Picture Perfect.(Column)

Byline: Richard S. Chang

Have you noticed how supercar posters are photographed in the Mojave Desert, the Badlands or some other Ridley Scott-like setting? You never see the cars parked along, say, New York Route 301 in Putnam County or on the shoulder of Route 17A between Greenwood Lake and Tuxedo Park.

This isn't something that keeps me up at night, but this summer I made it my mission to seek out dramatic driving roads around New York City. Determined to find something that rivaled the best of California, I scoured websites and got some great tips from my readers. I even used an entire ink cartridge printing out maps and directions. Then I spent five straight days in a Porsche Cayman S, heavy footing through several counties north of the city, scoping the horizon and hoping canyons or foothills would be around the corner.

Never happened.

Of course, it didn't. That's simple geography. On the other hand, the roads around here have more than a measure of intimacy and history that the Malibu canyons could never match. And for the better part of five days and a few ticks more than 856 miles, I didn't recognize it. I was too busy waiting for something spectacular to rise in the distance. What I ...