You Need To Plan A Cheap Road Trip In May, This is how and where to

DRIVE OF THE MONTH: MAYHIT THE ROAD!

Across the country, the merry month of May marks the start of summer, and for many people, May also means it's time to go off to the races. Lovers of thoroughbred horses and mint juleps make their ways to Louisville for the Kentucky Derby, while motorheads get together at the Indy 500 inIndianapolis.

Out west in nonconformist California, a very different pair of races mark the onset of summer and bookend one of the country's greatest road trips: a leisurely cruise among the wineries and redwood trees of the Northern California coast. Starting in San Francisco, the world's largest and craziest footrace, the Bay To Breakers sees some 75,000 runners make their way across the city. Top athletes complete the hilly 7.5-mile course in just over 30 minutes, but most of the fun is in cheering on the rest of the pack, many of whom are dressed in outrageous costumes.

Heading north from the City by the Bay, cross the Golden Gate Bridge and tour the famous wineries of Napa and Sonoma, where numerous country lanes off high-speed US-101 are lined by quaint towns and an abundance of great restaurants. Or if the weather's fine, make your way along coastal Hwy-1, which winds along the rugged coast through the pastoral valleys of Point Reyes and the historic logging town-turned-art colony of Mendocino. The incredibly scenic coast and valley roads come together further north, amidst the mighty redwood trees of Humboldt County, where another wacky race shows off the individualistic energy California is famous for. Held each Memorial Day weekend since 1969, the Kinetic Grand Chanpionship is a three-day celebration of people-power, in which contestants pedal, push, and paddle creatively designed mobile sculptures between the towns of Arcata and Ferndale, racing along country roads and across sandy beaches and chilly bays.

Other roads to drive this month:

Ohio River: Starting off in Louisville, whether or not you make it to the Kentucky Derby, this mid-sized town offers a wealth of cultural and pop cultural interest, from the Louisville Slugger Museum (Home of the World's Largest Baseball Bat!) to the gold hoard held at Fort Knox. Heading upstream along the historic Ohio River, dainty old-fashioned towns like Madison, Indiana highlight relaxing riverside drives across the nation's rural heartland.

A Tour de Texas: Southwest Texas, like the Hill Country area along US-83 west of San Antonio, is one of the most beautiful corners of the Lone Star State, and May is a lovely time to visit (especially if you can make it to the Kerrville Folk Festival, which takes place starting Memorial Day weekend). All over the region you’ll see bluebonnets, the Texas state flower, in peak bloom along the roadsides, while the rolling hills are still green from the winter rains, and rivers flow past sleepy Wild West hamlets like Rio Frio and idyllic Utopia.