| manfromthestix |
05-18-2011 09:47 AM |
Quote:
Originally Posted by dwoodward
(Post 15931955)
Some of us who live "out west" would consider that "back east".
Get out to the coast, we got trees an' bushes an' hills here, too.
Just sayin'.
|
I suppose, to be absolutely correct, I should have said "the Rocky Mountain West", having lived in New Mexico, Colorado, Wyoming, and Idaho most of my life and having ridden extensively in every other state "out West". Thanks for offering me the chance to clarify! :D
The other HUGE difference I've noticed "back East" is that there are only rarely any shoulders to the roads; you literally have the white line along the edge and then it's the ditch or bushes and trees. I'm told one reason there are no shoulders is that these roads don't typically have to have large volumes of snow plowed off of them over a period of many months, so there's no reason to have a place to push it out of the driving lanes or store it until it melts. That little fact makes for some very narrow roads and with no run-off room to the right. I'm sure many folks tend to push it a little to the left and into the on-coming lane. The narrow roads surely force you to pay more attention to drifting out around a left turn.
A lot of roads out here weren't originally built as highways for high-speed vehicles, either, but were pioneered by horses and wagons so there are numerous decreasing-radius turns that can catch you off guard and force you out of your lane and into something stupid.
Doug |
