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Is it safe to tour in the States?

romany said:
Large Urban areas apparently worry a lot of MOA members.
Click to expand...

Large urban areas and cities don't "worry" me. I just detest the traffic, the congestion, and the rudeness I encounter there compared to the wonderful small towns and rural areas: this despite the fact that I made my living as a City Planner in urban areas for 30 years. Since this is a motorcycle forum I presume we are talking about motorcycle touring in big cities - if you can call that touring. If you want city culture fly in, take an Uber or cab, or drive in and have a ball. But major cities are a wretched environment to enjoy a motorcycle ride. YMMV
 
Romany,
Interesting+ well put!
A couple of thought provoking ideas. We all need that now + then. I hope a few of us get a chance to meet you in your travels or at a rally. Best!

Sent from my C6606 using Tapatalk
 
PGlaves said:
Large urban areas and cities don't "worry" me. I just detest the traffic, the congestion, and the rudeness I encounter there compared to the wonderful small towns and rural areas: this despite the fact that I made my living as a City Planner in urban areas for 30 years. Since this is a motorcycle forum I presume we are talking about motorcycle touring in big cities - if you can call that touring. If you want city culture fly in, take an Uber or cab, or drive in and have a ball. But major cities are a wretched environment to enjoy a motorcycle ride. YMMV
Click to expand...

Good point. Twice I've ridden as far as Rosemont, IL (across from O'Hare) - then taxi to and from a Cub's game. The bike stays put, and then I 'get out of Dodge' next morning. :thumb
 
martyhill said:
to Romany! Very well said. You have to understand that most of the posts are by folks who have never left the state they live in.
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Not quite. Voni and I have ridden BMWs in all 50 states (we had to borrow one in Hawaii), all Canadian provinces and territories you can ride a street bike to, 5 countries in southern Africa, and New Zealand. I have also ridden in Spain. She is over 1,100,000 BMW miles. I am the piker at only 850,000 miles on BMWs; about 900K if I count a couple of Yamahas. YMMV
 
jr31 said:
No. It isn't safe. Please don't come.

We're all running for our lives down here, scared out of our minds.

Also, lions and tigers and bears.

Malo periculosam libertatem quam quietum servitium.
Click to expand...


Marty, Doug, Howard.... please don't lose our sense of humor.

I kinda got it.
 
martyhill said:
to Romany! Very well said. You have to understand that most of the posts are by folks who have never left the state they live in.
Click to expand...

Hey! That's me!

What part of East Texas is Atlanta in?

.

.

.

The Stars at night are big and bright. Deep in the heart of....
 
PGlaves said:
Large urban areas and cities don't "worry" me. I just detest the traffic, the congestion, and the rudeness I encounter there compared to the wonderful small towns and rural areas: this despite the fact that I made my living as a City Planner in urban areas for 30 years. Since this is a motorcycle forum I presume we are talking about motorcycle touring in big cities - if you can call that touring. If you want city culture fly in, take an Uber or cab, or drive in and have a ball. But major cities are a wretched environment to enjoy a motorcycle ride. YMMV
Click to expand...

Absolutely. I avoid big cities as much as possible and especially anywhere near commute hours and save the city site seeing to when driving the car. I think a car lends itself much better to this environment anyway for touring purposes. It's a case of traffic density, magnified by increasingly distracted drivers and pedestrians making navigation and negotiation very challenging. The SF Bay Area has on average 8 motorcycle crashes daily which says something for sure.
 
PGlaves said:
Large urban areas and cities don't "worry" me. I just detest the traffic, .... If you want city culture fly in, take an Uber or cab, or drive in and have a ball. But major cities are a wretched environment to enjoy a motorcycle ride. YMMV
Click to expand...

I work in the airline industry when I go on holidays i want to get away from airports and that environment. Unfortunately as I live on the west coast I've had to fly into NY and the eastern cities, but if I lived within an easy ride - I'd ride.

My son teaches at Stanford and I actually enjoy riding in all that congestion. Call me sick, but it's just another challenge. Managing your space, analyzing the risks and possibilities sharpens my mind and instincts. Besides I've only had one San Franciscan try to run me down compared to the nutters in my backwater home town. I commute to work on my bike three days a week and rarely get in without at least one hair raising story.

Paul, I always enjoy reading of your and Vonni's adventures and hope to pile up those miles before I put the kick stand down for the last time.
 
Dunno about that - it could be the other way around as well. ;) However I once made the mistake of drinking a six pack in a single afternoon. In my defence it was very hot and there was no water to be found within 100 yards...

Purple Gas is a fruit wheat beer made with flavouring from Saskatoon Berries and Agave - delicious! Personally I'd rather be eating Saskatoons in pie or on top of vanilla ice cream rather than immersed in beer though.
 
You know you’re a millennial when... you can drink Purple Haze and not think about Jimi...


