Home town Hazards

[DYNA118]

Originally Posted by Thumbuster

Bakersfield CA.

Potholes are a big problem here.

Patchy morning fog during winter months.

Lots of red light runners.

A few railroad track crossings that are very rough.

There are a few on ramps to the freeway which are short and are typically crowded and it seems a lot of people just don't know how to enter a freeway! Need to be on high alert!

One of my favorite roads is hwy 178 through the Kern Canyon just west of here. During the wet season it's typical to find rocks that have come loose and fallen on the road. Recently, the local paper had a photo of a car sized bolder blocking one lane. No hands or feet sticking out from underneath it.

Hwy 178 would be a really great senic ride if you could slow the damn cages down so you could enjoy the canyon.

[Mystic Red]

Had to come almost to a complete stop for a moose going to work one morning.
Hit a deer in Rathdrum city limits @ 35mph on one commute to work.
Have seen elk cross in front of me also.

Had a guy race me on a 4 lane that narrows to a 2 lane one afternoon. Really wanted to be in front of me so I let him. Then he slowed down to 10mph under the speed limit so I passed him in a legal passing area. He then immediately passed me back doing about 70 in a 45 while cresting a hill in a double yellow with his horrified wife yelling at him. Then he slowed down to below the speed limit AGAIN.
Why do they do that?
So I'll add road ragers to my list.

[URSUS PURPUREOUS]

Just scanned through this and gotta say, with the exception of snow, horse drawn vehichles and wild life, here in Fresno area, we have ALL THE ABOVE!

Substitute tractors pulling out of Orchards to make a U turn accross the road for horse drawn vehicles and abandoned pets on the freeway for wildlife, and we got just about every thing on the list.
But I still love livin and ridin here!!

[poach]

Though I don't live in a true wine producing area, I ride through em all the time. Examples include paso Robles hills, Sonoma, napa, Alexander valley, knights valley, russian river area, and Anderson valley.

Inebriated wine lemmings are unpredictable and extremely dangerous in these areas...

[Turkus]

Originally Posted by poach

Inebriated wine lemmings are unpredictable and extremely dangerous in these areas...

One more reason to avoid the Vino Country during Tourista Season....

[Law Dawg (ret)]

Originally Posted by DYNA118

Hwy 178 would be a really great senic ride if you could slow the damn cages down so you could enjoy the canyon.

Really, seriously!? I have been up and down that canyon so many times that the scenery does not take all that long to take in now but cages going too fast?

I've always worried about rock slides in the Kern Canyon and cages that like to cut into the oncoming lane on blind corners. There are some rocks balanced on high that could be real ugly on top of or waiting for you on a curve...ruin your whole day that would.

Lion's Trail (Bodfish Caliente), Hwy 155, or Western Divide Hwy (Hwy 190) for scenery and fun.

[half-breed]

All of the above hazards, but here in downtown Sacramento the light-rail tracks that run parallel to the street bring on the spincter pucker even though they are designed well. Also this city of trees in the fall has slippery leaves galore.

[poach]

Originally Posted by Turkus

One more reason to avoid the Vino Country during Tourista Season....

Agreed! Definitely want to avoid inebriated lead singers for Romanian death metal bands!

Or maybe he just wants to clue us in on the super cool Hostel he knows of in czechoslovakia?

[packnrat]

in my area the turkeys were a bit in over production this winter. large amounts of them trying to get across the rd. almost hit four (4) just today. and this was at different places at different times not just one bunch. and one time on the bike as i rounded a curve..damned thing ran out into the rd right behind a ups truck, a good 20 pound tom, took flight too keep from being mashed bird.

.

[courageousdeer]

Originally Posted by Mystic Red

Had to come almost to a complete stop for a moose going to work one morning.
Hit a deer in Rathdrum city limits @ 35mph on one commute to work.
Have seen elk cross in front of me also.

Had a guy race me on a 4 lane that narrows to a 2 lane one afternoon. Really wanted to be in front of me so I let him. Then he slowed down to 10mph under the speed limit so I passed him in a legal passing area. He then immediately passed me back doing about 70 in a 45 while cresting a hill in a double yellow with his horrified wife yelling at him. Then he slowed down to below the speed limit AGAIN.
Why do they do that?
So I'll add road ragers to my list.

When I pass someone like this, it usually only takes a couple of corners to make them get really small in the mirrors. Also, I try to hold close to the higher passing speed for a good 30 seconds or more after passing - sooner or later, they figure out that they are going faster than they are comfortable and let you go. If I had someone really aggressive like you described, I'd probably pull over in a wide spot and let him get a long ways ahead (1-2 minutes worth) before setting out again. I also use this technique when I get stuck behind 1 or more slow-moving cages in the fun twisties. Pull over for a few minutes, let some space clear, and enjoy the twisties in blissful solitude (at least until I catch up to them again).