Three years ago a motorcycling adventure made me appreciate the back roads, although the physical drain of the trip made me appreciate the efficiency of the Interstates (see Do We Need the Interstate Highway System in America?). This year was a re-confirmation. We left the lake house in Pennsylvania at 6:30 in the morning and by noon we had been in four states — breakfast at a fast food restaurant near Wappingers Falls, NY, a gas stop in Massachusetts, and lunch in Bennington, VT where we rendezvoused with my brother who had ridden from upstate New York. From there it was a long ride across route 9 into New Hampshire and then a lot of back roads to our destination at Lake Winnipesaukee where we stayed a couple of nights with friends. The weather was threatening throughout the entire 376 mile trip but the scenery was beautiful — lakes and streams, mountains and valleys, winding roads and covered bridges, quaint towns and villages. Elapsed time for the ride was 11+ hours.
The weather forecast for the day of our return trip was marginal once again and we decided to take a combination of interestates and state roads to shorten the trip. We started out on route 25 near Moultonborough, New Hampshire, picked up route 104 in Meredith and then used I-93 to get us to Concord where we rode route 9 again. Once in Bennington, VT, route 9 turns into route 7 and that took us to Troy, NY where we got on I-787 to Albany, then I-87 down to Newburgh, NY and then I-84 west back to Lake Wallenpaupack. Lake to lake was only 20 miles shorter in distance but two hours shorter in time.
Do we need the Interstate Highway System? As I reflected three years ago, it is clear we can not do without the interstates anymore than we can do without the train system or our airline system. Motorcycle adventures make me appreciate the back roads and small communities, but the long rides make me appreciate the efficiency of the alternative. It’s a good thing the nation’s commerce doesn’t depend on back roads and motorcycles.
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