Modern roads crushing your enthusiasm?

Yep, I must admit that some of the roads around my town are atrocious! On the school run a couple of months ago I parked next to a pothole that was getting on for 5 inches deep. I also had to raise one my my cars which was lowered simply so that I didn't keep taking the exhaust off on speed bumps, ridiculous! This is why I drive a 4x4 pick up, I don't need the four wheel drive, but the bigger wheels and fatter tyres soak up the bumps better. I'm not expecting our roads to be glass smooth ribbons of black perfection, but it would be nice if they were fit for purpose. And to be honest I think they should do away with speed bumps. I always seem to manage to drive at a sensible rate through built up areas, so can anyone else.

Yep, I noticed this a few years ago My solution was to move away from the high performance cars and onto fun Retros

If I'm driving a 150mhp sportscar, it gets *VERY* frustrating keeping it to 20/30mph on our local roads.
Switch to an older Retro with a cruising speed around 60mph (top speed not a lot more ) and you can drive flat out* a lot of the time.
I now get a lot of fun from going around corners in a well fettled car without slowing down, and leaving a lot of very surprised drivers behind me
The downside is I don't have the power to drop and gear and overtake quickly - this becomes a big problem when idiot drivers decide to accelerate as I'm alongside them.
* realistic "flat-out" in my current daily is about 70mph - but it's fun!

So yes, the poor roqads, pot-holes, dodgy repairs, , loose gravel, speed bumps (and traffic calming chicanes), road works, and low speed limits on good open roads are all taking the fun out of driving  

Keep watching for updates - my last 2 trips to RRG have used the same route both times - and the problem roadworks from 2 years ago had not moved before my trip last year  

Comforting to know I'm not alone. I've had my licence 12 years, and when I passed most rural roads around here (5miles across town to get to them) were deserted after 8pm, and at weekend most of the day.

Could have a blast even at legal speeds.

Now, even the rural roads are littered with new 30/40/50 limits, which in turn has led to "womble drivers" plodding about everywhere at 35-45.

I'm finding my car choices (92 Rover 220 GTI & 06 Saab aero TiD) aren't used or fun. I'd rather bike about.

The 71 Austin 1300 is cool,but pot holes, massive pyramid speed bumps and such all cause issues for it.

9/10 journeys we use the wife's 01 Celica, not because we want to, just because it's a white goods heap, so suits the 30-40 mph trundle behind OAP/yummy mummy in a RRS through glorious countryside.

Fresh&Minty got me thinking with his Elgrand, having fun and owning something different that's useful and suits our snail pace roads.

Currently a Nissan cube, lowered a little and running nice wheels... Appeals. As in all honestly it'd fulfill the purpose around here.

GTI has done 500-600 miles this year, 1300 has done 100.

I'm 29 and agree. Remember only 8 years ago I could drive an mg ZR on coilovers wound down, with no issues.

6 years ago, sold my 200sx as I was sick of it scraping on everything and bad roads killing alloys.

Miss the joy of a "hoon"

That's part of the problem here too. Lot of 1.0 corsa found trees, ditches, tractors. So the local authorities have turned the area into a 35mph everywhere county.

Wife's bad back also means GTI, Celica and 1300 ain't great for her.

Guess I'm just getting old, and sensible.

I never really drive cars that hard to notice to be honest, however for as long as I've been legal on a bike on the road I've always been able to have just as much fun on a 125/200 as I could on a 900 without putting my license at risk by the time I change into second.

Since I've also had close calls on deserted roads with invisible vehicles suddenly appearing whilst you are doing a nice sideways slide I've confined myself to being silly on tracks...

Edit on reflection I could live without bone jarring speed bumps and potholes and I would prefer a policeman to a speed camera..

There are some extremely good back roads near me, through farmland about a 20mile round trip to do the whole loop from home, worth every inch. Obviously best navigated at night to avoid horseriders, Lycra clad roadies and other road users.
I can't be the only one that finds it easier to "push on" at night because of headlights giving some warning?

Unfortunately I found a similar thing this last weekend.
Went for a drive, no destination in mind. Bearing in mind I live in Dorking, going anywhere out of town means country roads pretty much, which I found. Some lovely roads. I struggled to find any that have higher than a 40 limit though. I can find faster roads but I now realise these are the exception rather than the rule.
The positive is that it made me think there is little point spending money on making a car go faster....

Anywhere near Dorking on a weekend you're lucky if you can manage more than 15 mph between mass groups of cyclists riding 3 abreast totally occupying the width of the back lanes. Woe betide you if you are so antisocial as to be driving a motor vehicle the other way and they have to go single file after you've done an emergency stop to avoid running down the ones on the wrong side of the road....
It's far more dangerous than the car/ bike meets at Rykers yet it's just ignored by the police. I guess it will take a few fatalities before something happens.