Across America by Motor-Cycle

C. K. Shepherd

Description

Many of the earliest books, particularly those dating back to the 1900s and before, are now extremely scarce and increasingly expensive. We are republishing these classic works in affordable, high quality, modern editions, using the original text and artwork.

Sujets

• Pictorial
• Motorcycles
• Transportation

Informations

• Publié par: Read Books Ltd.
• Date de parution: 24 août 2022
• Nombre de lectures: 1
• EAN13: 9781528797887
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 1 Mo

Extrait

ACROSS AMERICA BY MOTOR-CYCLE
By
C. K. SHEPHERD

First published in 1920



Copyright © 2022 Read & Co. Travel
This edition is published by Read & Co. Travel, an imprint of Read & Co.
This book is copyright and may not be reproduced or copied in any way without the express permission of the publisher in writing.
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
Read & Co. is part of Read Books Ltd. For more information visit www.readandcobooks.co.uk


Contents
Motorcycling
PREFACE
PROLOGUE
CHAPTER I
TRAFFIC IN NEW YORK
CHAPTER II
NEW YORK TO PHILADELPHIA
CHAPTER III
PHILADELPHIA T O WASHINGTON
CHAPTER IV
EXCEEDING THE SPEED LIMIT
CHAPTER V
ACROSS THE ALLEGHANIES
CHAPTER VI
THE D IXIE HIGHWAY
CHAPTER VII
CINCINNATI AND ONWARDS
CHAPTER VIII
INDIANA AND ILLINOIS
CHAPTER IX
STORMY WEATHER IN MISSOURI
CHAPTER X
RESULTS OF A BREAKDOWN
CHAPTER XI
THE SA NTA FÉ TRAIL
CHAPTER XII
THE ROYAL GORGE OF ARKANSAS
CHAPTER XIII
IN SOUTH ERN COLORADO
CHAPTER XIV
NEW MEXICO
CHAPTER XV
SANTA FÉ
CHAPTER XVI
THE RIO G RANDE VALLEY
CHAPTER XVII
THE PETRIFIED FORES T OF ARIZONA
C HAPTER XVIII
THE GRAND CANYON
CHAPTER XIX
THE M OHAVE DESERT
CHAPTER XX
I REACH THE P ACIFIC COAST
CHAPTER XXI
LOS ANGELES TO S AN FRANCISCO
EPILOGUE


