Damn Fires

"Albrecht via MotorcycleKB.com" wrote:

>Jeff Mayner wrote:
>>Three points of the compass my friend and I were considering for rides
>>today, despite the gale force winds, are now obscured by blinding dust and
>>smoke. The fourth point, West, is unavailable as I don't think the ST will
>>do well in the Pacific.
>
>You're confused. The Pacific ocean is *south* of you, not west. You'd have to
>ride up to Gaviota pass where Hwy 101 and the coast turns northward, for the
>ocean to be to the west.

In many parts of California there are both logical and actual compasses.

In some locations, such as the central valley, this results from considering
the valley to run north and south when it is actually runs almost 45 degrees
counterclockwise of these directions. Near the coast, logical west is
whatever direction is that which is to the nearest part of the Pacific ocean.
In the north, this effect is the result of heading almost due north when
travelling east on much of I-80.

The result is sometimes interestingly confused people.

--
========================================================================
Michael Kesti | "And like, one and one don't make
| two, one and one make one."
mrkesti at hotmail dot com | - The Who, Bargain