Advocacy & Safety - How would you deal with this scenario

I was hiking today and while we were enjoying our lunch I could see the freeway at Gaviota Pass. We were sitting on rocks overlooking the two rest areas right before Gaviota tunnel. I saw a group of cyclists come down the freeway, take a break at the rest stop, then continue on through the tunnel.

It made me wonder, first of all, how they had the courage to do this because there's pretty much no shoulder in the tunnel and motorists are blinded when they get into it. But it also made me wonder how does one ride a bike through the tunnel? It would be nice to do a ride up the coast, but that tunnel and the Arroyo Quemada bridge scare the bejesus out of me.

Anybody done the Gaviota Tunnel or something similar (two lanes, freeway, 65 mph, tunnel is on a curve going up hill, it is dark in the tunnel but there are dim lights inside, the tunnel is only maybe 200 yards long, no shoulder inside, no sidewalk as far as I know, one-way traffic)? How would you do it?

"When you have eliminated all which is impossible, then whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth." -- Sherlock Holmes.

You ride in the lane. You go as fast as you can, you try to be as conspicuous as possible, and you repeat to yourself that rear end fatal collisions are incredibly rare for cyclists. You position yourself far enough to the left that there is no doubt among overtaking motorists that you wish that they change lanes to pass you.

I don't find conditions like this particularly pleasant.

Sounds like a job for the Nova :) Indirectly visible around corners thanks to the tunnel walls, with a strobe signature that says POLICE. All the same, I'd be keeping a careful eye on my mirror in case things went wrong.

I'd probably use either Deciblast or triple-plus-burst mode here. Oh, and if I knew I was taking a route that included this tunnel, I'd throw on two or three of my SuperFlashes as secondaries. Usually I'd just have one along.

Key idea here: use visibility to put overtaking traffic on guard from long range, so I don't create a chain-reaction pile-up due to the lead car having to slow down suddenly.


hey, you did ask how *I'd* deal with it... ;)

(silly non-practical what-if idea deleted :))

I am certainly no expert at tunnels. But partially it would depend on how long the tunnel was and how much traffic the road gets. If I HAD to, I would take the lane, pedal my arse off and pray like hell.

If I didn't HAVE to, I would look for an alternate route.

-D

Oh, and the other thing I'd do, is to stay near the wall as I approached the end of the tunnel. From an overtaking perspective, my lights would contrast much more with the dark wall than with the daylit tunnel opening.

My Nova says "hi," by the way...

Oh, and the other thing I'd do, is to stay near the wall as I approached the end of the tunnel. From an overtaking perspective, my lights would contrast much more with the dark wall than with the daylit tunnel opening.

My Nova says "hi," by the way...


Holy (*&(^ I gotta get me one of those (or 2)

-D

Holy (*&(^ I gotta get me one of those (or 2)

-Dthread with pics of mounting holes & stuff :) (http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=202062) It's a terror! :D It runs about 10 hours strobing on a little 9.6-volt RC-car rechargeable battery I got from Radio Shack.

Oh, and that's a frame from this video clip that was primarily about the SuperFlash versus the NiteRider blinkie, but I threw the Nova in at the end: http://freepages.thesecretlabs.com/~mechbgon/SuperFlash.wmv (right-click & save, then view)

"When you have eliminated all which is impossible, then whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth." -- Sherlock Holmes.

You ride in the lane. You go as fast as you can, you try to be as conspicuous as possible, and you repeat to yourself that rear end fatal collisions are incredibly rare for cyclists. You position yourself far enough to the left that there is no doubt among overtaking motorists that you wish that they change lanes to pass you.

I don't find conditions like this particularly pleasant.

+1

If there are occasional gaps in traffic and you can see, I'd wait for a gap. You ought to be able to go 200 yards in less than 20 seconds, maybe 13.

Incidentally, there are some good pics on this page: http://www.silcom.com/~pordecon/gaviota_accident.htm Here's one of the interior of the tunnel, and another showing the entrance (featuring a sign saying to share the road with bicycles).

http://www.silcom.com/~pordecon/gaviota_006.gif

http://www.silcom.com/~pordecon/gaviota_002.gif

That is one scary scenario, Diane! I am unfamiliar with the area, but I assume from your post that there is no reasonable alternate route.

I was looking for an alternative route from my promontory over the freeway. The only thing you could possibly do is cross the freeway at Gaviota State Beach, ride the access road to the creek, then pick up your bicycle and hoof it up the creek. Not sure if I have that kind of strength as the creek is choked with brush and poison oak and you'd definitely get your feet wet.

