The greatest road in the world?
Discussion
Well I’ve heard about the Stevilo Pass. The A1 from Bologna to Florence is a pretty awesome run and the A272 in Sussex is an old favourite but this afternoon I think have just driven the greatest public road in Europe – if not the world. And it is…
The BV-1468 from Molins de Rei to Barcelona. A 10 mile, 20 minute, single carriageway run of what can only be described as a public version of the Nurburgring stretched out into a grotesquely twisted roller coaster. Clinging to the sides of the rugged hills to the north of Barcelona it offers fabulous views over the city and the Mediterranean. If you have any pace don’t look at the views for more than a second though or you’ll crash on one of the endless hair pins, multiple S-bends and the road pitching wildly up and down.
Adverse camber corners with the edge of the tarmac crumbling into soft verge merging into a several hundred foot drop down the hillside keeps the mind focused. You climb and climb and climb with sheer hillside rising up on your right and dropping on your left, so you chuck the car into the right hand bends and take the left hand ones a bit more gingerly. Just when you’ve got used to that, the hills switch sides on you. Then you start to descend and all you need to do is take your foot off the accelerator and ride the brakes into each hairpin. I’m obviously over the top and heading back down again I think. Wrong. The bloody thing starts to climb again and the hills switch sides on me again! All of this and you have to look out for traffic coming in the opposite direction around what sometimes become single lane hairpins plus the lunatic locals crawling all over your rear bumper in 15 year old Fiat Pandas!
I don’t think I breathed out until I reached the traffic lights at the end to take you onto the Barcelona ring road! And bear in mind this was in a 1.8 Mondeo, I hardly topped 50 for more than a few seconds at any point and I was pooing my pants all the way! God knows what it would be like in a proper sports car – but I hope to find out soon!
Honestly, this road could be the driveway to the Devil’s own house.
The worst thing… it’s now on my daily drive to the office
If you’re in Barcelona and have a hire car – any car – DRIVE THIS ROAD!
When I get my new toy I’m going to fit one of these and do a video of me driving it so all PH can see just what a mad piece of road this is:
The BV-1468 from Molins de Rei to Barcelona. A 10 mile, 20 minute, single carriageway run of what can only be described as a public version of the Nurburgring stretched out into a grotesquely twisted roller coaster. Clinging to the sides of the rugged hills to the north of Barcelona it offers fabulous views over the city and the Mediterranean. If you have any pace don’t look at the views for more than a second though or you’ll crash on one of the endless hair pins, multiple S-bends and the road pitching wildly up and down.
Adverse camber corners with the edge of the tarmac crumbling into soft verge merging into a several hundred foot drop down the hillside keeps the mind focused. You climb and climb and climb with sheer hillside rising up on your right and dropping on your left, so you chuck the car into the right hand bends and take the left hand ones a bit more gingerly. Just when you’ve got used to that, the hills switch sides on you. Then you start to descend and all you need to do is take your foot off the accelerator and ride the brakes into each hairpin. I’m obviously over the top and heading back down again I think. Wrong. The bloody thing starts to climb again and the hills switch sides on me again! All of this and you have to look out for traffic coming in the opposite direction around what sometimes become single lane hairpins plus the lunatic locals crawling all over your rear bumper in 15 year old Fiat Pandas!
I don’t think I breathed out until I reached the traffic lights at the end to take you onto the Barcelona ring road! And bear in mind this was in a 1.8 Mondeo, I hardly topped 50 for more than a few seconds at any point and I was pooing my pants all the way! God knows what it would be like in a proper sports car – but I hope to find out soon!
Honestly, this road could be the driveway to the Devil’s own house.
The worst thing… it’s now on my daily drive to the office
If you’re in Barcelona and have a hire car – any car – DRIVE THIS ROAD!
When I get my new toy I’m going to fit one of these and do a video of me driving it so all PH can see just what a mad piece of road this is:
grahamdance said:
10 mile, 20 minute
Must be a pleasure if you can only average 30mph!
Looks like I'm saving up to go to Barcelona over the summer ..... sounds ideal for the Corolla!
>> Edited by grahamdance on Saturday 14th May 00:58
50% of the time you're negotiating hairpins with sheer drops down the outside. 30 mph average is plenty fast enough for a first run
...... (not quite sure what day it will be). Stelvio Pass is the correct name. I would love to go some day.
The Pikes Peak highway in Colorado is great as is the Beartooth Mountain Highway in between Wyoming and Montana. Can't leave out the Going to the Sun Highway also in Montana, should you ever find yourselves in the Rockies.
The Pikes Peak highway in Colorado is great as is the Beartooth Mountain Highway in between Wyoming and Montana. Can't leave out the Going to the Sun Highway also in Montana, should you ever find yourselves in the Rockies.
Right Trooper2, been up the Stelvio pass in the jag some years ago, hope to go to that region and the Stelvio again soon (want to go further south in Italy). How those bikers are going to climb THAT is beyond me!
Always fancied the "Rockies", I really must go one day. In fact, from the eastern states over to the rockies would be my ideal. Maybe as a retirement jaunt, (if you'll let let me in these days)
Edited to add, Trooper2! If you ever come to England, try the "Hard Knot" pass. NW England at the the Northern tip of Lake Windemere in the "Lake District". Go due west from the "tip" of the lake to the coast towards "Ravensglass" (get a good map). I think you've seen nothing like this. Oh! and close the gates behind you at the half way point!
>> Edited by 8Pack on Saturday 14th May 07:07
Always fancied the "Rockies", I really must go one day. In fact, from the eastern states over to the rockies would be my ideal. Maybe as a retirement jaunt, (if you'll let let me in these days)
Edited to add, Trooper2! If you ever come to England, try the "Hard Knot" pass. NW England at the the Northern tip of Lake Windemere in the "Lake District". Go due west from the "tip" of the lake to the coast towards "Ravensglass" (get a good map). I think you've seen nothing like this. Oh! and close the gates behind you at the half way point!
>> Edited by 8Pack on Saturday 14th May 07:07
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