Central American Motorcyclist's Handbook
1. Turn signals will give away your next move. A confident motorcyclist avoids using them.
2. Under no circumstance should you maintain a safe distance between you and the car in front of you, because the space will be filled in by somebody else, putting you in an even more dangerous situation.
3. The faster you drive through a red light, the less of a chance you have of getting hit.
4. Warning! Never come to a complete stop at a stop sign. No one expects it and it will result in you being rear-ended.
5. Never get in the way of an older car that needs extensive bodywork, which is just about every car in Central America. With no insurance, the other operator has nothing to lose.
6. Braking is to be done as hard and late as possible to ensure that you strengthen your leg muscles after a long day of driving.
7. Never pass on the left when you can pass on the right. It's a good way to prepare other drivers entering the highway.
8. Speed limits are arbitrary figures; given only as a suggestion and are not enforceable in Central American rush hour, especially in Mexico City.
9. Just because you're in the left lane and have no room to speed up or move over doesn't mean that an Central American driver flashing his high beams behind you doesn't think he can go faster in your spot.
10. Always brake and rubberneck when you see an accident or even someone changing a tire. This is seen as a sign of respect for the victim.
11. Learn to swerve abruptly without signalling. Central America is home to high-speed slalom-driving; thanks to the Department of Public Works, which puts pot-holes in key locations to test drivers' reflexes and keep them alert.
12. It is tradition in Central America to honk your horn at cars in front of you that do not move three milliseconds after the light turns green.
13. Remember that the goal of every Central American driver is to get ahead of the pack by whatever means necessary.
15. 'Flipping the bird' is considered a polite salute. This gesture should always be returned.
Credit and thanks goes out to Marnie for this list!
Sunday, January 02, 2005
Saturday, January 01, 2005
The Not-So-Definitive Book List
My Motorcycle Trip Reading List - The following is a list of the books that I read while on my motorcycle journey
The Age of Spiritual Machines: When Computers Exceed Human Intelligence - Ray Kurzweil Chasing Che: A Motorcycle Journey In Search Of The Guevara Legend - Patrick Symmes All I Really Need To Know I Learned In Kindergarten; Uncommon Thoughts On Common Things - Robert Fulghum Zen and The Art Of Motorcycle Maintenance - Robert M. Pirsig The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown Traces Of Time; The Beauty Of Change In Nature - Pat Murphy, Paul Doherty Don’t Sweat The Small Stuff For Women – Kristine Carlson The Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy – Douglas Adams Tuesdays With Morrie – Mitch Albom The Five People You Meet In Heaven – Mitch Albom The Art Of Deception – Kevin Mitnic The Wedding – Nicholas Sparks Single & Single - John Le Carre The Dark Room - Rachel Seiffert The Alchemist - Paulo Coelho Eleven Minutes -Paulo Coelho The Broker - John Grisham Murder In Spokane - Mark Fuhrman Women In The Wild - McCauley - Various Authors The Book Club - Mary Alice Monroe Slow Waltz In Cedar Bend - Robert James Waller Quentins - Maeve Binchy Leadership Jazz - Max DePree
Snow Falling On Cedars - David Guterson Annie Proulx – Heartsongs And Other Stories Annie Proulx – Postcards Annie Proulx – Accordion Crimes Annie Proulx – The Shipping News Annie Proulx – That Old Ace In The Hole Fannie Flag – Fried Green Tomatoes At The Whistle Stop Café Howards End – E.M. Forster Harry Benson 50 Years In Pictures The Family – Mario Puzo Pride And Prejudice - Jane Austen Nineteen Eighty-Four - George Orwell The Poisonwood Bible - Barbara Kingsolver Charlotte's Web - E.B. White The English Patient - Michael Ondaatje Remains Of The Day - Kazuo Ishiguro The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe - CS Lewis Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte A Prayer For Owen Meany - John Irving The Ciderhouse Rules - John Irving Watership Down - Richard Adams Animal Farm - George Orwell Of Mice And Men - John Steinbeck The Stand - Stephen King Lord Of The Flies - William Golding Bridget Jones's Diary - Helen Fielding Brave New World - Aldous Huxley House Of Sand And Fog - Andre Iii Dubus The Giver - Lois Lowry The Handmaid's Tale - Margaret Atwood A Clockwork Orange - Anthony Burgess It - Stephen King Heart Of Darkness - Joseph Conrad Gorky Park - Martin Cruz Smith The Dumbest Moments In Business History - Adam Horowitz The Valkyries - Paulo Coelho The Zahir - Paulo Coelho Rohinton Mistry - A Fine Balance
The Not-So-Definitive List Of Other Books I've Read -I'll be adding more to this list as I slowly recall books I've previously enjoyed, or as I finish reading books in the future
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