“Lead, follow, or get outta my way!”
Yr Fthfl Srvnt was calmly motoring north on a rural two-lane. I was headed for Mendon (NY) to walk my dog on Lehigh Valley Rail-Trail.
That rail-trail is all that’s left of Lehigh Valley Railroad’s fabulous Buffalo Extension, a high-speed double-track railroad built in 1892. It ran from Geneva (NY) to Buffalo, but was rather rural. It had few lineside traffic generators, and was mainly a bridge-line from Buffalo to New York City.
It was built to keep Lehigh Valley viable as its earlier traffic-base, anthracite coal, wained.
The track was removed when the railroad was abandoned, so all that remains is the grade. The county turned that into a rail-trail. The portion I walk is through woods; I call it “The Wooded Cathedral.”
My silly dog loves it. Squirrels in the woods to bark at. (I keep him leashed.)
It was a railroad, so it’s flat. I often pass runners; and since it not pavement, it’s easier on knees.
After cresting a hill I started downgrade into open farmland. My speedometer crept up to 65 mph; that’s 10 mph over the posted speed-limit.
Suddenly a silver Prius pulled out and passed. Apparently 65 mph wasn’t fast enough. The Prius quickly disappeared — I estimate 75-80 mph.
Next a black Mazda SUV also passed. By now I was down the hill, but approaching a side-road. The Mazda had to disregard a double-yellow centerline.
Not totally unsafe; the road is straight through open farmland. One can see for miles. But the centerline is double-yellow because we’re approaching a side-road.
No one was on it, so pedal-to-the-metal for the Mazda.
In a few weeks I’ll motor to Altoona, PA, to photograph trains with my brother. It’s mostly four-lane expressway, 65 mph or so. I set my cruise to maybe 71 mph, and I get passed a lot. Part of my route is Interstate-80: 70 mph speed-limit. I get passed by cars appearing to do 100.
Granted cars and tires are much better than even 15-20 years ago. No way could I cruise 60 mph in my parents’ ’53 Chevy — the car in which I learned to drive.
A long-ago editor at the Mighty Mezz decried the fact he couldn’t cruise his rusty Dakota pickup at 40 mph on twisting rural two-lanes near his home. Some glowering-intimidator would appear on his rear bumper, then blow the horn and shake his fist. Intimidator would also display his middle-finger while passing.
My sister, since deceased, told about wicking up to 80 mph on I-95 in south Floridy. My limit is about 75, although my sister never had a stroke. I’m not sure that limits me, and sometimes I can’t exceed 50.
I live on a state highway posted at 40 mph out front, although most do 50-60. Blatting Harleys might get 80 blasting out of the corner down the street, and a crotch-rocket might get 100.
I can’t get into my driveway at 50 mph; I hafta slow to maybe 20. In which case a glowering-intimidator behind me would blow his horn, pound his fists on the steering-wheel, and flip me the bird passing.
Outta my way, Grandpa!
I bet Cuomo doesn’t do the speed-limit. And the state police dare not stop the Gov.
Someone told me the police allow 10 mph over. I don’t know if that’s true, but if it is, 55 mph plus 10, is a 65 mph actual speed-limit.
I had a state policeman glare at me because I dared not exceed 30 mph in front of him.
• Anthracite coal, rock-hard and common to northeastern PA, was used as home heating coal, since it burned clean. The market for anthracite wained as fuel-oil began to be used for home heating. Now it’s natural gas.
• I’m a railfan. Every year I do a Shutterfly calendar of train-photos taken by my brother and I near Altoona.
• The “Mighty Mezz” is the Canandaigua Daily-Messenger newspaper, from where I retired over 13 years ago. Best job I ever had. I was employed there almost 10 years — over 11 if you count my time as a post-stroke unpaid intern.
• A “glowering-intimidator” is a tailgater, named after Dale Earnhardt, deceased, the so-called “intimidator” of NASCAR fame. He used to tailgate race-leaders and bump them at speed until they let him pass.
• I had a stroke October 26th, 1993 from an undiagnosed heart-defect since repaired. I pretty much recovered. Just tiny detriments; I can pass for never having had a stroke.
• The governor of NY state is Andrew Cuomo, son of Mario Cuomo, an earlier NY state governor.
