A hairy bus ride!

Yesterday I got the bus from Hatfield to Stevenage and from there, another via Benington Village towards Hitchin in Hertfordshire.  The purpose of the rides was to get to the Lordship Gardens and lose myself  among drifts of snowdrops and the promises of a spring-to-come.   Also to kneel down on a bin-liner – not to pray this time, but to photograph dainty blooms at elf-eye-views.

At first I was surprised to see that the bus that arrived at Stevenage terminus was a small 21-seater.  It didn't  take long to find out why.  Most of the route was along an oh-so-narrow English lane. See the Google-picture including the passing place on the left.

The Highway Code
Section 155
Single-track roads. These are only wide enough for one vehicle. They may have special passing places. If you see a vehicle coming towards you, or the driver behind wants to overtake, pull into a passing place on your left, or wait opposite a passing place on your right. Give way to vehicles coming uphill whenever you can. If necessary, reverse until you reach a passing place to let the other vehicle pass. Slow down when passing pedestrians, cyclists and horse riders.
Section 156 - Do not park in passing places.

This is my photo taken from the inside of the bus:   a reflection of the focused bus driver in the rear view mirror and the road sign a hint of things to come.

Again from inside our small bus : the country lane ahead.

Admittedly, the 2 journeys weren’t the scariest and deadliest rides on the planet, nevertheless I had to anchor myself with my knees against the seat in front  – and hope for the best!   There was no opportunity to be chicken and stop the bus to get off, because – the road is so narrow there’s not room to get out!  

We survived the first swooping bend and there were many more to follow.  Though the drive cannot be compared to  an inverted corkscrew roll or an airborne inverted S-roll or high-speed banked curves, still…… it was a good and proper hairy ride! 

To get a feel for the journey click on this link: An English Country Road and, in your mind's eye,  add oncoming traffic.

And while we are on an adrenalin-pumping topic…here’s a count-down to the scariest ride world-wide:

3.    Big Shot!
Astronauts travel at 45mph at blast off, which is slow in comparison because this ride throws you up with enough force to give you a weightless 4Gs for take off.
2.   Insanity
The Insanity is perched atop the Stratosphere tower in Las Vegas. Aptly named for what it seems to be at 906 feet above the Vegas strip, this ride takes you from the top of the tower and perches you at a 70 degree angle before a literal ‘spin’ at 40 miles per hour giving you a real bird’s eye view of Vegas…all without the wings.


And.................the winner!
1.  Top thrill Dragster
Top thrill Dragster, at Cedar Point Amusement Park in Sandusky, Ohio, is only half a minute long ride that can force you recount your life.  It broke a few records when it was launched, including that of being the first rollercoaster to top 400ft and the first to go at 120 mph as well. Check out the 400 ft vertical drop, and don’t forget about the 270 degrees twist along the way!


I end  this post with a glance at snowdrops in the moat and  a few questions on fear.
 
 The snowdrops at Benington Lordship Gardens, Hertfordshire – 2011.


 Questions about fear

• Can I alleviate my stress and take off the edge off my anxiety? 
• How can I nail that which pushes my fear buttons?
• Is fear inescapable?
• Can you ward off rising fear?

If you are scared or fearful, please do take about 5 minutes to read "Real Fears, Real Help".