Monday 22 November 2010

Funny Signs

Despite the fact that my tour of the USA is over, I still have a few more posts to do about it.

As I was riding through the US, I occasionally saw a road a road sign that make me smile or laugh. I would often take a photo of these and I have been saving these until the end of my tour so I could post them on my blog all at once.

I hope that you enjoy some of these....

I am sure that like me, you will have a favourite.

This one just had me laughing out loud....






















We all know somebody who might live on this road....




























I wouldn’t want to live here....





















What? They get their own crossing?....




























OK, but what ARE the special rules?....




























This sign had me wondering for hours....Appropriate Precautions?.... What are they?....






















There is no need to cuss....




























We suggest you let them cross, or they might not like you....




























There are a lot of Moose here then?....




























What a great name for a road....





















I will go get my swimming trunks....






















Not in July they won’t....




























What irresponsible doctor that did this....




























I thought they only lived in cities...






















Okay, but did you really need to put a sign up outside her house?....




























Meant only for hogs with babies....




























This one just had me roaring with laughter....






















Some people just have jobs that are impossibly difficult....






















A popular place with young men....




























You have got to be kidding me. World famous?.....





















Does that have lots of bends or strong winds?.....





















No dinosaurs beyond this point....





















This one just cracked me up. I still don’t understand it....





















A fantastic sign, because it meant lots of tight bends coming up....



























Seen on an Indian Reservation....



























This must be a physicians sign....



























Many rivers are....




























I wish....



















I thought Holland was bigger than that....






















Well, the police might be down here, but I'm not sure....




























A huge strange sign, presumably put up be someone who felt very strongly about this....






















No especially funny, but it made me laugh....






















No way! You cannot call toilets a “Comfort Station”.....






















Isn’t is better to park first?.....






















The person that put this here was certainly making a point....




























What a unlikely combination. I bet people are rushing to here....






















Not a funny sign, but my least favourite of the whole journey....






















I would hate to be here during a storm....




























What a nightmare it would be to live on this street....






















How on earth did this get its name?....






















It’s not strictly a sign, but on seeing this, I just had to get a glimpse of the driver....





















Finally, my absolute favourite sign.
Ever.
This is brilliant....




















I hope some of these made you smile!

26 comments:

Unknown said...

Gary:

where is the photo of Lady XTC ?

bob
Wet Coast Scootin

Beck said...

Yes, you made us smile. But, you always do. Thanks for the Monday morning laughs.

Gary France said...

Bob – I took the picture of the license plate when I was sitting at a stop light behind the car. I wanted to see what she looked like, so at the next light I pulled alongside.... and.... another woman must have been driving the car, as the one I saw did not fit the XTC image at all. Quite a shame really.

Gary France said...

Beck - You are very welcome.

Chessie (Chesshirecat) said...

I laughed! We Americans see these signs on a regular basis, and for the most part...don't recognize how weird or strange they appear to folks who don't share our heritage...so when it's brought to light in this way...it sure does help the view... I love it!

US Mike said...

Gary,

Thank you for letting me ride along with you on part of your epic trip.

irondad said...

And I'm proud to say I live here!

Eve said...

Well these are funny and you made them even funnier Gary! hahahaha! Sadly, and this is true, I was just thinking today that I'm probably going to be known up here on my mountain as the CRAZY LADY!!! Long story but it's true...I was thinking that just this morning!!
These are great...My fav...the Slow Down sign!!

cpa3485 said...

Very funny! I think I like the idea of a fish cleaning penalty. That's hilarious.

Jim

redlegsrides said...

Great collection of signs Gary, several of them can be found in the great state of Colorado I am proud to say....

dom


Redleg's Rides

Colorado Motorcycle Travel Examiner

SonjaM said...

The Fried Liver Wash, and the no fish cleaning sign are my favourite but I got a good chuckle out of most of them. Thanks for sharing this.

GF said...

Funny signs, you got a great collection, I still remember my son, when he was small, say: "Dad, how do deer know to cross where the sign is?" upon seeing a "deer crossing" sign :-) I guess the cattle, bears and pigs are just as intelligent :-)

Tim France said...

Hilarious! My favourites are the 'obvious warning' messages: "In case of flood, climb to safety" and "Watch out for snakes and lizards" - signs like that make me think "dorrrrh, yeh" or "Oh, thanks for that, hadn't thought of it." I like the confused Police - ? sign too. Thanks for these Gary.

mq01 said...

i love these! i'll never forget a sign i had the misfortune of finding in NV (somewhere along I-80), it said "road broke". lol! imagine the hole in the road that i experienced next, lol...

Axel said...