That rail-trail is all that’s left of Lehigh Valley Railroad’s fabulous Buffalo Extension, a high-speed double-track railroad built in 1892. It ran from Geneva (NY) to Buffalo, but was rather rural. It had few lineside traffic generators, and was mainly a bridge-line from Buffalo to New York City.
It was built to keep Lehigh Valley viable as its earlier traffic-base, anthracite coal, wained.
The track was removed when the railroad was abandoned, so all that remains is the grade. The county turned that into a rail-trail. The portion I walk is through woods; I call it “The Wooded Cathedral.”
My silly dog loves it. Squirrels in the woods to bark at. (I keep him leashed.)
It was a railroad, so it’s flat. I often pass runners; and since it not pavement, it’s easier on knees.
After cresting a hill I started downgrade into open farmland. My speedometer crept up to 65 mph; that’s 10 mph over the posted speed-limit.
Suddenly a silver Prius pulled out and passed. Apparently 65 mph wasn’t fast enough. The Prius quickly disappeared — I estimate 75-80 mph.
Next a black Mazda SUV also passed. By now I was down the hill, but approaching a side-road. The Mazda had to disregard a double-yellow centerline.
Not totally unsafe; the road is straight through open farmland. One can see for miles. But the centerline is double-yellow because we’re approaching a side-road.
No one was on it, so pedal-to-the-metal for the Mazda.
In a few weeks I’ll motor to Altoona, PA, to photograph trains with my brother. It’s mostly four-lane expressway, 65 mph or so. I set my cruise to maybe 71 mph, and I get passed a lot. Part of my route is Interstate-80: 70 mph speed-limit. I get passed by cars appearing to do 100.
Granted cars and tires are much better than even 15-20 years ago. No way could I cruise 60 mph in my parents’ ’53 Chevy — the car in which I learned to drive.
A long-ago editor at the Mighty Mezz decried the fact he couldn’t cruise his rusty Dakota pickup at 40 mph on twisting rural two-lanes near his home. Some glowering-intimidator would appear on his rear bumper, then blow the horn and shake his fist. Intimidator would also display his middle-finger while passing.
My sister, since deceased, told about wicking up to 80 mph on I-95 in south Floridy. My limit is about 75, although my sister never had a stroke. I’m not sure that limits me, and sometimes I can’t exceed 50.
I live on a state highway posted at 40 mph out front, although most do 50-60. Blatting Harleys might get 80 blasting out of the corner down the street, and a crotch-rocket might get 100.
I can’t get into my driveway at 50 mph; I hafta slow to maybe 20. In which case a glowering-intimidator behind me would blow his horn, pound his fists on the steering-wheel, and flip me the bird passing.
Outta my way, Grandpa!
I bet Cuomo doesn’t do the speed-limit. And the state police dare not stop the Gov.
Someone told me the police allow 10 mph over. I don’t know if that’s true, but if it is, 55 mph plus 10, is a 65 mph actual speed-limit.
I had a state policeman glare at me because I dared not exceed 30 mph in front of him.
• Anthracite coal, rock-hard and common to northeastern PA, was used as home heating coal, since it burned clean. The market for anthracite wained as fuel-oil began to be used for home heating. Now it’s natural gas.
• I’m a railfan. Every year I do a Shutterfly calendar of train-photos taken by my brother and I near Altoona.
• The “Mighty Mezz” is the Canandaigua Daily-Messenger newspaper, from where I retired over 13 years ago. Best job I ever had. I was employed there almost 10 years — over 11 if you count my time as a post-stroke unpaid intern.
• A “glowering-intimidator” is a tailgater, named after Dale Earnhardt, deceased, the so-called “intimidator” of NASCAR fame. He used to tailgate race-leaders and bump them at speed until they let him pass.
• I had a stroke October 26th, 1993 from an undiagnosed heart-defect since repaired. I pretty much recovered. Just tiny detriments; I can pass for never having had a stroke.
• The governor of NY state is Andrew Cuomo, son of Mario Cuomo, an earlier NY state governor.
Labels: Driving insanity
posted by BobbaLew at 7:22 PM
1 Comments:
Yea.. people are so disrespectful nowadays... Try being a pedestrian or Bicyclist like me.. My Speed isn't the issue it's distracted drivers on cell phones, trying to drive around me with one hand on steering wheel, phone in the other. I wish I could carry around a "LAW" Light Anti-tank Weapon for those close encounters with death. Amish folk are especially treated badly.. many accidents & deaths from "Insane Drivers."
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