Yellow brick road
The actual road is believed to be one in Peekskill, New York, where L. Frank Baum attended Peekskill Military Academy. According to a local legend, the Yellow Brick Road was derived from a road paved with yellow bricks near Holland, Michigan, where Baum spent summers. Ithaca, New York, also makes a claim for being Frank Baum's inspiration. He opened a road tour of his musical, The Maid of Arran, in Ithaca, and he met his future wife Maud Gage Baum while she was attending Cornell University. At the time, yellow bricks paved local roads. Yellow brick roads can also be found in Aberdeen, South Dakota; Albany, New York; Rossville (Baltimore County), Maryland; Montclair, New Jersey (Parkhurst Place and Afterglow Way); Bronxville, New York (on Prescott and Valley roads); Chicago, Illinois; Liberal, Kansas; Sedan, Kansas and Chittenango, New York, as well as a school in Abington, Pennsylvania, and abroad in Sofia, Bulgaria.
Ultra-distance cycling
In the early days of road bike racing, most roads were not paved, so most races were held primarily on unpaved/dirt/gravel roads. Due to road infrastructure improving with time, road bike racing is now done almost entirely on paved roads. However, in the 21st century, riding and racing road bikes on gravel roads has gained popularity. One of the longest and most famous of the modern gravel bike races is the Dirty Kanza in Kansas, USA, which is long with a 350-miler announced for 2019 and options of 25, 50 and 100 mile courses as well.