GuzziMoto Posted October 17 Posted October 17 9 hours ago, Guzzi-in-Vancouver said: @GuzziMoto there’s a ski resort in MD‽ It is in PA, I can see it from where I live in MD. Where I am in MD I can see WV and PA, my part of MD is probably less then 10 miles wide. Just west of me MD gets even skinnier, only a couple miles wide.
guzzler Posted October 17 Posted October 17 On 10/9/2024 at 9:18 AM, audiomick said: Have a good trip, mate. Are you going to Adelaide? Have a good time there, if you do. It's a lovely village. G'day Mick Just back on Wed. No, we avoided the city of churches but skirted round it...Mannum, Hahndorf, Goolwa and Victor Harbour then Portland on the way back managing to get home before the statewide storms! We missed the 25mm of rain in 10 minutes and cricket ball sized hail in Casterton by a day but it's now just hitting Melbourne and heading for us in Gippsland. I wish I was able to post the TV news footage from Casterton but beyond my abilities I'm afraid. Anyways we had a great time over there. Only Hahndorf and Victor Harbour were crowded but this is due to small streets limited parking and most of Adelaide flocks to these places on weekends when the weathers good. Absolutely nothing like the congestion of Europe and Nth America though! I remember when I first left NZ back in 1980 and feeling claustrophobia for the first time of my life in the small, overcrowded streets of London! And that was then so hate to think what it's like now...! Gotta love the wide- open spaces and small populations down under eh! Now, I have a week left before returning to the grindstone...bugger they go quick don't they. Cheers 2
audiomick Posted October 17 Posted October 17 23 minutes ago, guzzler said: ... hail in Casterton... Try this or this That looks prerry serious. Glad you had a good time in South Australia though, and yes, holidays end far too fast.
guzzler Posted October 18 Posted October 18 G'day mate We missed it thankfully but believe the storm was an inch of rain and the hail all in a crazy 10 minute burst then settled to a normal rain storm..... We got home Wed arvo missing this, but it hit Casterton Wed/Thurs and Melbourne city later when the whole state of Victoria copped similar multiple freak storm fronts. I just drove through some of it yesterday ( Friday am ) when I had to go and visit my Father in hospital in Frankston. When I picked up my brother in Langwarrin the stormwater drain close to the house was within inches of overflowing and moving like a category rated raft able river!! Then when we got outa the hospital only drizzle and blue sky...w t f ? I got home about 3pm and my wife got a message on her phone to say be prepared for power outages for some time due to the next feral front but thankfully ( again ) this front parted like Moses and the red sea when it got to Drouin! So far this morning still have power and all seems ok. I really felt sorry for the few bikes I saw heading for Phillip Island and the GP this weekend too! Once again the weather looks like ruining the weekend? Even ole mate Dave tells me he was supposed to go down but has pulled the pin and will be watching it on TV. Ha ha, as will I !! Cheers 1
Lucky Phil Posted October 21 Posted October 21 (edited) On 10/19/2024 at 8:17 AM, guzzler said: G'day mate We missed it thankfully but believe the storm was an inch of rain and the hail all in a crazy 10 minute burst then settled to a normal rain storm..... We got home Wed arvo missing this, but it hit Casterton Wed/Thurs and Melbourne city later when the whole state of Victoria copped similar multiple freak storm fronts. I just drove through some of it yesterday ( Friday am ) when I had to go and visit my Father in hospital in Frankston. When I picked up my brother in Langwarrin the stormwater drain close to the house was within inches of overflowing and moving like a category rated raft able river!! Then when we got outa the hospital only drizzle and blue sky...w t f ? I got home about 3pm and my wife got a message on her phone to say be prepared for power outages for some time due to the next feral front but thankfully ( again ) this front parted like Moses and the red sea when it got to Drouin! So far this morning still have power and all seems ok. I really felt sorry for the few bikes I saw heading for Phillip Island and the GP this weekend too! Once again the weather looks like ruining the weekend? Even ole mate Dave tells me he was supposed to go down but has pulled the pin and will be watching it on TV. Ha ha, as will I !! Cheers Anyone that rides their bike to PI deserves everything they get. I've been to PI track about 1 gazzillion times over the last 40 years and I learned in the first 2 years never take the bike. I always take the car and packed in the boot is the appropriate infostructure for everything from freezing hail and gale force winds to 40 degree heat and sunstroke and everything in between. This can happen all on the same day withing an hour, no exaduration. You can't carry enough stuff on a bike to cover off those conditions comfortably. Many times I've spectated from the car for a few hours in freezing driving rain only to be applying sun block an hour later. Phil Edited October 22 by Lucky Phil 1 4
guzzler Posted October 21 Posted October 21 Ha ha Yeah, it can be a little challenging can't it.... 1
Lucky Phil Posted October 22 Posted October 22 20 hours ago, guzzler said: Ha ha Yeah, it can be a little challenging can't it.... In I think 2003 a mate and his wife flew down from Sydney and stayed with us and we had stand tickets at Lukey heights. We sat there in miserable cold heavy rain and winds the only people in the stand until the MotoGP warm up was over and I said to them, we can either sit here and get soaked and cold and hope it clears or if we bail out now we can be back at my place for the start of the days racing and watch it on TV. You have come all this way, you decide I'm easy either way. They opted for the bail out. Got home an hour and a half later turned on the TV to watch the races with the island bathed in brilliant sunshine and everyone in shirt sleeves. 4