There's always the trail. You could turn off at Gaviota State Beach and hoof it up the trail and over to the other side where there is a fire road. That would take you a few miles of trail out of your way.

Nope, there is no alternative route that is paved.

Those pictures make it look like there is some room in that tunnel in the right edge. There is NO way I would take the lane. As you can see by the picture the tunnel isn't straight. I have driven through it and you are temporarily blind inside. The Nova is a good idea.

I also thought you could position one cyclist at the mouth of the tunnel with a walkie-talkie and a sign that warns people there are bikes in the tunnel (one local bike group puts similar signs on the freeway on their group rides to the south) and then he'd be the only one who had to risk his life. Or else have a car that followed you with its hazard lights on.

Maybe it's not so bad if they all did it.

One other idea: drop a lighted flare (the kind that burns for 15 minutes) at the entrance to get people to drop speed and be alert. Far-fetched, but whatever :)

There is NO way I would take the lane. As you can see by the picture the tunnel isn't straight. I have driven through it and you are temporarily blind inside.

It's kind of hard to get an accurate picture unless you've been there. It does not look inviting.

On the plus side there is a bicycle warning sign (as if that helps!). Also there is a curve before the tunnel. That *generally* slows traffic. A lot of people will slow slightly going into tunnels - because they are dark and narrow. And narrowing of lanes tend to have the effect of raising attention and slowing motorists. It is also 2 lanes going the same direction. Still, not where I'd like to hang out.

My guess is that your strategy would be to avoid this section of road, which would appear to be an excellent decision.

So, back at you - If you had to go through it how would you do it and how would you think it would be safer than waiting on a gap and blasting through in the lane?

Also, I was wondering if you experience even subtle differences in your attitude (passive vs. aggressive) when are on a bent vs. standard bike?

Get a rear blinking light, get some partners, take the lane and pedal like hell.

That's where 101 curves inland after hugging the coast west of Santa Barbara. The pictures are pretty representative. The tunnel is for northbound traffic only. There is no alternate route. I've only cycled that section southbound so have never been through the tunnel.

Is the Arroyo Quemada bridge the shoulderless one on 101 half way between Santa Barbara and Gaviota? I did cross a shoulderless bridge when riding southbound. With that bridge, the sight lines are much better, so you can wait for a big gap in traffic.

This tunnel needs the kind of facility that some tunnels on 101 in Oregon have. Cyclist pushes a button, and when the flashing yellow lights start blinking, they enter the tunnel and take the lane. There are big signs outside the tunnel saying that when the lights are blinking, there are cyclists in the tunnel, slow down, yield to them, exercise caution, etc. There's either some sensor that shuts off the lights when the cyclist leaves the tunnel, or it's on a timer. Motorists seem to respect it.

1. Position the riders with taillights at the back of the pack.
2. Wait for a break in traffic, and haul a$$ through the tunnel - have the riders at the back make contact with the first approaching car before entering the tunnel - if you move quickly enough, that car will stay behind you for the duration of the tunnel and will effectively shield you from cars further back.

I gotta ask.
Are there likely to be any bears,lions, tigers or cheetas in this tunnel?
Cause that could really change the way I would approach this tunnel.

If there are no bears,lions tigers or cheetas I would probably chicken out aand find another route,
If there are bears, lions , tigers and or cheetas, I aint going in there, what do you think I am an Idiot:eek:

Well, there are mountain lions in the surrounding area, but my guess is they stay out of the tunnel.

I like the idea of the yellow warning lights. That would be a great idea.

And yes, the Arroyo Quemada bridge is the one you experienced, Brian. It's between Gaviota and Refugio on the Southbound side of 101. We drove through it yesterday and despite about 4 No Passing on Bridge signs the person in front of us passed someone on the bridge. But at least you could wait for a gap in traffic. I don't know if you can determine with much certainty if there's a gap in the traffic before the tunnel.

I gotta ask.
Are there likely to be any bears,lions, tigers or cheetas in this tunnel?
Cause that could really change the way I would approach this tunnel.

If there are no bears,lions tigers or cheetas I would probably chicken out aand find another route,
If there are bears, lions , tigers and or cheetas, I aint going in there, what do you think I am an Idiot:eek:If there's cheetahs in the tunnel, I'm going to have to go check it out :)

I would do it ONLY if I had a Nova Bull as others have (gotta get me one), or my amber strobe. I bought two strobes last time I ordered and I've considered hooking both of them up.

