Riding Across the US...Which Direction?

[ksquid]

You must be on something cause kpaul agrees...i.e. your opinion on this subject has been now offically discounted.



Especially if you stay off the interstates every state has something to see..

[ksquid]

Yes Canada is nice but where else can you be ran over by soccer moms in huge SUVs burning cheap gas (compared to Canada)..Canada is just too polite. ...Just because you have Tim Horton's superior donut technology is no reason to go to Canada. Less traffic and crime means he will get bored.. Don't forget the entertainment factor of bad drivers and no gun laws...



Seriously Canada is very pretty and I personally I think Vancouver is the most beautiful city in North America.. Seattle and SF are probably the nicest in the U.S. Did I mention Vancouver has a real hockey team...They should kept their coach.. though.

[seruzawa]

Could be worse. Imagine trying to do business in Cuba and having to listen to one of El Jefe's 8 hour bloviatings about the great oppressor.

[conchscooter]

Before I came to the US for the first time I had filled my head with places to see based on my extensive perusal of National Geographic magazine; which is as weird a criterion as any especially as naked women weren't featured inarticles on US cities. I soon learned that visiting locales with odd or familiar names, "Athens, Georgia," or "Paris, Texas" didn't pay off. Visiting National Parks did and that was how I organized my first cross country trip. That and a turn south through Mexico was very rewarding. All that on a Vespa PE 200 in six months in 1981.

I like the Western States, but I also enjoy New Orleans, North Carolina, and Florida palms are exotic enough for some visitors.I spent a day of memorable silence camping in the Oklahoma panhandle.

By ducking into Mexico between Nogales and Laredo you get to skip the flatlands which are worth a visit on your second or third trip when you are burned out on inspecting the well known, and you get to enjoy expanding your horizons. Plus if you are a US visitor you aren't automatically scared of Mexico which is a trait bred into native-born North Americans.

On the other hand if you like mountains and forests and cool mornings tackle the Northwest and Canada which is metric and thus scary in different ways for people to whom change comes with difficulty.

My own difficulty accepting change comes in the form of a preference for old technology-carburettors, internet cafes and shaft drive.

I've crossed the country on 200cc's, 650 cc's and i've traveled on 1200 cc's and I still believe there is a substitute for cubic inches though Sean may find a smaller bike harder to sell to a squid at the end of the trip. Buying a Moto Guzzi might not be the easiest bike to resell at the end- though personally thats more to my old-tech taste than a Harley which would be easier to re-sell.

The nice thing about being new to this country is that, as you journey everything is fresh and unprejudiced. Your reactions to situations and people will be those of an outside, a person not programmed to expect the worst from the unexpected. An open attitude is always the finest way to travel. And the hardest way to live!

[Tadgh]

tell the people from india and china that !!!

[snowcrash]

http://www.motorcycleservices.com/Sh...yinsurance.pdf



They insure foreigners in the USA, mostly people importing their bikes,. Never found any companies who insure you on something you purchase in the USA.



It's probably cheaper and more fun to rent a bike, especially as you can return it and do something different for a while.

[Buzglyd]

For Cuban women, I'd listen to 8 hours of bloviating as the price of admission.

[anrajala]

Are there, please don´t even ask. And its not only the great looks, rear views to kill for, skimpy bikinis and tight skirts. The attitude is also out of this world (this part applies to Brazil but not to Argentina).



- cruiz-euro

[schizuki]

"Head out of New York as quickly as possible and go to Montreal. From there ride accross to Vancouver. Better scenery"



Er, it's plains. It's like 3000 miles of North Dakota.



"less traffic"



Less than the northern plains? Dude, outside of major metro areas, traffic is not a problem in the US.



"less crime"



Less VIOLENT crime. Property crime is higher, especially in Vancouver. Your chances of having the bike stolen are higher (or at best, equal.) As far as violent crimes go, if you're not black or involved in a life of crime, and you avoid the obviously bad areas (of which there are few), the violent crime rate is the same as Canada's.



You've gotten lots of good advice posts here. This post is not one of them. It's utterly ill-informed and wrong. This person is just regurgitating erroneous Canadian prejudices. I lived on the border - I know.

[schizuki]

You should move there, kpaul. It's pretty sad that you lefties are always talking about how superior Canada is to your own country, yet you just stay here and *****. Lame.



I suppose Canadians are kind of the same, though. They always talk about superior Canada is, and then move to the US.