The wrong side of the road

[pitbull]

My son bought me a little video camera for my birthday in March,tiny little device.Today I took it out for a test on the Valk.I zip tied the bracket to the cross rail on my air wings just to see what it was like.The roads around my house are pretty bad and bumpy so I need to experiment on places to mount the camera.

As I'm in the UK,if you've got a few minutes to spare,join me on a ride,,,,,,on the wrong side of the road.

Pitbull

Valkyrie F6C in Norfolk	powered by Aeva

[tank_post142]

you've got to love the roads there. the only straight or level roads were build by the Romans. i stayed in bury st. edmunds, just south, for a while in the 90's

[Chrisj CMA]

Very Cool!  I sure do remember them roads as well 1984-1987 Woodbridge Bentwaters area (Suffolk County)  Absolutely loved driving there after I got used to it.

[pitbull]

At least I'm bringing back a few memories for you guys.

We occasionally make the 40 mile ride to Bury St Edmunds for a bite to eat,then ride across the countryside and stop at the "viewing area" at the US Airbase at Lakenheath.

[Rowdy]

  I'd eventually get myself in trouble driving in the country 

[signart]

People with cell phones drive on the wrong side of the road here too.
Perty neat vid.

[Slick]

Pretty neat, thanks for posting--

[old2soon]

Looks like it can get a little dicey/interesting when there is not a painted center line. Those surfaces you put up with are part of the reason i moved out of the northern Illinois southern Wisconsin area. Is there anywhere handy for you to wring yer fat gal out? You know-REALLY exceed the posted speed limit by a LARGE margin. Within a couple miles of my house i have some fairly new concrete surfaced 4 lane divided that i've seen 130 M P H indicated. Just that short vid shows a very pretty countryside. Thanks for that side trip in your country-very nice. RIDE SAFE.

[sandy]

On those UK Valks: Is the throttle on the left and the clutch on the right side? 

[Michvalk]

Neat video! Thanks for posting. Just one thing....My DRIVEWAY is wider than most of those roads

[R J]

Thanks for the video.   That was nice.   Reminds me of some roads out in the farming area in Iowa, only we drive on the other side of the pathway.

Ride Safe.

[Thunderbolt]

Roads are not very wide,not many signs, roadsides need mowing.  Very pretty countryside though.  Thanks for the video.

[oxfordhog]

Thanks. Used to live in the UK before I came to live on the larger side of the pond. I miss the English countryside and the pubs.

[BF]

Some of those "roads" look more like driveways. 

[Paxton]

Beautiful! Thank you for sharing.
Now, is it true that UK Valks have the kick stand on the right hand side?

[fon1961]

I've never been to England.  Nice roads and nice video. Thanks for posting.   

[pitbull]

Neat video! Thanks for posting. Just one thing....My DRIVEWAY is wider than most of those roads

From what I've seen on this site,most of you guys have workshops bigger than my house.

The tarmac in the UK is truly awful and is not very well kept up,you never know when you're going to find a pot hole and other crap that can cause issues.
We do have some areas where I can open the ole ghurl up but I have to be careful because they are patrolled by "unmarked" police cars and bikes.
The start of the video is the road where I live,I have to ride that road evertime I go anywhere.

I'm off to the French Alpes in a couple of months where the roads are superb,which is why I'm practising with the camera.For the money I suppose (about 12$) the quality is not too bad.I dont think it liked have the crap shaken out of it tho.

Pitbull

[tmfp]

Good video, Pitbull, I see Narfuk is still as flat as ever 
I live right over the other side in Somerset and, like you, have got one crappy road in and one crappy road out, BUT we have got the Mad Mile, with a suicide third middle overtaking lane
Hope you don't mind me jumping on your thread, here's a vid we took same time as you last October.
Within ten minutes there were three police cars and a police motorbike come to see what was going on
 

http://s902.photobucket.com/albums/ac226/themanfromporlock/Valkabilia/?action=view&current=f59025c5.mp4	powered by Aeva

[alph]

from what i've seen on that video, you really are only passing other vehicles on the left!!  that road looks like a single lane most of the time!!

great video, thanks for posting!!  it's a pleasure to see motor cycle video's on a cycle web site 

[Hook#3287]

Pitbull;   Thanks for the ride! 

 Seeing as we ride on the "Right" side of the road, it would seem you guys ride the "Wrong" side.  Even the road signs are on the wrong side.

How is it that came about?  What caused the difference in driving style?

[RDAbull]

Thanks for posting Pitbull.
I only crashed 6 times during that ride.
I'll have to try it again tomorrow when I'm sober.
 

[Serk]

It looks like you've got the same camera as I had (Was around $7 on eBay a few years back.) I mounted it on my lowers and played with it a bit. It was a fun toy, but I took the mount off recently 'cause I just wasn't using it. Here's one video I took of just driving around a bit here outside Dallas Texas, if you're bored:

Riding_Valkyrie_To_Parents-8-27-2010.m2ts	powered by Aeva

(And thanks for posting your video! We should get a thread going of "Show me the roads near you" just for the heck of it...)

[pitbull]

Pitbull;   Thanks for the ride! 

 Seeing as we ride on the "Right" side of the road, it would seem you guys ride the "Wrong" side.  Even the road signs are on the wrong side.

How is it that came about?  What caused the difference in driving style?

Thats a good question Hook,I had to Google it to find out,this is what I found.

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 In days of old logic dictated that when people passed each other on the road they should be in the best possible position to use their sword to protect themselves. As most people are right handed they therefore keep to their left. This practice was formalised in a Papal Edict by Pope Benefice around 1300AD who told all his pilgrims to keep to the left.

Nothing much changed until 1773 when an increase in horse traffic forced the UK Government to introduce the General Highways Act of 1773 which contained a keep left recommendation. This became a law as part of the Highways Bill in 1835.

Reasons to travel on the right are less clear but the generally accepted version of history is as follows: The French, being Catholics, followed Pope Boneface's edict but in the build up to the French Revolution in 1790 the French Aristocracy drove their carriages at great speed on the left hand side of the road, forcing the peasantry over to the right side for their own safety. Come the Revolution, instincts of self preservation resulted in the remains of the Aristocracy joining the peasants on the right hand side of the road. The first official record of this was a keep right rule introduced in Paris in 1794

OK, that explains the UK and France but what about the rest of the world ?

Britain's imperial expansion (all of the pink bits on old maps) spread the keep left rule far and wide. This included India, Australasia and much of Africa (Although many African countries changed to the right later when they became independent).

France also had quite an empire after the revolutionary wars and the keep right rule spread through much of modern day Europe and to colonies such as Egypt. The connection with the USA is thought to be General Lafayette who recommended a keep right rule as part of the help that he gave the Americans in the build up to the war of Independence. The first reference to keep right in USA law is in a rule covering the Lancaster to Philadelphia turnpike in 1792.

[Tundra]

Nice job on the video Pitbull
  I've been meaning to get back to you, just keep those Bezels. It wouldn't be cost effective to send them back. I apparently purchased the wrong size. When I get up that way again I will get another pair for you.