Oil Slick! Yeaoh!
07-15-07, 05:53 PM
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Oil Slick! Yeaoh!
So I hit my first big oil slick on Friday on the way home from work.
I was coming down Grand in downtown Kansas City, MO, a gradual but steady hill and I was going at a pretty good clip. I come through the intersection at 17th, notice a dark substance on the road - YEAOUH - THAT'S OIL- I have lost all traction in a split second and I'm down! I don't think any width or tread of tire could have not lost it...it was just the most helpless feeling.
In another second I realize I'm not seriously hurt, so I get onto the sidewalk, and I'm checking body parts. I came down hard on my left hip and scraped above the elbow and bent in the brake hood on the left side and scraped my glasses, but I don't think I hit my helmet at all (but was glad I had it on).
Just thought I would post it as a cautionary tale. I've been commuting for a couple of years and this was the first time this has happened to me...
Mike
I was coming down Grand in downtown Kansas City, MO, a gradual but steady hill and I was going at a pretty good clip. I come through the intersection at 17th, notice a dark substance on the road - YEAOUH - THAT'S OIL- I have lost all traction in a split second and I'm down! I don't think any width or tread of tire could have not lost it...it was just the most helpless feeling.
In another second I realize I'm not seriously hurt, so I get onto the sidewalk, and I'm checking body parts. I came down hard on my left hip and scraped above the elbow and bent in the brake hood on the left side and scraped my glasses, but I don't think I hit my helmet at all (but was glad I had it on).
Just thought I would post it as a cautionary tale. I've been commuting for a couple of years and this was the first time this has happened to me...
Mike
07-15-07, 06:22 PM
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Originally Posted by mcoons
So I hit my first big oil slick on Friday on the way home from work.
I was coming down Grand in downtown Kansas City, MO, a gradual but steady hill and I was going at a pretty good clip. I come through the intersection at 17th, notice a dark substance on the road - YEAOUH - THAT'S OIL- I have lost all traction in a split second and I'm down! I don't think any width or tread of tire could have not lost it...it was just the most helpless feeling.
In another second I realize I'm not seriously hurt, so I get onto the sidewalk, and I'm checking body parts. I came down hard on my left hip and scraped above the elbow and bent in the brake hood on the left side and scraped my glasses, but I don't think I hit my helmet at all (but was glad I had it on).
Just thought I would post it as a cautionary tale. I've been commuting for a couple of years and this was the first time this has happened to me...
Mike
I was coming down Grand in downtown Kansas City, MO, a gradual but steady hill and I was going at a pretty good clip. I come through the intersection at 17th, notice a dark substance on the road - YEAOUH - THAT'S OIL- I have lost all traction in a split second and I'm down! I don't think any width or tread of tire could have not lost it...it was just the most helpless feeling.
In another second I realize I'm not seriously hurt, so I get onto the sidewalk, and I'm checking body parts. I came down hard on my left hip and scraped above the elbow and bent in the brake hood on the left side and scraped my glasses, but I don't think I hit my helmet at all (but was glad I had it on).
Just thought I would post it as a cautionary tale. I've been commuting for a couple of years and this was the first time this has happened to me...
Mike
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Recommended reading for all cyclists - Cyclecraft - Effective Cycling
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Recommended reading for all cyclists - Cyclecraft - Effective Cycling
Condor Cycles - quite possibly the best bike shop in London
Don't run red lights, wear a helmet, use hand signals, get some cycle lights(front and rear) and, FFS, don't run red lights!
07-16-07, 11:26 AM
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Yikes, thanks for the warning!
07-16-07, 11:32 AM
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Originally Posted by mcoons
So I hit my first big oil slick on Friday on the way home from work.
I was coming down Grand in downtown Kansas City, MO, a gradual but steady hill and I was going at a pretty good clip. I come through the intersection at 17th, notice a dark substance on the road - YEAOUH - THAT'S OIL- I have lost all traction in a split second and I'm down! I don't think any width or tread of tire could have not lost it...it was just the most helpless feeling.
In another second I realize I'm not seriously hurt, so I get onto the sidewalk, and I'm checking body parts. I came down hard on my left hip and scraped above the elbow and bent in the brake hood on the left side and scraped my glasses, but I don't think I hit my helmet at all (but was glad I had it on).
