What obstacles do you encounter?
 

Rode to work today, on the way home got behind several cars going really slow. Then I saw why, a tractor, was holding everyone up. No one could pass because of the amount of cars coming the other direction.

Finally after a couple miles of going 25mph I got the opportunity to pass (was 3rd behind tractor).

Right now is harvest so they are every where. Actually saw a combine pulled over on the way in to town allowing traffic to go around.
We also have amish buggies when we go south.

What obstacles do you encounter on the road?

Wind and drunken idiots on the road at all times of the day.

55-year old women in Toyota Camrys or Avalons doing under the speed limit because to do otherwise does not serve Christ.

http://cache3.asset-cache.net/xc/AR5...29E79887609E4F



Friggin' ditch rats.

On a nice weekend ride, we WILL encounter, wash out at the end of people's gravel driveways after a good rain, slow cars, tractors, car chasing dogs, possums, beavers, squirrels, snakes, gravel, leaves or walnuts if it's fall, limbs/branches, wild turkeys, and we MAY encounter a bear, or cow in the road. Also had a big ole buzzard swoop down on my buddy

We came flying around a corner and what's standing there, yep a cow in the middle of the road might as well had that "eat more chicken sign around it's neck"

I've got 4 dogs that live on the road just outside my apartment, kids either going to school or playing in the apartment parking lot after... half asleep drivers as I'm going to work, exhausted/drunk drivers on my way home... crappy maintained MS roads... sand from storms... tree limbs from the same... Idiots who almost ass pack me while I'm giving my ID to the gate guard...

uh... that's probably about it.

deer, they are everywhere, like large rats with horns

Aside from the usual array of animals and dipshits, my most memorable obstacles have been ladders, lumber, a rolling spare tire and a flower print loveseat.

The loveseat was tricky...

JC

fuck that. God gave man dominion over the earth. carters the fuck who said we need to go slow and we already know hes a fucking tard. :lol

as for obstacles we've got the critters, branches, tons of wet leaves, and recently the patco folks dropped sand over every intersection near the train station. went to go around the corner at a semi decent lean and saw it just in time to stand it up. still got a lil sideways. fuckers

You forgot to add darpa cops

Speaking of buzzards, I have a buddy that hit one head on with his face. Knocked him out cold, he fell off the bike and then sheared the cedar post of a barbed wire fence off...again with his face. He recovered fully, but it was iffy there for a while...he got CareFlighted out.

The buzzard died.

D all the above!

I encountered a freaking combine coming around a blind right end of last week. Sonuvabitch took up his entire lane, plus 3/4 of mine, plus the shoulder on his side! I just squeaked through. He probably hit his guardrail as I zipped past. All I could see was:
http://i187.photobucket.com/albums/x...recombine2.jpg
That's normal and not even worth mentioning :lol:
Oh yeah, and groundhogs.

Almost got taken out by a dualie a few years ago taking up my lane. avoided him but crashed anyway on some gravel. Doh.

The worst is these road hogs up near my parents. Scary to pass in a car let alone a bike
http://www.martinfrost.ws/htmlfiles/oct2006/amish2.jpg

backhoes and turkey vultures

A van full of GIs and a tow truck and the occasional deer.

Deer...drunken drivers...people driving while distracted via cell phones etc....dead animals in the road..gravel...this pretty much covers most of it around here.

Traffic in general as well.

and you big-city liberals in the Northeast are the ones who keep holding on to the 55 :lol

tons of deer, Lincoln Towncars, huge combines (I didn't think they made combines as large as the ones I've seen around here lately), and shit spreaders (yuck)

Every one or thing on the road is an obstacle.

Of course. I should have been more specific in that I wanted to know more of the "out of ordinary" things - such as Amish buggies, tractors, etc...

Boneheads that park on the wrong side of the street- talking state highway, not in town- to get their mail. Really fucking annoying when you're trying to find a place to pass, and get headlights where they should not be.

