Can you feel north?

[shah269]

Well today I went for a nice little 200 mile ride to no where. Kind of sort of had to clear my head of a few issues and though I'm not a believer in god per say he/she/it had created a perfect day for riding. So I went for a ride in N-NJ. Lots of twisty second gear 40mph two lane roads where the treas along the road were so old that they obscured the sky. And any hoooooo long story short came to a number of intersections and well it was me, the road and the occasional chipmunk calling me a squid. And well....let's put it this way, with out a map I was kind of able to kind of sort of feel north. As in "AAAAAhhhh oh that way is north! So....I want to go west if i want to go further from home! aaaaaaaaahhhh"
And no mates there were no road signs.
Has this ever happend to you?  
Sure felt strange! Shame I can't do this with lotto numers!

[miles]

Yeah, I can tell which way is north.  

I was all screwed up when I lived in South America.  I'd have to remind myself that it was actually south I was feeling.

[ksann]

I can almost always feel North.


I can't really explain it though.



ken

[Explorer]

I can almost always feel North.


I can't really explain it though.



ken

+1

[Wockman]

+ another 1  

I might not know where the heck I am but I know what direction I'm heading...

[Stray Cat]

I like feeling north, for a while. Then I head south. Maybe a trip or two back up north, after a bit.  

[shah269]

I can almost always feel North.


I can't really explain it though.



ken

Dude yeah what is up with that! It was so strange! At first I was thinking OK I'm looking at the sun, but then I realized OK it's mid day and I'm under the canopy so.....? WTF!
It was very strange and very very very zen!

[Daytona-dan]

i grew up a country boy in east Texas.....i always know North.

when i moved to Alaska in the early 90's i was far enough North that the sun almost made a complete circle overhead during the summer days. to see the sun come up in one spot and see it set in almost the same spot JACKS with your head. most of us know that the sun rises in the East and sets in the West...it don't work like that in the far northern hemispheres.

it took me months to believe where North was while i lived in Alaska.

[Johnny Monsoon]

Of course you can feel north: we all have a deposit of metal in the tip of our noses (no kidding) which makes us 'feel' north.

[zer0netgain]

Normally, I'd say yes, but I've been in a couple of places that I find myself consistently getting directions reversed (N is S, E is W).  Can't explain why.

[Thundergod]

Thats easy...we are nearing winter, sun is low in the south sky....so turn around...

[Shhted]

My old man is a retired pilot and has a plaque on his office wall:  "Pilots are never lost, only momentarily disoriented".

I have a pretty astute internal compass, GPS-schmeePS.

[RowdyRed94]

There are a million subtle clues as to which direction is which, from shadow to wind to landmarks, many of them acting subconsciously. No need to go straight to some mythical internal compass.

[Guy]

Normally, I'd say yes, but I've been in a couple of places that I find myself consistently getting directions reversed (N is S, E is W).  Can't explain why.

+1. Generally, I always know which direction I'm heading, but occasionally I hit those places where I get all effed up, and can't tell N from E and S from W. My worst place? SEATAC. I can't seem to ever get my bearings straight there, and I've spent a lot of time at that airport.

[bomber]

There are a million subtle clues as to which direction is which, from shadow to wind to landmarks, many of them acting subconsciously. No need to go straight to some mythical internal compass.

Very true -- I find my internal nav system sometimes gets hosed in heavily urbanized areas -- not much moss on a traffic light, I guess

[vitaminC]

When I left the West Coast for the first time, I had a lot of trouble with being able to travel West for more than ~30 minutes    But I still knew which way was north!  

[Global Rider]

I sure can.

When my back is warm and its roughly noon, I am facing north.  

[naustin]

It's a curse I tell you!

Here in corn country, all the roads are basically on a grid.  They are all straight and either run N-S or E-W.  You can't ever rid yourself of the awareness of North.  It inflicts itself on you.  Its impossible to find a nice twisty road and get yourself lost.    You only have 4 choices.  I spend whole rides trying to find one damn road that cuts across something diagonally...  They are very, very rare, usually follow big, wide, muddy, basically straight flowing rivers, and are still devoid of curves.   The best curves in this state are when the road dodges 100 yards to one side or another to avoid some farmes feild...  

So, Yah, I know what you mean....

[leveredge]

I don't have a clue. That's why I have a compass on the bike.

[JoelCool]

I'm usually momentarily disoriented.

[2RR2NV]

i wouldn't say i know which way is north per se, but i do know where i am goin. i've tried to get lost and it don't work. i just think for a moment and i can pretty much figure out which way i need to head...not necessarily which Direction...(N, S, etc) i pretty much figured that skill out when i was 8 yrs old and my parents were trying to decide which was the best way on the I-system or back roads to get to Wash D.C. i looked at the map, looked at signs and whatnot and told them to go "thatta way". surprisingly, they listened to me and tried it. i guess they just wanted to humor me, but lo n behold, we popped right out in downtown D.C., right where we wanted to be. after that, anywhere we went on vacation, i got automatic shotgun. WOOOHOOO..pissed off my siblings. still works pretty good today. as i get older, i have to think a lil longer to get my bearings. last vacation to WI, the wife n I didn't have maps with us (cause i know the route in my sleep), and wouldn't ya know it, we get a dang detour. wife was starting to freak out, but i pretty much just said trust me, i'll get us around it. took some different turns and finally ended up in 1 of the towns OTW still on schedule. Loved it. wife didn't but at least her stress level dropped.

[vstromtourer]

There are a million subtle clues as to which direction is which, from shadow to wind to landmarks, many of them acting subconsciously. No need to go straight to some mythical internal compass.

Agreed.  To be honest though I find that figuring out my direction when on a road on a motorcycle much easier than when I'm bushwhacking in the forest.  I think it is because when I'm on a road I know that eventually I will run into something somewhere which can help me get sorted out.  When I'm in the bush, well...they might find my gnawed bones in a couple of years, therefore a sense of panic and urgency increases causing me to fail to rely on my sense of direction.  

Though even in the bush, there are tricks to get you out, find a watercourse, a stream a brook, and follow it downhill, water does not run up-hill.  Pay attention to your elevation, if you climbed up, then you will need to climb down.  Always pay attention to the direction of the sun in your travels.

[jay547]

i believe that i have the internal compass but it probably helps that i am a licensed land surveyor.

[Leanintree]

I usually have that feeling, but it may have something to do with being raised in the mountains. Just an awareness of what ranges are around me, and my relation to them. A few years ago, I went out to the plains (Eastern CO near Nebraska) and it wasn't as easy as I thought. No instinctive knowledge, and no landmarks to ping off of. Oh, and the roads were all straight. Weirded me right square out.
Leanintree

[Mydlyfkryzis]

In the northeast, the trees tend to have moss growing on the north side of them. So, it is subtle, but just looking at a tree can suggest a northerly direction.