America: the bizarre

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tyreon
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America: the bizarre

Post by tyreon »

I was wondering what sights might confuse and befuddle curious cyclists should they travel. I thought I would be interested in cycling through post industrial Detroit then on into poisoned Flint,America. You've seen the pictures of devastation,something like from another planet,a post apocalyptic Amrageddon. You then go on to cycle around well-heeled SanFransisco or Seattle. Would you make sense of it? Interesting?

Nearer to home: you cycle around Redcar,then off you go to Gstadd or some well-heeled place. It's a different tourism,maybe a cycle political tour. The cycle touring that might interest you? It interests me.

In a reading group I belong to we once had a girl(?)(30 year old woman),who came from a very rural place in southern France near Switzerland.The loudest thing she heard at night was was falling snow,it was also the most exciting thing she saw too. When she came to the city where I live she saw girls walking around in next to nothing,fighting,drinking,brawling,shouting,noise,bouncers,having sex... Her eyes were...Blown??????? I don't think she knew what to say. Genuinely,blown....
TonyR
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Re: America: the bizarre

Post by TonyR »

tyreon wrote:I was wondering what sights might confuse and befuddle curious cyclists should they travel. I thought I would be interested in cycling through post industrial Detroit then on into poisoned Flint,America. You've seen the pictures of devastation,something like from another planet,a post apocalyptic Amrageddon. You then go on to cycle around well-heeled SanFransisco or Seattle. Would you make sense of it? Interesting?


Generally those places of industrial devastation in the USA are not good places to be cycling around if you value your safety.
pwa
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Re: America: the bizarre

Post by pwa »

TonyR wrote:
tyreon wrote:I was wondering what sights might confuse and befuddle curious cyclists should they travel. I thought I would be interested in cycling through post industrial Detroit then on into poisoned Flint,America. You've seen the pictures of devastation,something like from another planet,a post apocalyptic Amrageddon. You then go on to cycle around well-heeled SanFransisco or Seattle. Would you make sense of it? Interesting?


Generally those places of industrial devastation in the USA are not good places to be cycling around if you value your safety.


I think you can widen that and say being on a US street is not a great idea if you value your safety.
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al_yrpal
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Re: America: the bizarre

Post by al_yrpal »

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.


You havent travelled much in America then, what a ridiculous statement! Yes, there are threatening places but they are the exception and tiny, exactly the same as here, France, or other European countries.

Al
Reuse, recycle, thus do your bit to save the planet.... Get stuff at auctions, Dump, Charity Shops, Facebook Marketplace, Ebay, Car Boots. Choose an Old House, and a Banger ..... And cycle as often as you can......
pwa
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Re: America: the bizarre

Post by pwa »

al_yrpal 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.


You havent travelled much in America then, what a ridiculous statement! Yes, there are threatening places but they are the exception and tiny, exactly the same as here, France, or other European countries.

Al


32 times the murder rate of the UK!
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al_yrpal
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Re: America: the bizarre

Post by al_yrpal »

Murder rate has nothing to do with street safety except in the relatively tiny 'sink' areas. Murders are mostly family stuff and gang violence. How much time have you actually spent in America and where was it? Its not bizzare generally but like here bizzare in small areas. Small town America is the norm and its quite dull.

Al
Reuse, recycle, thus do your bit to save the planet.... Get stuff at auctions, Dump, Charity Shops, Facebook Marketplace, Ebay, Car Boots. Choose an Old House, and a Banger ..... And cycle as often as you can......
pwa
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Re: America: the bizarre

Post by pwa »

al_yrpal wrote:Murder rate has nothing to do with street safety except in the relatively tiny 'sink' areas. Murders are mostly family stuff and gang violence. How much time have you actually spent in America and where was it? Its not bizzare generally but like here bizzare in small areas. Small town America is the norm and its quite dull.

Al


A murder rate of 32 times UK levels (per person) is hard to ignore. And gun crime has affected small town USA. But, yes, all nations have hot spots for crime and quieter places.

As you suspect, I have never chosen to visit the USA and probably never will. But I believe I am right to think there is something wrong with a country whose president weeps on TV as he expresses his frustration at not being able to stop its citizens shooting each other. Don't get me wrong: I am not anti-USA and I recognise a lot of good things and good people that have come from that nation. I just do not think it is, from a crime standpoint, safe.
Psamathe
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Re: America: the bizarre

Post by Psamathe »

One thing I found strange was that sometimes it can be difficult to tell if an area is safe or not. Was doing a conference one in Hartford and decided one morning to go for a wander and explore a bit - looked a respectable area, expensive hotel, etc. and doorman stopped me and asked where I was going and warned me that "you don't walk around here".

