Road Cycling - crossing railroad tracks?

What is the best way to cross railroad tracks without damaging my bike? normally, I just do a small bunny hop (2 inches or so...no trials maneuvers here) that clears my wheels, even so, I still hit kinda hard. is there any gentler ways besides stopping and lifting my bike across and setting it down gently?

You should cross railway tracks as perpendicular to the rails as possible. If the tracks are oblique do and arc out and in (or in and out as the tracks require). This will minimize damage to you and the bike.

If you have to arc in, beware of drivers trying to sneak past. I approach very wide, swing in at the last minute, then swing out to cross them perpendicularly.
A small bunny hop will do no harm to the bike.

I cross a set of tracks coming to and going home from work. I normally slow and just ride over them. I don't try to bunny hop them (I think it would look silly for my fata$$ to try that) :)

Try this: when approaching the tracks move to either the extreme right (or left for those of you who ride on the wrong side of the road) or to the center of the tracks and cross there. Supposedly these areas will not be as worn down from cars crossing them and you may have a smoother crossing.

Zack

Don't forget to look for the train.

I always stand out of the saddle and use my arms and legs as shocks and slow down to a snails pace. Had an ATV come flying along the tracks the other day as I was about to cross them, so trains aren't the only things to look out 4! :)

Tracks suck. There are a lot of them in Minnesota here. What I do is just slow down very slow and go over very gently, no hopping. Sometimes I will pull up the front wheel to get that accross and just let the back wheel find it's way over gently. Same thing for bridge expansion cracks. They suck too.

Originally posted by FOG
Don't forget to look for the train.

lol

Thanks for the ideas...I actually have noticed that the extreme shoulders are less bumpy...

In some cities, abondoned trolley tracks run right down the street and you have no choice but to ride between the tracks! Yikes. Well as you can imagine, my tire went right in between the trolley track and knocked me right off the bike. I was lucky in that I wasn't going fast and the car in the back stopped.

Lesson leaned. Don't ride between trolley tracks.

Originally posted by Phatman
lol

Thanks for the ideas...I actually have noticed that the extreme shoulders are less bumpy... I was checking around. There are stats on how many folks get hurt at grade crossings in accidents involvong trains www.fra.dot.gov , but I haven't found the stats on people getting hurt in other accidents, e.g. bike/trucck collision at grade crossings. In any even about 500 people get killed at grade crossings a year, many of them in cars that drive around gates whih are already down. Before you start talking darwin awards remember that in many cases the fatally injured person was ot the driver, often a kid in the back seat.