British rider doing Trans AM 2022

[mrriffraff]

Hi, I've just found this forum and I reckon you lot will know everything!

I live in the UK so you'll have to forgive my English, English!

I'm coming over next May (17th to be exact as the flight is booked) to ride west starting in Boston.

So over the next 9 months I'm going to appear, asking what to you may seem bizarre questions, but remember, we do things slightly different in the UK.

First things first. Do I always put the state after the name of the town? EG Boston MA?

[jamawani]

It is Boston, MA - - with a comma separator.
However - and there is always a however -
older forms of state abbreviations are frequently used.
Especially with famous places like Boston.
So you will often see "Boston, Mass."

The two-letter postal abbreviations are kinda harsh.
So FL becomes Fla. and TX becomes Tex.
If you are sending mail or a package, use the postal abbreviations.
If you are writing a story, consider the older forms.

[John Nelson]

Do I always put the state after the name of the town? EG Boston MA?

Well, there’s no law requiring the state to be used. So you won’t be arrested if you fail to do so.

The answer to your question depends on context. Where exactly will you be writing the name of the town?

In informal communication, people often omit the state for large cities with unique names. For example, Boston, Minneapolis, Chicago, Los Angeles and Seattle are often written without a state name. For city names like Springfield, you should use the state name to distinguish it from other cities with the same name. If omitted, people will generally assume the closest city with that name.

In more formal communication, such as legal documents and when addressing envelopes, you should always use the state name.

Did I completely misunderstand your question?

[mrriffraff]

Thanks.

I'll go with that 2 letter thing. Seems simple enough.

John, the context is basically on here. Hopefully this time next year I won't have anything to do with any American legal documents!

Also I as going to avoid anywhere called Springfield. I think it's for the best to avoid any confusion.

[staehpj1]

There are a lot of little towns with the same names as cities.  Also many towns or cities of the same name in different states, but much of the confusion is avoided because when it is known you are on the TA the options become much more limited, so confusion becomes fairly unlikely even when not specifying a state.

That said two letter abbreviations are okay, even though even us residents often get confused with so many that are kind of arbitrarily determined.  For example the logic behind the abbreviations for Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, and Montana can be perplexing.

I attempted to attach a list that might be useful.

[Westinghouse]

Use the city and the state and you cannot go wrong.  There is a book titled, "The History of the English Language." It was published by the BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation). It covers the etymology of American English. I read it and about 50 other books on English. I wrote about 350,000 words in that subject alone. The book has your screen name, RiffRaff. They say it originated in the culture of the Mississippi river in the 1800s. The various classes of people who traveled the river got named according to their status and wealth and the lack of them. The richest and best dressed travelers were often seen on the top decks of steam boats. That was where the smoke stacks were, also called falutes in those days. These people were referred to as high falutin.This term is used today to refer to a person who is above it all, or better than others. Many others could not afford the passage. They might not have been fit for decent society. They might have been the scallawags, the drifters, the uneducated, in and out of jail. These people built or bought or stole wooden rafts. They steered and paddle their ways. The words riff raff had to do with their mode of transportation and themselves. They were considered rabble and malefactors on rafts. Not all of the raft riders were bad people. Take Huck and Jim as two exceptions to the rule.

[Jono1979]

I too am a British rider attempting the TransAm in 2022.
I'm doing the more traditional route from Astoria, OR to Yorktown, VA.

Looking to start around May 20th.

Happy riding everyone.

[mrriffraff]

I too am a British rider attempting the TransAm in 2022.
I'm doing the more traditional route from Astoria, OR to Yorktown, VA.

Looking to start around May 20th.

Happy riding everyone.

I might see you somewhere around Kansas!

[mrriffraff]

The words riff raff had to do with their mode of transportation and themselves. They were considered rabble and malefactors on rafts. Not all of the raft riders were bad people. Take Huck and Jim as two exceptions to the rule.

As I said in my first ever post on this forum...
I reckon you lot will know everything

[Jono1979]

I may have just made the decision to do Yorktown to Astoria 

How come you're starting up near Boston?

[mrriffraff]

Boston looks interesting so it kind of made sense to acclimatise there.

And as the saying goes “go west young man”.

[mrriffraff]

And “Go West” is a song by The Cult, so each day on Strava gets a line from it.

[Jono1979]

And “Go West” is a song by The Cult, so each day on Strava gets a line from it.

I'll be flying most likely to Baltimore and getting the train to Williamsburg. A quick cycle to Yorktown and away we go.

My plan is to use lyrics by Rush to describe my days on Strava.