America: the bizarre

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pwa
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Re: America: the bizarre

Post by pwa »

al_yrpal wrote:I give up! Being lectured by someone who has never been there…

Al


And you are the expert. You don't become an expert on a city's crime rate by visiting as a tourist. I have been to London, Paris and Rome without acquiring greater knowledge of the crime risk in those cities.

Washington has long had a homicide problem. Last year it had 162 (edited correction) homicides, and it's not that big a city. But there are more dangerous US cities and Detroit is one of them. I'd take care if I were going there. The same applies to all sorts of cities, all over the world. Do a bit of research and find out what's what before you go.
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honesty
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Re: America: the bizarre

Post by honesty »

I lived in Troy, NY, and worked in Schenectady for a year. I never had any problems with crime. These were, in the 90's, very run down post industrial cities. Really I think the advice pwa is saying about America applies to every country you'd visit. I wouldn't want to cycle through Moss Side for example, but I bet almost all of the time, and in daylight, you'd have no issues. I think writing of the whole USA because of high crime city areas is a bit drastic though...
pwa
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Re: America: the bizarre

Post by pwa »

honesty wrote:I lived in Troy, NY, and worked in Schenectady for a year. I never had any problems with crime. These were, in the 90's, very run down post industrial cities. Really I think the advice pwa is saying about America applies to every country you'd visit. I wouldn't want to cycle through Moss Side for example, but I bet almost all of the time, and in daylight, you'd have no issues. I think writing of the whole USA because of high crime city areas is a bit drastic though...


Agreed. And I have cycled through Moss Side at 4am, without realising where I was! The OP was about Detroit (partly) and that city has been consistently near the top of the US cities with the highest homicide rates. I think that merits a bit of care. I would say the same about Cape Town (perhaps even more so) and lots of other non-US cities. If you really want danger you need to visit certain Central / South American cities.
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Re: America: the bizarre

Post by TonyR »

pwa wrote: The OP was about Detroit (partly) and that city has been consistently near the top of the US cities with the highest homicide rates. I think that merits a bit of care. I would say the same about Cape Town (perhaps even more so) and lots of other non-US cities. If you really want danger you need to visit certain Central / South American cities.


Cape Town's not that bad. Much of it is fine and you just need care in parts. Joburg/Pretoria is another matter.
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RickH
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Re: America: the bizarre

Post by RickH »

Is a lot of it a fear, more often than not unfounded, of "others"?

If you read travellers' tales time after time they tell of leaving a very friendly town/region/country to dire warnings that the people they are heading towards will rob them & probably kill them. Those same people turn out to be equally friendly & hospitable but amazed that the traveller got out of the previous town/region/country alive &/or still with any of their possessions! :?

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al_yrpal
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Re: America: the bizarre

Post by al_yrpal »

My friends in Maine emailed me today. I have been advised not to visit any of the Midsomer villages that surround where I live. :lol:

Al
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Re: America: the bizarre

Post by scottg »

When worrying about guns in the States, people with guns kill themselves, their relatives,
wives and friends, very rare to shoot a stranger.

Danger in the States is idiots with cell phones in cars.


My British Bizarre, Would you please put the road signs backup in rural
areas ? The French & Germans are not invading in the foreseeable future.

Thanks
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Deutsche Luftschiffahrts-AG
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RickH
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Re: America: the bizarre

Post by RickH »

scottg wrote:My British Bizarre, Would you please put the road signs backup in rural
areas ? The French & Germans are not invading in the foreseeable future.

Thanks

I doubt it is a deliberate policy. I've heard that there is a big problem in some parts with the signs being nicked to sell the metal for scrap. Some councils have been experimenting with using plastic based signs but that will only work if the thieves are aware of the fact before they make off with them. In these cash-strapped times it may take a while to get signs replaced.

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Vorpal
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Re: America: the bizarre

Post by Vorpal »

This is a whole nother thread, but yes, sign posting in the UK is really poor. And it's not because they get nicked. It probably isn't a deliberate policy, etiher. But it's bad enough that people joke about it being deliberate policy. And, It's just as bad in places that use wood or plastic.

There are two problems with sign posting in the UK. The first is that not every junction has a signpost. There are thousands of tiny junctions where ancient lanes meet that have no signpost. And it's these little lanes that are nicest for cyclist because motor vehicles seldom use them.

The other problem is that even when there are signposts, how routes are marked is inconsistent. The Highways Agency (now Highways England) were worse about this than most county councils. How is it *not* going to confuse someone who is driving east-northeast on the A12 toward Ipswich, when they see a sign for the Midlands (yes, I know why it's like that)? There are some places near Colchester, where upon joining the A120, the signs says 'Harwich' for one direction and 'Puckeridge' for the other. At other junctures, the signs say 'Braintree' and 'Marks Tey', or 'Colchester'. It's just luck whether you can tell which direction to go without consulting a map, if you aren't familiar with the area. 'Where is Puckeridge, anyway?' is a joke amongst people who live along that section of the A120, because it is almost meaningless on a sign post. It should say 'Braintree', or 'Stansted' or "Bishop Stortford' or 'M11', or even 'A10' which is where the A120 ends in that direction. It is near Puckeridge, but the A120 doesn't actually go to Puckeridge at all.

