Dead-end roads are a rider’s paradise

Most riders love a good round-trip, but there are many dead-end routes that can be just as rewarding for motorcyclists.

I’ve been riding with people who never venture down a road that says “No through road”.

They figure that it will be like doing the road twice.

Yet I’ve ridden on famous motorcycling roads such as Mt Glorious Rd, the GOR, Putty Road, Big Sur (USA), etc, in both directions and it feels almost like two completely separate trips.

As they say, motorcycling is not about the destination, but the journey.

Who cares if the journey doesn’t have a destination, at all?

In fact, most destinations are a return to your home, anyway.

Dead-end paradise

MBW reader Tee Jay summed it up perfectly in this Facebook post:

If you think riding up and down the highway is freedom and it doesn’t get any better, then think again. SEQ’s (South East Queensland’s) back roads and dead ends are where the proper motorcyclists go.

The same goes for just about anywhere in the world.

Our tip for great rides is to look for dead-end valleys.

We recently used our TomTom Rider 550 GPS units to navigate three valleys south of Laidley in SEQ which go nowhere.

However, the deeper we rode into the valleys, the closer the mountains and stunning scenery became.

And more importantly, the roads get twister and twister.

If you’re game, there is often a dirt road that will wind over the hills near the end of the valley to link to the next valley.

These SEQ valleys are only 40 minutes from the city, yet you feel like you are a million kays from home.

We were surprised at what we saw along the way: pecan plantations, camels, scenic creeks, stunning rock formations and more.

If you plan to do this ride on your own, wth friends or a group, you can stop for lunch at the pubs in Mulgowie (McGrath Crossing) or Upper Tenthill.

Click here for the Google Maps of our three-valley ride.

Click here for the TomTom My Drive route.Suburban tip

Tee also supplies this tip for those who don’t want to venture too far from the city.

“Go where the wealthy folks live. Their roads are brilliant. From Dayboro you can spend an hour going down two roads that end in dirt and return for coffee. How convenient is that? Do it before 10am because the sunshine through the trees is just; well it’s all part of the experience.”

I have another nearby favourite that I use to test the suspension on bikes I have for review: Upper Brookfield Rd.

It’s only 10 minutes from home and it winds through some very wealthy areas.

The road is tight and twisty, it has concrete dips that cross creeks, there are on-and-off-camber corners, the greenery is stunning and there is hardly any traffic.

At the 60km/h posted speed limit it’s still great fun.

As Tee says, “dead-end roads are excellent, less traffic, terrific scenery and all so close to town”.

Tell us about your favourite dead-end ride? Leave your comments in the section below.