Molly Posted October 24 Posted October 24 On 7/11/2024 at 3:09 AM, pete roper said: In the UK we only drop down below the imaginary line we’ve drawn between the Bristol Channel and the Wash to visit relatives as anywhere below that line is an overpriced zoo with far, far too many people, most of whom think they are terribly special and are crying out for a good ‘Throat Punch’! Above the line things are infinitely better. There are still pockets of asshattery and some of the cities are really grim after 45 years of almost uninterrupted Tory destruction but the population density is way lower, it’s cheaper and the locals, (Outside the grim cities.) are friendly and helpful. It is also the cradle of the Industrial Revolution with history and museums to die for. The countryside, even in mid winter when it can be pretty bleak, is beautiful and once you get into Northumbria and Northumberland and thence on to Scotland the geography and landscapes are simply breathtaking. There is plenty of interesting Roman history to tickle my fancy in the borderlands areas and once into the highlands the austere magnificence is hard to beat although the lack of trees in the far north can cause issues! That's rather nicely put. I'm presently in the Isle of Man which has many parallels with the north of the UK. History at every turn, and picture-postcard views in every direction. The natives are friendly too. Tourism plays a diminishing part in the economy. It's certainly not like it was in George Formby's day. So we survive by helping the super-rich stay that way, and housing most of the UK's online gambling companies... 4
Frenchfrog Posted October 24 Posted October 24 It's not just the crowds them selves though. AirB&B has snapped up ton loads of accommodation that used to be available to the locals.Then all the shops , bars and eateries that pander to them have pushed out businesses that catered for the locals too .Basically in Barcelona center now it's become a tourist park and the whole soul of the place has changed...with no or very little place for the people who originate from there.I guess the worst case is Venice but you can see masses of locations where tghis is happening.Tourist attractions that are simply deserted out of season...and no possibility of either buying or renting places at affordable prices either. 2
Frenchfrog Posted October 24 Posted October 24 And this is not taking into account all the stress on infrastructure and local services that mass tourism causes too. Water shortages, inadequate sewerage and rubbish collection,health services ,policing and so on. Traffic jams on local roads, increased noise levels, dreadful behaviors of drunk holidaymakers and so on .The Dutch and Czech's are starting to put in restrictive measures too
p6x Posted October 24 Author Posted October 24 (edited) 18 minutes ago, Frenchfrog said: It's not just the crowds them selves though. AirB&B has snapped up ton loads of accommodation that used to be available to the locals.Then all the shops , bars and eateries that pander to them have pushed out businesses that catered for the locals too .Basically in Barcelona center now it's become a tourist park and the whole soul of the place has changed...with no or very little place for the people who originate from there.I guess the worst case is Venice but you can see masses of locations where tghis is happening.Tourist attractions that are simply deserted out of season...and no possibility of either buying or renting places at affordable prices either. This is the reason why more and more legislation is passed against short term locations. As I was saying, I am about to go to Paris in two weeks time. The AB&B which have been using each time is off the market because Paris mayor has enacted that to be able to rent short term, you need to have another place of the same surface available to rent long term. The owner of the place prefers to not put it on the market has he had a bad experience with tenants that stopped paying the rent, and could not be expelled. The main issue is the same in every big city, including Manhattan. Owners prefer to rent short term to tourists, rather long term to tenants. As for overcrowding, I don't think there is much that can be done. The ever growing world's population is also a major factor. As a kid, I remember taking the Paris subway out of rush hours, and being comfortable. These were the days when they still have a 1st class car, lol.... Today, the metro is packed at whatever time of the day or night. Edited October 24 by p6x
p6x Posted October 25 Author Posted October 25 The last one, coming from Lisboa in Portugal; As for San Francisco's trams, Lisboa has its own yellow tramways, which are very popular with tourists. So much, they managed to make it difficult for the locals to actually use them. The city attempted to implement special tram cars especially for tourists, but it did not catch. It is a in the same way as what I was alluding to above, concerning the Parisian metro. Those systems were conceived at times when nobody could anticipate what the world would become. The station's platforms cannot be extended to add more cars. The more modern tunnels have been pierced in a way they can have two level cars, but the original subway system cannot really be changed. They have improved on the frequency now that trains are autonomous. But not enough to absorb the number of passengers.
guzzler Posted October 25 Posted October 25 I always think that this fact sums it up.... In the year of my birth ( 1960 ) the worlds population was 3 billion people, now in my 64th year it is 8.1 billion! The world is a very different place now and can only hope that that it doesn't sustain this sort of growth..... Cheers 2
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