With a few exceptions, the country lanes are sign posted with names of little villages and greens; some are not always obvious on the OS map (though, happily, many can be figured out because perry green farm *is* on the map, and just happens to be on perry green which is sign-posted, but I digress). They aren't sign-posted with anything clever like a cycle symbol and 'Colchester'. Someone who wants to cycle to to Colchester cannot follow the signs that say 'Colchester', anyway. They'll end up on the A12 or A120.
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al_yrpal
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Re: America: the bizarre

Post by al_yrpal »

Agree, we do it to confuse any foreigners. :lol:

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kylecycler
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Re: America: the bizarre

Post by kylecycler »

al_yrpal wrote:Agree, we do it to confuse any foreigners. :lol:

Al

Shades of Dad's Army... :lol:

Back to America, this always makes me smile (from Crazy Guy on a Bike)...

crazy guy on bike cockpit.jpg


Bell - *check*; Mirrors - *check*; Computer - *check*; Satnav - *check*; Map - *check*; Pepper spray - *check*...

Presumably for dogs and wildlife, not humans (not if you want to get yourself shot, that is...).
Last edited by kylecycler on 25 Feb 2016, 3:02pm, edited 1 time in total.
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RickH
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Re: America: the bizarre

Post by RickH »

Vorpal wrote:This is a whole nother thread, but yes, sign posting in the UK is really poor. And it's not because they get nicked.

I think there are 2 separate issues. One is poor signposting and the other signs (whether poor or otherwise) that are no longer there. Off the top of my head I can think of half a dozen places within 2 or 3 miles of home at significant junctions where there are now empty poles where there used to be signs.

I don't know if they were stolen in this instance but I can't think of any other reason why they would simply be removed and not replaced. A search on the BBC news website for "stolen road signs" throws up a number of reported instances in different parts of the country over recent years, involving thousands of pounds worth of signs in each instance. Along with theft electricity, railway signalling & telecommunication cables it seems to be an ongoing problem, even if it has been reduced somewhat in the last year by more strict regulation of scrap metal dealers.

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PJ520
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Re: America: the bizarre

Post by PJ520 »

pwa wrote:
I think you can widen that and say being on a US street is not a great idea if you value your safety.


Ever been there? I've lived in the US for 40 years and have rode my 520 over 51,000 miles round the place without incident. I've even come across neo Nazis in the hills of California, the ones that Paul Theroux met. The only way they inconvenienced me was by having a herd of pigs in the road were going down, a bit of a novelty; I've come across herds of cows, sheep etc but never pigs before. I used to be a teacher in a comprehensive in the west end of Newcastle upon Tyne and my friends who still live in the area tell me that if you swan around that neck of the woods you can still find more local colour than is good for you. Doing the Northern Tier I was told, just up the road, that Havre Montana was a drug infested pit. When I got there I found a pleasant college town with nice accommodation, good places to eat and not a druggie to be seen. I think you've read too much Daily Mail.
Last edited by Vorpal on 31 Jan 2016, 9:03am, edited 1 time in total.
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TonyR
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Re: America: the bizarre

Post by TonyR »

Pete Jack wrote:
pwa wrote:
I think you can widen that and say being on a US street is not a great idea if you value your safety.


Ever been there? I've lived in the US for 40 years and have rode my 520 over 51,000 miles round the place without incident. I've even come across neo Nazis in the hills of California, the ones that Paul Theroux met. The only way they inconvenienced me was by having a herd of pigs in the road were going down, a bit of a novelty; I've come across herds of cows, sheep etc but never pigs before. I used to be a teacher in a comprehensive in the west end of Newcastle upon Tyne and my friends who still live in the area tell me that if you swan around that neck of the woods you can still find more local colour than is good for you. Doing the Northern Tier I was told, just up the road, that Havre Montana was a drug infested pit. When I got there I found a pleasant college town with nice accommodation, good places to eat and not a druggie to be seen. I think you've read too much Daily Mail.


Would you extend that to tourist cycling through Skid Row or Florencia in LA? I agree with you in general but there are places you would be advised to stay clear of as a tourist unless accompanied by an experienced guide,
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Re: America: the bizarre

Post by PJ520 »

TonyR wrote:
Pete Jack wrote:Would you extend that to tourist cycling through Skid Row or Florencia in LA? I agree with you in general but there are places you would be advised to stay clear of as a tourist unless accompanied by an experienced guide,
I wouldn't recommend a tour of Scotland to include East Kilbride either. I don't live far from Skid Row (the 'skid' refers to a chute they slid logs down about 120 years ago). The only cyclist I know who has come to harm in that area hit a manhole and fell off and broke his hip. The road surfaces around there were terrible. But lately the whole city is getting a lot more bike friendly. What's your point? Every biggish city on the planet has areas it's best to stay to stay away from. I once got my pocket picked in Valence, France. Does that mean the whole country should be avoided? In Normandy I had a gang of hooligans in a car slowing down and yelling at me, quite scary, until I realized they were trying to stop me riding down the on ramp to an N road.
You only live once, which is enough if you do it right. - Mae West
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