[OT] Risk adverseness and fear of heights

Oddly enough, being up the side of somethign solid bothers me a lot less than being "on top" of something big...

Reply to
Tim Watts
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In reality they are about as high as the door (minus glass) so you cannot see down but you can see the horizon, just.

From a distance they look as substantial as the barriers on a scalextric tack (hence my earlier comment!).

Reply to
Tim Watts

That make sme even more nervous - a sideswipe at speed could easily flip a car over that height.

Reply to
Bob Henson

A Honda 50 kept me mobile through my student years. I now find it hard to believe that I regularly did the run from Barnsley to Manchester, over Woodhead Pass, on this bike. I had ample opportunity to contemplate the newly installed Armco barriers, put in place after somebody significant (MP?) had gone over the edge. For me, it would simply mean that it would break my leg before I plummeted, head first. There were occasions when I had to resort to 1st gear in order to battle against the wind whilst actually going downhill.

Chris

Reply to
Chris J Dixon

No, it really couldn't. Even a very tall car.

Clue: Centre of gravity.

Reply to
Adrian

I enjoy driving up and down this road (B4391 between Llangynog and Bala) on a regular basis, have been fo 30 years:

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The lack of substantial restraint on the edge frightens some people witless. Someone asked me about the apparent lack of protection a few years ago and I pointed out that you never see any cars going over the edge, or wrecks at the bottom.

Reply to
Peter Johnson

It's a long time ago since I was there, but I knew both Woodhead and The Snake well. Derbyshire was my home county in those days. In the days when I was at Manchester Uni, my then fiancée and I once drove over the Snake in a blizzard in an Austin 1100, en route to Lincoln. It wasn't a blizzard when I started out, of course, or I wouldn't have gone - but it was by the time we reached the point where it was easier to go on than go back. I do remember that as what Sir Alex Ferguson called a "squeaky bum moment" - I don't recall ever being quite so scared.

Reply to
Bob Henson

I saw similar in Egypt.

Up the road from our hotel was this site - that scaffolding was delivered every morning in a skip. They would then nail bits on as they went.

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That was a weeks worth of what appeared kindling :-)

Darren

Reply to
D.M.Chapman

I didn't usually do the trip over Woodhead in midwinter, but there was one February at the end of term (thin sandwich) where I had to get it home to Barnsley. As I began the run the throttle started sticking open. Stripping it down in sleety rain wasn't an attractive proposition, so I just pressed on.

As it had an automatic clutch, I was a bit unsure how I would cope, but it made it OK. Changing down, the engine was slowed enough to cope, changing up was a bit rougher. There was only one stop line, and I managed to crawl across with judicious braking.

Turned out it was water in the throttle slide that was jamming it, and a bit of oil was all it needed.

Chris

Reply to
Chris J Dixon

And they buy a wig so they can feel the wind in their hair.

Reply to
whisky-dave

Yesterday, I was at the supermarket, where there is a cheese shelf above the olive bar. A young mother was standing in front of the middle of this, examining every piece of cheese, and her daughter and their shopping cart were blocking off one end of the olive bar. I used the free end of the bar, and then hovered near the cart on the other side, as I couldn't get to the olives due to the cart. The mother showed a total lack of courtesy, or even acknowledgement that I was there, but the young girl saw what I needed, and moved the cart and herself out of my way. The kid, I give full marks to. The mother, zero.

Reply to
Davey

Plus the exact state of the wind and tide. A good bottom-scan sonar might be a good idea.

Reply to
Sam Plusnet

How about this:

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I love cable stayed bridges. Suspension bridges should be banned!

Reply to
MattyF

A fall from just 6 Metres put me in hospital for a month a few years ago;(...

A lot of riggers will use a full body harness as such thats useful for working with if it had the right anchor points on the front, and provides the fall arrest function. I used to have one before I outgrew it but I'm getting a bit to olde for this 'ere climbing lark these days;!...

Reply to
tony sayer

I had a mini nicked in London many years ago turned up in Leysdown ;(...

Reply to
tony sayer

On the broads years ago with some Uni mates, we had quite a tall boat. We had to get up at 5am, to be able to go under a low bridge in Great Yarmouth - we made it with minutes (and inches) to spare.

Reply to
Jethro_uk

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Reply to
djc

There's an interesting one over the river in the middle of Monterrey, Mexico. Google Earth shows it in 3D.

But isn't a cable-stayed bridge just a suspension bridge with a different layout?

Reply to
Davey

The cables in a cable-stayed bridge are all straight, therefore they can't wobble around like the curved main cables of a suspension bridge. And the straight cables can be replaced at any time if they go rusty. Replacing any cables in a suspension bridge would be near enough impossible. Inferior steel from cheating contractors was used in the Golden Gate bridge. It will have to come down one day.

Reply to
MattyF

Here is the link for the Monterrey bridge:

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Reply to
Davey

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