Welcome back in London. Great collection of signs, I would love a post explaining your "workflow" routine: driving > seeing > stopping/returning > getting camera out > getting camera stored > driving. Did you have a special quick release holder for the camera?

BeemerGirl said...

Yes. Thank You! They made me smile. Especially Crazy Woman Canyon Road (can't imagine how that got its name) and Beaver View. Yes. I am twisted sometimes. We have WarWoman Road here, but I haven't been able to get a picture with me and my bike in it yet. :)

Thanks for the giggles.

Willy D said...

Yep, Americans are funny. Great stuff.

Arkansas Patti said...

Didn't know you were in Arkansas--how did you get my street sign? (Crazy Woman one of course).
The ones that always ticked me were the ones that mearly say "Falling Rocks"

Rick Parker said...

I'm sorry I only discovered this blog just as your journey ended. You have seen more of America now than most Americans will see. I love your sign collection too. I will have to keep my eyes open for more quirky signs in the days ahead as I ride.

Cheers!

Lady R (Di) said...

Funny signs are great! I think that just shows America's sense of humor. Thanks for sharing the cool ones you saw.

Gary France said...

Chessie – Life is odd like that. We become very familiar with what we see and rarely question it. Believe me, some things over here are very odd as well.

US Mike – It was great to see you again and ride with you.

irondad – You should see some of the odd things here in the UK!

Eve – I think a few of us would like to hear that story one day.... It is spooky that you were thinking that on the day you read my blog!

Jim – That one did strike me as being very funny as well. It means somebody must have cleaned a fish in that motel before!

Charlie6 / Dom – I am glad you liked them. I was tempted to post them during my tour, but I am pleased I waited until the end.

Sonja – I did wonder how Fried Liver Wash got its name. I need to go check it out on Google....

George – That was a good question by your son. He will go far!

Gary France said...

Tim – The flood sign had me laughing out loud when I saw it. Maybe because it is just so obvious. I sort of understood the snakes and lizards sign as it was in an area where lots of tourists got out of their cars to walk a few hundred yards to see a good view, so many wouldn’t be in “be careful” mode. However, it did look amusing!

mq01 – I can imagine that. Ouch!

Axel – Thanks. I am not yet used to this cold weather. That is a good question. Yes, I became very good at turning around to go back to photograph things. Most of the time I used my point and shoot camera when actually on the bike. I kept it in a pouch mounted on my screen, so I could get to it quickly, even when moving. I could get the camera out, turn it on, take a picture and return it to the pouch all with one hand, even with my (thin) gloves on.

BeemerGirl – You have to get that photo and post it on your blog!

Willy – Yep, but we have some silly signs here in the UK as well.

Patti – Falling Rocks made me laugh as well. How did they know the rocks would fall just as I went passed the sign....?

Rick – You can always go back and read it from the beginning! Quite a few people have said the same about me seeing more of America than a lot of Americans. I think that is probably right and I am very lucky that I was able to do so.

Lady R – You are most welcome.

Erik R said...

Gary, I just found your blog and I'm still reading my way through it. It's very nice! I noticed the picture of the highway signs showing France Ave and Hwy 100. I grew up in Bloomington, MN just a few miles from those signs.
I've been riding motorcycles since I was 13. I'm now 50. About 12 years ago I began to use the motorcycle for more than just commuting. Last years vacation involved 5800 miles in 3 weeks on a Kawasaki Zx-14.
I'll keep reading. Erik.

Gary France said...

Erik – Thanks for finding my blog and for working your way through it. I too started riding young, maybe 15 and am now 54. Like you I have used bikes for both fun and commuting, but gain like you, being retired, it is all for fun now. I will check out your blog.

Clinton Hurlburt said...

I have no idea where "Crazy Woman Canyon Road" is. However, one thing's for sure, you must have the guts to live in this place. Hahaha! So, what does the driver of the plate no. LADYXTC look like, Gary? :P

Gary France said...

Clinton - After I posted about these signs, I did some further research. The Crazy Woman sign turns out to be a sad story. This is an extract from my forthcoming book....

"It was difficult not to laugh at the sign indicating Crazy Woman Canyon Road. It also left me wondering just who the ‘crazy woman’ was and why somebody
felt compelled to name a road after her. A later search of the internet revealed several possible answers, including a tale of Indians killing and scalping the husband of a white woman, who then went crazy.
According to the different
versions, she may have either been secretly supported by the Indian women, or was injured in the attack herself. Either way, she lived on, behaving increasingly irrationally, apparently out of fear of the local Crow Indians.
Whichever story is true, it is far more serious a tale than the sign suggests."