Word for side scenes on a road [closed]

I'm using a metaphor that compares the process of learning to a journey on a road. I want to say that the true purpose of learning a subject is to enjoy it / enrich your life, not to get good grades / win awards. So the sentence is

The excitement of getting good grades and winning awards are only possible _____ on the road.

I want to put a word that means something like side scenes or "byproducts" but what's a good word to use in this case that fits with the road metaphor?

The excitement of getting good grades and winning awards are only possible waypoints on the road.

Waypoint is especially applicable to exams, as after an exam you typically take a break and assess your progress before continuing with your studies or career.

How about the word, "byways"?

Miriam Webster defines a "byway" as

1: a little traveled side road

2: a secondary or little known aspect or field

meandering more and more in the fascinating byways of learning— The Times Literary Supplement (London)

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/byway

I think the word you want is glimpses.

Glimpse : to see something or someone for a very short time or only partly

Cambridge

glimpses of lighted interiors seen as I walked along city streets at night

Edward Hopper . . . . . The idea for the painting ‘Room in New York’, 1932.