So ... I've been riding

I've been riding ... in the USA, with my brother-in-law. We rode about 5000 km over 12 days, through the NW and west. Unfortunately, Dearly Beloved couldn't join us this time, so it was just two fellas on two bikes (BMW R1150RT and R1150R).

America is such a fabulous place to ride. There is so much variety; one minute you can be above the snowline on a mountain pass at just a few degrees above freezing, and a couple of hours later in flat, rolling farmland at 39°C, followed by temperate rainforests in fog and drizzle ... all in the same day.

Of course, I wouldn't be me unless I made a few pointless observations.

• As a generalisation ... and I'm not talking about the big cities here ... Americans drive better than we do. They're more considerate, particularly of motorbikes. They actually pull over to let you pass, or smile and wave you through an intersection. Other bikes all wave to you; a sort of low-hand "brothers of the road" thing. It's quite actually ... unless you're cranked into a turn at 130 km/h at the time when you have to take a hand off the bars! Having said that, riding the eight-lane "slab" into Sacramento was, to put it mildly, less than fun. Californians, please ... those little flashing things on the corners of your cars? Use them! Or do you think they only have so many flashes when they come out of the factory, and when they're used up ...

• Roadside stops ... bars, cafes, motels ... specifically cater for bike riders. "Bikers welcome" is often seen; unlike here where you get the evil eye followed by a sort of uneasy shuffle if you turn up with helmet and boots.

• It was particularly distressing to see the number of closed businesses. Especially hard hit seemed to be motor vehicle and motorcycle dealerships, with rows of empty carparks and showrooms. We saw on at least three separate occasions where entire shopping malls had been closed and fenced off with cyclone wire fencing. Others which were under construction when the GFC hit were simply abandoned, unfinished.

• It took me two days (all right, no-one said I was smart!) to figure out another big difference — the roads over there are almost completely litter-free. When I think of the verges here in WA, I have to feel ashamed; there's no other word for it. Even full-on tourist destinations, where the volumes of traffic are immense, were clean. Americans don't trash their own nest!

Crater Lake: And not a piece of litter to be seen!

• We have to introduce a "turn left on red if safe" rule here in Australia. It works so well in the US (turning right there, of course) and helps to ease traffic congestion and frayed tempers. They even have stop signs with the notation that if you're turning right and it's safe, there's no need to stop. Can you imagine our road planning and policing geniuses contemplating anything like that? You'd hear their heads popping all over Australia.

• Speed limits are policed, of course, but generally no-one (including the police) worries about 8 – 10 km/h over the posted limit on the open road, provided it's safe. Of course, go beyond that or speed through a township and expect to get hammered — and they have far more police on the roads than we do.

• What about prices? Well, generally speaking, to live in America I estimate it costs about 50% of what we pay here. Housing prices we're probably familiar with, but (depending where you are) you can buy a 4 x 2 modern home with aircon and heating and all the bits we expect, for around $250k to $300k. (Yes, I know there are places that are much more expensive than that ... but there are plenty that aren't, too!) Food? Let's see ... how about fresh cherries at $1.95USD a pound (about $4.00AUD a kilo); breakfast of two eggs, hash browns with peppers and onion, a ham steak, two slices of toast and endless coffee for $6.00AUD; beer at $6.00AUD a six-pack (much cheaper by the carton); petrol at about $0.98AUD a litre; 1.5 litre bottle of Dewars scotch at $34.00AUD ... and so it goes. I also bought a pair of active noise-reducing headphones with aircraft adapter. The sound is fabulous and the fit amazing. I bought my wife a similar pair in Perth for $125AUD. I think mine are better (active vs passive) and more comfortable ... and they were $49.95.

• Americans love their country; they are proud of it and want you to enjoy it too. They want you to have a good time, and hope people will make you welcome.

• Their meals are ginormous. We've always joked about it, but I think it's got even more so lately. I ordered a Mexican omelette for breakfast at a diner, thinking it would be a fluffly omelette like here with some chopped capsicum, red onion and maybe some chillis. It had that when it came back ... except it would have been made with at least 4 or 5 eggs, and was folded around a cup of taco meat, with mexi-beans and gravy, and four types of shredded cheese on top PLUS a slab of homemade hashbrowns that would have weighed the best part of half a kilo PLUS two slices of toast. The poor waitress was quite nonplussed when I couldn't manage even a third of it; she thought there was something wrong with it.

• Anything else? Yeah, I want to go back and do it all again ...