Southern California - SGRT dangerous spot

What do you guys do at the dark & narrow tunnel under Whittier Blvd on SGRT? Are we suppose to get off the bike & walk thru it? Today on my way down( 1st time thru) there were about 5 cyclists coming thru towards me super close & fast, it is dark & with sunglass I can hardly see, I got really nervous coming out of the tunnel. Been thinking about that the rest of my ride going south, this tunnel is just waiting for accidents to happen on a busy day. And not soon enough on my return ride, upon arriving the tunnel, I had to stop because a biker just crashed inside the tunnel, someone was on the phone to 911 & ambulance & PM arrived, the biker looks conscious with blood on his face, may have suffered broke bones, his bike's front wheel was destroyed & the fork was in 2 pieces. This is my first time down that way & I was cautious on any new route, but that is a very dangerous spot. Riders be careful!

Stay on your side as you enter the tunnel its a good idea to yell out coming in and before you exit call out coming out so people have warning that you are coming in or out, slow down also. As far as your glasses if its that dark to you it may be a good idea to remove the of pull them down or something.

I scream before entering and while I'm in the tunnel.

I always yell Hello just before entering and midway thru the tunnel. It has helped thus far. Also, the advice by JTGraphics above, re: staying strictly on your side of the tunnel is apropos.

Regards,

I scream before entering and while I'm in the tunnel.


Yeah, you do! For a second there, I thought it was Michael Jackson!:roflmao2:

Some riders in our club carry whistles and we always yell "rider in", then "rider out". Also we yell clear or "riders up" if it is not. But we have still had two crashes this year in the tunnel.

What you really need to be ready for are horses. I don't think whistles are a great idea.

I like to use the bike bell. Works everytime. Sometimes I turn my light on temporarily. Still gotta be careful, though. I've almost knocked over some "artists" in training. Fun times...

We encountered that accident after it happened and just as the fire truck was leaving. We saw the banged up bike, and heard that one of the riders was taken to the hospital with a broken arm. Some of the tunnels are narrow (or, seem narrow while descending in near darkness).

Recently we passed a guy who was lying across the lane (covering the whole lane) inside a tunnel with his head resting on the side and what appeared to be a CD player on his chest. What was he thinking??? (obviously, he wasn't). I enter those tunnels with care.

Stay on your own side.

Some of the ladies in our club will not ride thru the tunnel. Crap, my pupils just don't want to dialate enough to see when I go in and it scares the crap out of me, especially if there is any water.

I would say that if people would just stay on their own side, we would never have any issues. I'm more afraid of the empty spray cans that some people leave under there. I seen people spraying there, smoking a blunt there, changing their wardrobe, smoking, resting, and just plain sitting on the floor there. Amazing. Roadies don't help when they blast through that tunnel at a high rate of speed. One dude almost blew out 50 percent of my biological family because he refused to slow down. Sometimes, we are our own worst enemy.

I rode the SGRT today for the first time in a while and noticed that they have improved the tunnel at the Del Amo underpass. If your heading north the approach is the same, but once you're in the tunnel you can see all the way through. If you're heading south the approach is now straighter and has a more gradual descent, you can actually see all the way through the tunnel before entering it. It's not great, but it's better than it was. Hopefully they're doing other trail/underpass improvements as well.

Slow down and scream "bike"

Well I almost got creamed going south yesterday at Del amo tunnel. I agree that the north bound one is better, you can see out, but as I entered south bound, "rider in", just as I was exiting about 10-12 riders, going maybe 18-20+mph entered, one set two across. I had to slam myself up against the wall to keep from a head-on. No sorry, just a loud "watch it". Makes me pretty pissed off. Heck if I wasn't watching carefully or a family out with kids, a pile up for sure with many injuries. Maybe next time I'll wait at the exit with a baseball bat and just bash a couple of idiots.

What you really need to be ready for are horses. I don't think whistles are a great idea.


Whistles are good but you don't want to spook the horses. Most horse riders go in groups, or at least in pairs. If you're going in the same direction with the horses, its easy to see them from a distance. That means you can gauge their speed thru the underpass. If you're going opposite directions, then its practically unpredictable.

Another note about whilstles. The typical coach's whistle is not a good idea. That's why I use the Bobby's whistle (ie London policemen). A little more mellow sounding almost like the Helms Bakery truck guy back in the old days.

I definitely slow way down and remove my sunglasses prior to entering the tunnels. There is usually garbage to worry about in the road as well. Somtimes water hazards too.