Motorcycling
Motorcycling can be a hobby, a sport, a mode of transport or a fashion statement — though for most people in the world, motorcycling is the only affordable form of individual motorized tra nsportation.
Statistically, there is a large difference between the car-dominated developed world, and the more populous developing world, where cars are less common than motorcycles. In the developed world, motorcycles are frequently owned in addition to a car, and thus used primarily for recreation or when traffic density means a motorcycle confers travel time or parking advantages as a mode of transport. In the developing world a motorcycle is more likely to be the primary mode of transport for its owner, and often the owner's family as well. It is not uncommon for riders to transport multiple passengers or large goods aboard small motorcycles and scooters – simply because there is no better a lternative.
The simplicity demanded of motorcycles, coupled with the high volume of sales possible makes them a profitable and appealing product for major manufacturers – who go to substantial lengths to attract and retain market share. Of all the motorcycles in the world, 58% are in the Asia Pacific and Southern and Eastern Asia regions, excluding car-centric Japan. In the developed world, motorcycling goes beyond being just a mode of motor transportation or sport. It is also leisure activity and numerous subcultures and lifestyles have evolved around the use of motorcycles. Although mainly a solo activity, motorcycling can be very social and motorcyclists tend to have a strong sense of community.
There are many reasons for riding a motorcycle, for most riders, a motorcycle is a cheaper and more convenient form of transportation which causes less commuter congestion within cities and has less environmental impacts than automobile ownership. Others ride as a way to relieve stress and to 'clear their minds' as described in Robert M. Pirsig's book Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance . Pirsig contrasted the sense of connection experienced by motorcyclists with the isolation of drivers who are 'always in a compartment', passively observing the passing landscape. The connection to ones motorcycle is sensed further, as Pirsig explained, by the frequent need to maintain its mechanical operation.
Speed is another large factor which draws many people to motorcycling, because the power-to-weight ratios of even low-power motorcycles rivals that of an expensive sports car. The power-to-weight ratio of many modestly priced sport bikes is well beyond any mass-produced car. Hunter S. Thompson's book Hell's Angels includes an ode to the joys of pushing a motorcycle to its limits, 'with the throttle screwed on there is only the barest margin, and no room at all for mistakes . . . that's when the strange music starts . . . fear becomes exhilaration [and the] only sounds are the wind and a dull roar floating back from the mufflers' and T. E. Lawrence wrote of the 'lustfulness of moving swiftly' and the 'pleasure of speeding on the road.' A sensation he compared to feeling 'the earth moulding herself under me . . . coming alive . . . and heaving and tossing on each side like a sea.'
About 200 million motorcycles, including mopeds, motor scooters, motorised bicycles, and other powered two and three-wheelers, are in use worldwide, or about 33 motorcycles per 1000 people. By comparison, there are about 1 billion cars in the world, or about 141 per 1000 people, with about one third in service in Japan and the United States. Despite their popularity, motorcycles do pose significant risks however. The relative risk of a motorcycle rider being killed or seriously injured per kilometre travelled was around 54 times higher in Great Britain in 2006 than for car drivers. United States Department of Transportation data for 2005 showed that for passenger cars, 18.62 fatal crashes occur per 100,000 vehicles. For motorcycles this figure is 75.19 per 100,000 vehicles – four times higher tha n for cars.
To address motorcycle safety issues, motorcycle-specific training and personal protective equipment is important for motorcyclists' survival on the road, and mandated in many countries and several U.S. states and counties. Helmet usage reduces the chance for death in an accident by 40% and the risk of serious injury by 70%. While helmet usage generally is increasing world-wide and 77% of the worlds population is covered by extensive helmet laws, many countries still lack sufficient enforcement. Pakistan has both laws requiring driver and passenger to wear a helmet and regulations on helmet standards – but still, only 10% of all riders in Pakistan wea r a helmet.
Motorcycling lifestyles have been adopted by many different groups spanning nations and cultures. They include commuters, mainstream motorcycle clubs such as long-distance riding clubs, adventurer touring, trail riding and those involved with motorcycle sports, such as motocross riding, drag racing, circuit racing and trick or stunt enthusiasts. Around the world, motorcycles have historically been associated with highly visible subcultures (such as the scooter riders and cafe racer riders of the 1950s and 60s in Great Britain), and they often are seen as inhabiting the fringes of society. Numerous books about motorcycle subcultures have been written, including Hunter S. Thompson's (previously mentioned) Hells Angels , Lee Gutkind's Bike Fever , and Daniel R. Wolf's The Rebels . There are also several 'outlaw motorcycle gangs', occasionally getting in trouble with the law, such as the Pagans, Hells Angels, Outlaws MC, and Bandidos – known as the 'Big Four.'
Motorcycling is a truly fascinating means of transport, with fans and adherents spread out all over the globe. It is hoped that the reader enjoys this book on the subject, and is maybe inspired to try some motorcycling for themselves.


PREFACE
A few months after the Armistice of 1918 was signed, when the talk of everyone concerned was either when they would be demobilized or what they would do when they were demobilized, two young men were exchanging views on this same subject in the heavy atmosphere of a very ordinary hotel somewher e in London.
One was wondering how near, or how far, were the days when he would see the old home-folks once again "way back in Dixieland."
The other was wondering what form of dissipation would be best suited to remove that haunting feeling of unrest, which as a result of three or four years of active service was so common amongst the youth of England a t that time.
"How about getting married?" sugges ted the one.
Then followed a long pause, wherein the other was evidently considering the pros and cons of such a unique proposition.
"Nothing doing," he replied eventually—"not exciting enough, old man." Another pause—"And when I come to think, I don't know of any girl who'd want to marry me even if I wanted to marry her." And as if to give a final decision to any proposal of that nature, he added—"Besides, I couldn't afford it!"
"But I tell you what I will do, Steve," said he, "I'll go back with you across yon herring-pond and have a trot rou nd America."
So that was how it happened.
Two or three months later, when I arrived at New York from Canada, I purchased a motor-cycle and set out to cross the continent to the Pacific, and I have it on the best authority that this was the first time an Englishman had ever accomplished the trip on a motor-cycle. If it is so, I don't w onder at it!
The whole trip, which covered just fifty miles short of 5,000, was undertaken quite alone, and although spread over about three months, constituted a day or two short of a month's actual riding. For the benefit of brother motor-cyclists who may be interested in such details I may add that I dispensed entirely with the use of goggles from beginning to end, and except at stops in large towns on the way I wore no hat. I think that when the motor-cyclist gets accustomed to doing without these encumbrances he will find the joys of motor-cycling considerab ly enhanced.
The total number of replacements to the engine alone comprised the following: Five new cylinders; three pistons; five gudgeon pins; three complete sets of bearings; two connecting rods, and eleven spa rking plugs.