Has anyone tried running the Nova Bull on an overvolted electrical system? My system runs up to 16.8V when fully charged, and I'd hate to pay $60 for a Bull and fry it. Can someone who has one check the specs?

This tunnel needs the kind of facility that some tunnels on 101 in Oregon have. Cyclist pushes a button, and when the flashing yellow lights start blinking, they enter the tunnel and take the lane. There are big signs outside the tunnel saying that when the lights are blinking, there are cyclists in the tunnel, slow down, yield to them, exercise caution, etc. There's either some sensor that shuts off the lights when the cyclist leaves the tunnel, or it's on a timer. Motorists seem to respect it.
The downside of the pushbutton concept is that if the cyclist doesn't push the button, or the button/light is defective, or the timer runs out, then drivers may assume that "all is clear".

I don't know if you can determine with much certainty if there's a gap in the traffic before the tunnel.
Here's a link to the tunnel on Google maps:
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&q=gaviota,+ca&ie=UTF8&z=18&ll=34.488395,-120.22584&spn=0.003055,0.005203&t=k&om=1

The approach to the tunnel does curve to the left a bit, but I think there's enough of a straightaway to look for a gap before merging into the lane - in part because traffic is going to be a little slower up the hill. But I think another bike warning sign is needed further before the curve. Also, another one on the left side of the road would be useful, in case a big truck blocks the view of the one on the right.

I would do it ONLY if I had a Nova Bull as others have (gotta get me one), or my amber strobe. I bought two strobes last time I ordered and I've considered hooking both of them up.

Has anyone tried running the Nova Bull on an overvolted electrical system? My system runs up to 16.8V when fully charged, and I'd hate to pay $60 for a Bull and fry it. Can someone who has one check the specs?The specs say max of 16 volts: http://www.strobe.com/products.asp?id=89&view=product#specifications Maybe you could throw in a resistor to drop the voltage just a little bit without wasting too much power.

I've never ridden through the Gaviota Pass tunnel, but I know riders who, hundreds or thousands of miles later, still rant about that tunnel as the most harrowing tenth-of-a-mile they've ever ridden.

Like you say, though, there's no alternate route, so they just ride like hell till they're in daylight again. A lot of people try to squeeze against the right-hand wall, but that strikes me as a bad idea. The lane is too narrow, and they get buffeted around by gusts of wind from cars passing at full speed just off their left shoulder. Better to just bring a good mirror and a taillight that could stun a mastadon, wait for a decent gap in traffic, and claim the right lane for the length of the tunnel. Keep an eye on the mirror; if an overtaking driver truly seems oblivious to your presence, you can always bail against the right wall at the last moment, and not be any worse off than if you'd been hugging the wall all along.

Of course, I wouldn't be above using a gimmick to stack the odds in my favor. If there are any cars pulled over in the rest area just before the tunnel, I'd probably ask a driver to follow me through in the right lane with their hazard lights on. If not, I kind of like mechBgon's idea of dropping a road flare in the right lane before entering the tunnel...not certain if that was a joke or not, but I'd be tempted to try it.

From the google satellite image, it also looks possible to hike over to the southbound lanes (which don't go through the tunnel), walk your bike against traffic on the shoulder for a couple hundred meters, then cross back to the northbound lanes after they emerge from the tunnel. Not sure how practical the crossings would be, or whether the walk would be any less dicey than the tunnel itself.

Better to just bring a good mirror and a taillight that could stun a mastadon, wait for a decent gap in traffic, and claim the right lane for the length of the tunnel.
+1.

Yeah, I use a daytime strobe for underpasses, excessive shade, etc. just to be sure I'm noticed. I guess a tunnel would be a similar problem, but magnified.

The darker it is, the more conspicuous I am (but I don't have any tunnels 'round here, so...)

Funny thing is I watched these cyclists go through the tunnel and they didn't look for a gap in traffic.

Tunnel seems like a real challenging scenario. Theories aside, I'd have to experience it to report honestly.

I would use a bright fast-flashing rear lamp, like I usually use at night. If I'm more visible than the lane lines, I should be good. I would wait for a gap before entering the tunnel, so that drivers would adjust to conditions before they catch me.

In light traffic, sight distances are more than enough for drivers to reduce speed even from 55-65 mph. Heavy traffic is where occlusion can create the biggest problems for traffic operating at large speed differentials.