Today myself and a co-worker decided to go on a ride in the mountains around Hanging Rock Park.  What resulted was six full hours of engine-flogging curve-eating wrist-damaging twisty goodness.  Trip report follows after the map of our route.

Mountain twisties near Hanging Rock Park, NC.

Our trip took us up Highway 89 and back down Highway 66 into Winston-Salem, with a brief diversion into Hanging Rock Park for some fun on a few steep hairpin curves.  My co-worker went his own way after we reached Winston-Salem, and I re-traced the route backwards to get home (certainly the long way, but far more fun than Interstate 40).  Highway 89 is fantastic as long as you don’t get stuck behind (or cannot pass) cars in one of the handful of little towns it meanders through.  Highway 66 also has some great curves, though for much of it the road quality is somewhat poor, and the uneven pavement and potholes can be somewhat unnerving when you’re pinned in a tight turn.  It’s still a worthwhile stretch of road, just one which you might want to tackle at a slightly slower pace than normal.  Next time I’d like to take Highway 89 all the way out to Mount Airy and see how the curves measure up.  Here’s a link to the route on Google Maps, good for as long as Google doesn’t change the map URL API.

I didn’t bring a camera with me this time, so no obligatory photograph of me in my riding regalia against a scenic backdrop.  However I did take this photo of my throttle hand soon after arriving home (no that’s not leather color from my gloves).

War wounds sustained during six hours of pounding mountain curves.