Tips and Tricks

Here's some tips from my first couple of months of driving around California (primarily San Francisco and Los Angeles):

• Making the transition to the right hand side of the road is by and large pretty straight forward. Just be careful when there aren't any other cars on the road - in this situation it's easy to end up driving on the wrong side of the road.
• Four way stop signs are quite possibly the most confusing thing for the Aussie driver. Basically it's a "first in, first out" scenario - whoever beat you to the intersection gets to go before you do, regardless of where they came from and which way they are going. Note that you must stop at the intersection, regardless of whether there are any cars there or not. If in doubt, wave the other cars through until you've worked things out.
• Traffic lights (particularly in San Francisco) can be deceptively difficult to see. This is because they don't have a big black backing board, so they don't stand out very well. Take care.
• The orange sequence on the traffic lights in California is shorter than in Australia - generally speaking it's not worth running an orange. This is particularly important because there is no gap between your light turning red and the other light turning green (ie. if you run an orange and it turns red, the cross traffic will be moving straight away).
• Unlike Australia, two lanes that merge do not have an ending lane and a continuing lane - the dotted line between the two lanes will just suddenly disappear. This can be very unnerving the first couple of times you encounter it on a freeway doing 80mph!
• Roundabouts are virtually non-existent in California, but when you do find one, concentrate extra hard since they are damn confusing.
• Right turns on red (equivalent to left turn on red in Oz) are allowed, except where specifically signposted. This won't bother Victorians, but is a bit of an eye-opener if you're from NSW. You can also turn left on red if you're moving from a one-way street to a one-way street.
• U turns are also allowed, even at traffic lights. Again Victorians won't bat an eyelid.
• Victorians can forget about hook turns. Such bizarre road behaviour is only ever likely to be tolerated in Victoria! :-)
• By and large speed limits on freeways seem to be ignored - often the traffic is moving at 10mph or even 15mph above the signposted limit. This doesn't mean the cops won't book you though!
• There are generally far fewer cops on the road than in Australia. But getting stopped by one is a much bigger deal! :-)
• Resist the urge to get on the horn. You never know just how much ordinance the other guy is packing! :-)

Here's some handy rope-cleaning hints that crossed the SRC mailing list earlier this year. Thanks to Chris Yoemans for the info.

Chris says to:

• Wash your ropes in a clean laundry tub or a bathtub with lots of water.
• Washing machines tend to introduce kinks and tangles to ropes and top loaders with a central agitator are an absolute no-no.
• Use only pure soap (Lux flakes or Preservene - yellow soap cakes). I think wool wash is also OK but not one containing Eucalyptus oil.
• Standard machine washing powders are again a big no-no, as is fabric softener.
• Most rope manufacturers suggest that washing powders designed for machines contain various harsh chemicals that may damage rope fibres.

1. With the soapy water allow the rope to soak for perhaps half an hour after an initial agitation by hand - then re-agitate for a few minutes. Now change the water.
2. With clean water and some more soap continue to agitate by hand for a further 5 minutes or so. Ditch the water.
3. Now the most important part - rinse the rope at least 3 times. Each time changing the water, continue to agitate throughout. A final rinse should be done under running water.
4. Transfer the rope to a laundry basket and hang out to drip dry in a cool, well ventilated spot out of the direct sun. Pick a good window of weather as it will take up to 48 hours to dry completely.

If you want to dry off sodden climbing shoes quickly, here's some hints:

DO:

• Remove the laces and dry them separately.
• Spread the shoes out as much as possible (open up the tongue etc.).
• Stuff the shoes full of newspaper, and change it regularly.
• Have a second pair of shoes for use while the first pair is drying.

• Use direct heat (hair dryers, tumble dryers, or even the sun), since this will weaken the glue binding the rubber to the leather. It will also make the leather toughen up, which can shorten the lifespan of your shoes.

Other Notes:

• If you wear them wet, climbing shoes will dry faster but will also stretch to the shape of your feet.
• To help reduce that "delightful" aroma that climbing shoes acquire over time, try stuffing them full of orange or lemon peels once they're almost dry. Be careful of ants next time you're belaying!

Virtually all insect repellents contain a chemical (which I think is called DEET or DEAT) which breaks down nylon (and some other plastics) extremely quickly. Be extremely careful when using these types of repellent near climbing gear, since it may significantly weaken any slings, ropes, spectra etc. it comes in contact with. I've noticed that most of the insect repellents that contain this chemical carry warnings about damage to sunglasses and other plastic items.