Secondary roads can be hit or miss. Around here the secondary highways can be some of the highest quality blacktop around...conversely they can be very poorly maintained and in bad need of repair (which never happens).

A few years ago I was riding North on hwy 2 from Calgary to Edmonton. I could see a huge storm coming. I'd just mounted my GPS on the handlebars and decided to be sneaky...dodge the storm on the secondary highways.

At first I was delighted as the quality of road was better, the scenery was beautiful (it was in the fall) and there was no traffic...I was regularly taking liberties with the speed limit (*cough* 100+ mph) and was having a blast.

Then a sign came up which said: "Pavement ends 100 Meters". I had to hit the brakes hard to not hit the gravel at full speed...and it was the mother of all gravel. Loose, dusty, and very pea like.

I spent the next hour riding in the dust because I couldn't go faster tahn 20mph. If I did the front tire would start to plane and drift. An hour later I hit an intersecting highway and I was white head to toe. My detour had kept me dry but I was late, tired, and dirty...not to mention the possibility of having an accident.

In the end I went looking for rain so I could clean up a bit before getting home...would have been better to stay in the traffic...though that is risky too when you're on 2 wheels.

One other point which is sort of related...in a state of emergency like Katrina, the interstates will be where the aid is...be it medical, military, or voluntary...the side roads won't have this and if they're blocked off even more so.