And then there are the idiots that slow to a crawl in their own lane, then move into the opposing lane, then stop to make a left turn. For crying out loud, just turn from your own damn lane! I could take that turn three times faster and not hold up traffic in both directions.

Lots of roadkill about on the roads up here - have to keep your eyes peeled...some of those furry stink-lumps are pretty big.

well there was a window or door screen in the middle of the road today, I turned around to move it, but a car had already stopped to move it by that time.

Also had two roosters and a turkey in the road today.

As of yesterday there are coyotes and other stray canines on the road. Saw a stray today and wanted to take him home but I don't think I could carry him on my shoulders while riding. So target fixating and pangs of heartache for stray animals can be kind of distracting.

MINIVANS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! FUCKING HATE EVERYONE THAT DRIVES ONE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


Soccer moms, old people that shouldnt be allowed to look at a vehicle, high schoolers (not as bad as old people), women drivers (ya I said it), more construction on the Loop, the bottom rubber part of the cones/barrels lying in the middle of the lanes for no apparent reason, dipshits that dont understand that the left lane is for passing (wish Texas would adapt the Oklahoma ticket to left lane drivers), CELLPHONES!!!!!!!!!!, PEOPLE NOT GETTING OUT OF THE RIGHT LANE (when its 3 or more lanes) TO ALLOW PEOPLE TO GET ONTO THE HIGHWAY!, people that drive right beside each other, people that pass others going 1mph faster than the other vehicle.


Now I put women and old people in the list and let me explain myself. Well that doesnt matter cause I'm sure someone will call me a "typical" guy and "guys wreck more than women, its proven" bs crap.

Ok. Old people and women have something in common when they drive. My gramps even agrees on the old person part. When an old person or woman gets into a vehicle they have one thing on their mind. THERE DESTINATION. But Ranger, isnt that important. You dont want to forget where you're going, right? Sure. I'd feel retarded if I forgot where I was going.

But here's the thing. I've learned that that is the ONLY thing they are concentrating on. Hence the taking up two lanes, cutting people off, hitting people, doing distracting things while driving.

"What every. My insurance sells person says guys suck at driving thats why they pay more." Well good for you. I've never been in/apart/heard/seen male wreck that was because of something stupid like talking on the phone or doing their hair. That's counting all my guy friends, guy relatives, guy etc. I know it happens, but I've seen a good amount of wrecks with males involved and it wasnt because they had a cellphone between their legs set on vibrate.

Most guy wrecks are because they were doing something stupid like racing or doing a "trick" and the occasional, "O shit the vehicle is closer than I thought." LOL


Here's a scenario that I love and I was invold in. Yippie! I was in the right turning lane, red light. Fifth vehicle from light. Girl behind me talking on phone in her little black Hyundai. Light turns green and you know how it takes a few seconds before you can take off because of the cars in front of you. Well it's my turn to take off and I do but the third vehicle decides to brake a little (I dont know why) and home girl behind me (still on phone), decides to look down while hammering the gas......*repeat*.....WHILE LOOKING DOWN!

"Now how do you know she hammered the gas?" Cause I was in a F-150 and she made ME move on seat. Why in the hell would you look down when taking off from a red light, KNOWING there are vehicles in front of you. Her car was fucked up. Good hitch didnt get a scratch.

Come on. How many times have you taken off at a red light with vehicles in front of you and NOT have any of them hit the brakes?

Actually high schoolers have more accidents per mile than old people.

But they tend to drive less crazy in the time that you're around them.

An orange metal "Construction Ahead" sign laying flat in the middle of the road.

A 5 inch thick rectangle cone base. I moved it out of the way one evening and it was in the same place the next day. Fuckers.



I had a 4x8 sheet of plywood fly over me once. Was on a curved over pass behind my brother. He hit the plywood, the wind caught it, wind picked it up, and it would have taken my head off if I didn't duck.

I once ran over a mattress on my 636 at 75mph. I had nowhere to go, so I just stood up on the pegs a little and went over it dirtbike-style. Freaked me out, but went over just fine.

damn...