How to be a driving enthusiast in a place with no curvy roads?

I live in the Appalachian Mountains, and as such I am spoiled silly when it comes to excellent driving roads very close to home. However, one of my good buddies hails from the Montgomery area, and as far as either of us can tell there are very few appreciably twisty roads anywhere nearby. He was bemoaning this fact, and I realized I don't have any idea of how people who live in flat areas go for a fun evening drive. I know a lot of people on this forum hail from the flatter, more gridlike areas in our country (*cough* Florida *cough*), so I ask you: what do you do for a fun drive where you live?

Drag racing and top speed stuff? 

Im in the Piedmont. We don't have boone/blowing rock/Henderson levels of roads, but theres enough fun two lane country stuff to keep it not boring. 

However, i don't see how Kansas does it.

If he wants turns, find a Racetrack or Autocross or Rallycross or Kart Track or...

Late-apex every corner? Take every ramp on the cloverleaf just for fun? 
 

Honestly it was a lot more fun driving in rural IL with sparsely populated, but mostly straight roads, then it is here on the coast. Even though there are plenty of twisty roads just north of me, they're heavily wooded & critter-dodging is nearly constant. Plus as you get more rural you're dealing with people on 4-wheelers & SxS on the road(even though they're not legal, they're generally allowed). So it's really not a good place to push the limits. 

In reply to Dusterbd13-michael :

For sure, I lived in Charlotte for a while and I was always able to find some fun stuff to drive without having to go far.

In reply to PeteGossett :

I do think there is something to be said for driving on straight-ish roads in pretty places. Every time I've road tripped through the midwest I've had a wonderful time.

Corporate auto-X.  Look for unused/vacant commercial buildings with interesting access roads and parking areas.

Florida here.

I always make sure to hit the apex at the Chik-fil-A drive through.  

I always enjoyed time behind the wheel of this old girl:

Fun while driving doesn't have to be sporty cars and twisty roads.

Track events.

I find no enjoyment driving on the street and much prefer (enjoy) the open top jeep than my old gt3 around town which is why I sold it.

Personally, once you have driven on track and become accustomed to it its really no fun to hooligan around cops/minivans/kids on cell phones. Set the cruise 9 over and get there when I get there (safely).

The most fun I've had on a snowmobile was on a rail-trail. Wasn't dead straight the entire time, but not far off. There were road crossings every few miles so plenty of opportunities to launch, which is a good time on a sled.

It's easy, just enjoy driving no matter what and where. 

I like straight roads, curvy roads, up and down, it doesn't matter. I like driving the Samurai, the new VW, the Suburban, the G35, and the Abomination.  But I have just as much fun driving a backhoe, tractor, or riding lawnmower. 

It doesn't matter what I'm driving or what kind of road, I just love to drive. 

In reply to Pete Gossett (Forum Supporter) :

Don't kid yourself, critters dodging is still a big factor here. Suicidal deer remind us constantly.

You want thrills? Motorcycle.  You'll never feel alive more than cheating death avoiding brodozers with agendas and soccer moms on cell phones.

Nebraska here. Basically comes into a few things. 

1. Cruising vs apexing. I can now truly appreciate the road master and other cars like that. 

2. Track and Autox. Got a lovely big slab of concrete that a lot of you venture to annually that we can autocross on all summer long along with an active rallyx scene. Surprisingly there are 3 tracks close too. 

3. The local dirt track. The Midwest staple. 

4. Motorcycles. I've gotten into adventure and touring bikes again to explore the vast openness of the great plains. 

5. Road trips. The ozarks are only 4-5 hours away with great places to drive. 

I don't understand the question!  Then again, where I live, these signs are everywhere......

I live on the other end of NC, out on Hatteras Island. There's one road. I enjoy cruising in my fun cars. Then I go race. Seems to sate my hunger for driving hard.

In reply to trucke :

I'd be more impressed if in that pic, the speedo was at 90mph or so... All it takes is a jack...

Road and Track did a shot like that one time and never heard the end of it until the explained how it was "conjured."

In reply to bmw88rider :

Gotta love the Roadmaster, I can't help but check the classifieds for a good wagon every once in a while. Really, all that stuff is awesome. I don't get to enjoy cruising in Big Sky Country all that often, so whenever I drive across the plains I just soak it up as much as possible.

kb58 said:

In reply to trucke :

I'd be more impressed if in that pic, the speedo was at 90mph or so... All it takes is a jack...

Road and Track did a shot like that one time and never heard the end of it until the explained how it was "conjured."

 

 It's a bit challenging to take a shot at speed.  I tried!  Bad idea!

Great choice in album/album art though.

trucke said:

kb58 said:

In reply to trucke :

I'd be more impressed if in that pic, the speedo was at 90mph or so... All it takes is a jack...

Road and Track did a shot like that one time and never heard the end of it until the explained how it was "conjured."

 

 It's a bit challenging to take a shot at speed.  I tried!  Bad idea!

[URL=https://app.photobucket.com/u/NOTATA/a/195ca599-f3de-4580-a4cc-d55daa8db651/p/1f3c15b0-ecc9-4818-a757-e1a7d3f79ad2][/URL]

Get a kart? Even flat circuits are fun. 

'60s convertible with three-across seating. 

In reply to AMiataCalledSteve :

Grew up in Applachia, moved to Florida. 

Essentially, I changed from a driving enthusiast to a wrenching enthusiast. Still love cars, just find a lot more enjoyment working on them than I used to. 

In reply to AMiataCalledSteve :

Few states don't have rivers. Rivers don't tend to run straight.  People need to drive along rivers.  Ergo- river roads. 
 

I lived on a great river road for eight years.  Eventually, it was taken over by clowns in Spandex (Tour de France wannabes doing the Amgen route), which completely ruined the driving experience most days of the week--many amazing roads throughout the U.S. and Europe have gone this way.  The liability level for a wreck with a bicycle is just too high.

I mainly just drive my pickup anymore, partly out of self-defense against the horrifically bad drivers who exist where I live now.  Track days and autox are the best ways to get the fix, those and kart tracks (like NOLA).