Subaru Forester (2010) and Chains, WTF

The worst American drivers I have seen are not in the major cities; they are some of the best.  When I live in VA and commuted 29 miles to D.C., traffic was fast and precise (I was twice passed on curves when I was going 105 mph in my BMW sedan and didn't feel in danger) and I, and many others, would take time off during holidays, celebrations, etc. just to stay home simply to avoid the cretins coming to town trying to merge from the ramps at 25 mph. The worst I have ever seen are right here in east Pierce County, both residents and especially visitors to MRNP; now maybe many of the visitors who are especially bad drivers, like the guy I encountered doing a 3-point turn to reverse direction on a blind curve are really non-citizens--maybe one of those dreaded H-1 visa holders.

Lordhedgie, I'm sure you are correct.  There must be many countries with worse drivers than in the U.S., especially in the 3rd world;  I based my observations only on my experiences in 4 3rd world countries (and I excluded all of Asia from my comments); and my experience in Europe is limited, I only lived there 8 years.

And Mark, I'm sure you a right about sub-Saharan Africa, you've been there but I have not; I just know I was safer on a bike in traffic circles in Nairobi than in Olympia and in no other country have I had drivers throw things at me (on bicycle and motorcycle) nor have I ever had a driver rapidly accelerate around me, lock his brakes to stop quickly, and throw open his door to try to make me crash, then when he failed chase me to downtown wanting to fight (like happened to me in Olympia); I was ready to accommodate him (I had by cable chain and lock in my hand) when a huge soldier from Ft. Lewis told him to stand down and go home. The guy didn't like bicyclists on public roads.

Talk about thread drift!! :

But I gotta say - Acarey that is one SWEET ASS bike!

Oh boy here we go!

Now I can see this thread migrating to a "sharing the road with rude bicyclists..." thread.

Maybe I should pose the question of whether anyone uses Michelin snow tires (studded) on their two wheel drive classic racing road bike?  How about that guy who commutes up Avondale (Redmond) in rush hour with a unicycle?  

Alan

Guess I got a bit feisty in my thread drift contributions last night. Apologies for any offense.

But I have seen both bicycles and motorcycles with studded tires. The normal means of doing this is to drive sheet metal screws from the inside of a tube-type tire. There are tread patterns which work better and treat patterns which work hardly at all. It will not surprise anyone that there are internet forums where better and worse ways to stud bike tires are debated endlessly.

I have not tried this, despite my devotion to studded tires for my van. A mountain bike on snow and ice can be fun, but a motorcycle is decidedly not.

Mark

Talk about thread drift!! :

But I gotta say - Acarey that is one SWEET ASS bike!

yeah, custom seat, custom Ohlins rear shock, custom Race Tech gold valves and springs in the front, HID, GPS, Springfield Armory Compact .45 Auto, etc. etc. :

Guess I got a bit feisty in my thread drift contributions last night.  Apologies for any offense.

But I have seen both bicycles and motorcycles with studded tires.  The normal means of doing this is to drive sheet metal screws from the inside of a tube-type tire.  There are tread patterns which work better and treat patterns which work hardly at all.  It will not surprise anyone that there are internet forums where better and worse ways to stud bike tires are debated endlessly.

I have not tried this, despite my devotion to studded tires for my van.  A mountain bike on snow and ice can be fun, but a motorcycle is decidedly not.

Mark

There used to be an annual BMW motorcycle winter camp out at Sunshine Point campground just inside the Nisqually Entrance to Mt. Rainier; various participants would ride their bikes to Paradise on snow covered and icy roads using side-car rigs, m'cycle chains, and studded tires. Not me. I once got caught coming back to my place here just outside the entrance and had to ride about 20 miles on black ice; similarly, I got caught on a fall ride to Paradise with solid black ice from the Nisqually Bridge to the turn off to Ricksecker Point (where I turned around to ride the black ice down). NOT fun (for me).