My comment isn't quite fair, being that I have not yet been on a tour. Although my tour will begin this July out of S.C. and all over the U.S.. One of the things that I am looking forward to are the storms I may encounter. I love weather, so I believe that going through some different storms will add some very memorable times to my trip. STORMS!!

Stevenp

[Shane]

Teton pass-Wilson, 5 miles in 8 minutes fully loaded

Here's the video

And of course Trail ridge road

[indyfabz]

I love weather, so I believe that going through some different storms will add some very memorable times to my trip. STORMS!!

If the hail starts (had it in MT) or you see a funnel cloud forming (like we did in MN), think about seeking shelter.  You can get messed up.

One day that stands out from a total experience persepctive is my 117 mile day from Goddefroy, NY to New Hope, PA the day after hurricane Floyd.  It was a beautiful day.  Sunshine and not a cloud.  I was expected at a friend’s house in Valley Forge on a certain day and lost a day while I taking refuge from the storm.  Through the Delaware Water Gap I had to slide my bike under two downed trees and walk across a swollen stream that brought water up to mid-calf.  Sticks and tree limbs littered most of the route.  I had ridden in New Jersey countless times, but never in that part of the state nor in the part of Pennsylvania I later passed through.  It was nice to see new areas, and the scenery was quite different from what I had expected.  The entire time I was moved by a sense of urgency due to the long distance I needed to cover.

As I was cresting a hill a young boy came off his porch and asked me for the time.  I did not have a watch, but my computer had a clock.  My face must have expressed curiosity at his question because he volunteered that the power was still out from the storm and none of the clocks in his house was functioning.  (Cell phones were not common back then.)  About 10 miles away from my intended destination, I picked up a stromboli and a bottle of wine for what I thought would be my last night of camping on a journey that had started in Seattle, had taken me to Bar Harbor, ME and was now taking me home to Philadelphia.  But when I got to the state park it was closed.  The camping area, which was down by the river, was flooded out.  I pled with a ranger to let me pitch my tent in the picnic area, which was on high ground, but he would not let me.  I was exhausted at that point, but I had to continue on.  After downing part of the stromboli I rode another 10 miles to a motel, finishing the day in total darkness.  Not exactly how I envisioned things going, but an epic experience just the same.