Best,
DG
 
deilenberger said:
I'll be the contrarian on cities - they can be quite enjoyable to ride in if you avoid rush hour. I've ridden through Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Reno, Oklahoma City, Denver, New York City, St. Louis, New Orleans, Albuquerque, Phoenix, Birmingham, Nashville, Baltimore, Albany, Sacramento, Columbus, Harrisburg, Pittsburg, Ontario, Philadelphia, Quebec, Montreal, Toronto, Rochester, Baton Rouge, Tallahassee, Kansas City, Bakersfield, Reno, Salt Lake City, Topeka, Lexington, Charleston, Hartford, Springfield, Munich, Dusseldorf, Prague, Zurich, Bern, Nice, Marseille, Leon, Geneva (admittedly the last few weren't in the US or North America) - and a few dozen more that I've forgotten.

Never had a problem. Somehow it seems I become invisible on the bike in the city, people just take no notice of me. I've been lost (thanks to Doofus the GPS) in some rather unsavory parts of some of these cities, and was never really concerned since it seemed no one saw me passing through. Probably the best city memory I have is of riding down Park Ave in NYC with a police escort going to the opening of the Art of the Motorcycle at the Guggenheim Museum. That was majorly cool. We left the BMW dealership building around 11th Ave and 44th? Had the police do a rolling traffic block all the way up Park Ave - we never had to slow down.

Ted Simon once pointed out that people in one location will always tell you how dangerous and awful it is in another location.. and it never really is. Use a tiny bit of common sense, smile a lot and don't try to attract attention and you'll be just fine.

And don't let fear rule your ride.

BTW - my very FAVORITE place to ride IS Canada. I go at least once a year for the past decade. Every other year to Nova Scotia. This fall I circled Lake Ontario. A few years ago toured Montreal. Ottawa was fun. I'm always amazed at how courteous Canadian drivers are. I've never had a scare there..
Click to expand...

While motorcycling in a large city isn't my goal, visiting the US without seeing NYC, Wash DC, San Francisco, Seattle, etc.......would be as pointless as visiting Germany without going to Berlin or Munich.
 
36654 said:
While motorcycling in a large city isn't my goal, visiting the US without seeing NYC, Wash DC, San Francisco, Seattle, etc.......would be as pointless as visiting Germany without going to Berlin or Munich.
Click to expand...

+1.. The goal isn't necessarily scenic touring in a city (although that can be done) - but IMHO the bike provides a better way to get around than a 4 wheeler for me. Easier to squeeze through small slots in traffic, easier to find parking, and it somehow makes me super aware of what's around me, and that includes the architecture or lack of.. Some cities I'll park the bike at the hotel and walk or taxi to where I want to go (especially after dark.. not from fear of dangerous characters, but more fear of not seeing road hazards..) Other cities I'll use the bike for all my travel and visits. As romany said - it's just another sort of challenge. Some people enjoy it. I find it sharpens my skills.

I also every week or so in the summer ride down Ocean Ave in Belmar NJ. A more distracting and distracted environment would be hard to image. Semi-naked people wandering around, people backing out of diagonal parking spaces, people pulling U turns while blinking right, pedestrians blindly wandering across the road not in a crosswalk - looking down at their cellphone. Cars pulling out in front of me in blind intersections. That REALLY sharpens up my situational-awareness skills, and tells me if I still have the reaction times needed to safely ride. So far - doing it for about 20 summers now - I've passed. Passing consists of doing it with no surprises. Doing it is good practice IMHO.
 
36654 said:
While motorcycling in a large city isn't my goal, visiting the US without seeing NYC, Wash DC, San Francisco, Seattle, etc.......would be as pointless as visiting Germany without going to Berlin or Munich.
Click to expand...

I'd agree (OK - NYC never does make my short list - perhaps some day I'll regret that?!).

I have visited San Fran - park your motorcycle and rent a GoCar! It's a 3-wheel, side-by-side hoot that will feel like an over-sized go-kart, looks like a mini-Porsche, but safer in traffic. When I was visiting the Presidio and Golden Gate Park, they were everywhere. Looked like fun. Just be careful on Lombard Street (went down it 3 times - would not do it on a motorcycle).

Multiple motorcycle trips to the D.C. area ended with the bike staying parked at the motel, and taking the Metro into the District.

Go see America. :wave
 
Being from the rural South, I am not comfortable riding in a city as large as NYC. I have ridden in some pretty large cities with no problems, but I just don't think it is a good idea for me. I have always kinda wanted to go thru NYC just to say I have done it, but probably never will. Although I ride in a lot of different places, I am not accustomed to heavy, hectic, bustling traffic with rude people added to the mix. I rode (in a cab) thru downtown Chicago, and this country girl really got an education. I have never seen so many rude, crazy, mad folks in my life. Also, was with another couple in D.C. and the driver made a wrong turn & we ended up in "the wrong part" of town :eek. I have NEVER been so uneasy in my life, and I swore if I got out unscathed that I would never be in that situation again. I certainly would not have wanted to have been on my motorcycle. If one grows up or is accustomed to dealing with large cities, it probably wouldn't seem like as big a deal, but I personally will ride 200 miles to avoid it. I do think it is good to get out of your comfort zone occasionally because it does make you a better rider. I like adventure, just as long as it is safe:D.
 
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