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honesty
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Re: America: the bizarre

Post by honesty »

I lived for a year in America. I was not murdered. ;)
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al_yrpal
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Re: America: the bizarre

Post by al_yrpal »

PWA my wife never wanted to go to America but I persuaded her. On the first morning in Los Angeles she was smitten. Since then we have visited America nine times on holiday. In NYC there tend to be cops on every corner, if you stare at a map someone black or white will appear at your shoulder offering help. You get used to never eating alone when people spot your accent. We have three main groups of friends in various areas and have enjoyed staying with them as they enjoy coming here. America is a great country with lots of genuinely nice people. I too dislike the gun laws and culture, but you cannot damn a whole country for that or for their politics. Go!

Al
Reuse, recycle, thus do your bit to save the planet.... Get stuff at auctions, Dump, Charity Shops, Facebook Marketplace, Ebay, Car Boots. Choose an Old House, and a Banger ..... And cycle as often as you can......
rualexander
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Re: America: the bizarre

Post by rualexander »

I've cycled through rural and small town USA for three months, mostly mid-west Rockies etc.
Having also cycled in many other parts of the world, I would say the US was one of the friendliest and equally safest countries I have cycled in.
TonyR
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Re: America: the bizarre

Post by TonyR »

rualexander wrote:I've cycled through rural and small town USA for three months, mostly mid-west Rockies etc.
Having also cycled in many other parts of the world, I would say the US was one of the friendliest and equally safest countries I have cycled in.


+1. Rural locations can be exceptionally low crime - some places just across the Hudson from New York are so low crime that they have talked of disbanding the police force who have nothing to do.
tatanab
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Re: America: the bizarre

Post by tatanab »

Having lived in a couple of places in the US and visited several more, some very unpleasant, I can say that there are obvious areas such as the stereotypical inner city tenement blocks and areas where every property is surrounded by razor wire. But there are other areas as well that look perfectly innocent but are not. Riding with a club in Southern California, not far from LA, I wanted to stop but was told quite firmly " we do not stop around here". Near where I worked, an apparently respectable neighbourhood, the local McD had bullet proof glass and I was told it was decidedly unsafe after dark. Walking around suburbs in the Carolinas I became aware that it was probably not wise, and staying in an inner city hotel in Winston Salem the barman told me not to even think about taking a walk in the evening.

So, I agree that not all nasty places are obvious to our European sensitivities, but I managed to survive 3 years as a resident and probably another year or more total as a visitor. It is handy being a cyclist because everywhere I went I could meet up with local clubs and hence go places a tourist or casual visitor might not go.
landsurfer
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Re: America: the bizarre

Post by landsurfer »

I worked in San Diego (SD) for 7 months rebuilding F4J Phantoms for a new squadron for the Royal Air Force.
We stayed in a hotel in the Avenida area and to be honest it was not the best area in SD.
But I cycled to work most days and no one on the detachment had any problems in the 12 months in total we where there...
Worked in Jacksonville in Florida as well, USN where our hosts and we mixed every weekend with military and civilian staff without any issues.

We where in Las Vegas for 12 hours !! ... 2 attacked and injured and 1 mugging.... out of 12 of us... where we glad to fly out !!

But America is nice ... there's lots of it and lots of great places .....
Julie and I want to fly to SD and then RV back to Washington for the flight back home ....
With our bikes on the back of the RV for trips along the way
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Vorpal
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Re: America: the bizarre

Post by Vorpal »

I grew up in America and have never been shot :roll:

pwa wrote:
al_yrpal wrote:Murder rate has nothing to do with street safety except in the relatively tiny 'sink' areas. Murders are mostly family stuff and gang violence. How much time have you actually spent in America and where was it? Its not bizzare generally but like here bizzare in small areas. Small town America is the norm and its quite dull.

Al


A murder rate of 32 times UK levels (per person) is hard to ignore.

ummm... I think you mean the gun death rate is 32 times that in the UK. Many of the gun deaths are accidental; someone's toddler gets his/her hands on a gun and shoots someone, a hunter accidently shoots a friend, someone shoots his/her partner while cleaning a gun, that sort of thing. The USA has a *murder* rate that is 3.8 (less than 4) times the murder rate in the UK.

Psamathe wrote:One thing I found strange was that sometimes it can be difficult to tell if an area is safe or not. Was doing a conference one in Hartford and decided one morning to go for a wander and explore a bit - looked a respectable area, expensive hotel, etc. and doorman stopped me and asked where I was going and warned me that "you don't walk around here".

Ian

I think maybe the doorman wasn't local. Hartford (Connecticutt?) is known to have high crime, but most of it is limited to the area known as the 'North End' People who don't live in Hartford (my cousin did for many years) tend to think it's all bad. In fact, most of it is fine.
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