Just thought I would post it as a cautionary tale. I've been commuting for a couple of years and this was the first time this has happened to me...
Mike
I was coming down Grand in downtown Kansas City, MO, a gradual but steady hill and I was going at a pretty good clip. I come through the intersection at 17th, notice a dark substance on the road - YEAOUH - THAT'S OIL- I have lost all traction in a split second and I'm down! I don't think any width or tread of tire could have not lost it...it was just the most helpless feeling.
In another second I realize I'm not seriously hurt, so I get onto the sidewalk, and I'm checking body parts. I came down hard on my left hip and scraped above the elbow and bent in the brake hood on the left side and scraped my glasses, but I don't think I hit my helmet at all (but was glad I had it on).
Just thought I would post it as a cautionary tale. I've been commuting for a couple of years and this was the first time this has happened to me...
Mike
07-16-07, 11:50 AM
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Originally Posted by DataJunkie
Screwed irregardless of what direction you are traveling in. It is similar to riding 23mm slicks on a solid sheet of flat ice.
Ice - slow going but didn't crash.
Oil/diesel - insta wipe.
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Recommended reading for all cyclists - Cyclecraft - Effective Cycling
Condor Cycles - quite possibly the best bike shop in London
Don't run red lights, wear a helmet, use hand signals, get some cycle lights(front and rear) and, FFS, don't run red lights!
shameless POWERCRANK plug
Recommended reading for all cyclists - Cyclecraft - Effective Cycling
Condor Cycles - quite possibly the best bike shop in London
Don't run red lights, wear a helmet, use hand signals, get some cycle lights(front and rear) and, FFS, don't run red lights!
07-16-07, 12:22 PM
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Years ago I was on my bike going around a corner when my wheel went out from under me and I went down hard on rough asphalt. I scraped up my knee and the knee of my pants was mostly worn through but I decided I was able to continue on to the community college where I was a student.
I looked in the road before I left the scene and noticed a narrow slick going around the curve of the corner. I think it was gas from one of those cars that have the gas cap under the rear license plate. Maybe they were missing their gas cap and it sloshed out going around the corner.
When I started to bike home after school my knee was so stiff and sore I had to call my wife to pick me up with the car (threw the bike in the trunk).
I looked in the road before I left the scene and noticed a narrow slick going around the curve of the corner. I think it was gas from one of those cars that have the gas cap under the rear license plate. Maybe they were missing their gas cap and it sloshed out going around the corner.
When I started to bike home after school my knee was so stiff and sore I had to call my wife to pick me up with the car (threw the bike in the trunk).
07-16-07, 12:38 PM
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Insta-wipeout. I don't think I even had time to get my hands off of the handlebars, because I came down on my left hip, left forearm scraped just above the elbow, and on my left brake hood.
I've always heard about the people that fracture their wrist when they fall (either on or off of a bike), and I may have been lucky enough not to try and stop myself with my hands.
When I looked at my bright yellow shirt today, the black streaks of oil did not come out in the wash...
I've always heard about the people that fracture their wrist when they fall (either on or off of a bike), and I may have been lucky enough not to try and stop myself with my hands.
When I looked at my bright yellow shirt today, the black streaks of oil did not come out in the wash...
07-16-07, 12:43 PM
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You're pretty screwed when you hit them, yeah. 0 to nearly no traction on the rear you can control, but if you hit it with the front, you're going down. kinda like hitting black ice.
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Food for thought: if you aren't dead by 2050, you and your entire family will be within a few years from starvation. Now that is a cruel gift to leave for your offspring. ;)
https://sanfrancisco.ibtimes.com/arti...ger-photos.htm
07-16-07, 01:17 PM
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Originally Posted by markhr
no - if anything riding on sheet ice was easy compared to oil/diesel slick.
Ice - slow going but didn't crash.
Oil/diesel - insta wipe.
Ice - slow going but didn't crash.
Oil/diesel - insta wipe.
07-17-07, 10:22 AM
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Originally Posted by markhr
me too - if looks black and shiny when there's been no rain don't cycle through the middle of it
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07-17-07, 11:12 AM
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Originally Posted by Novakane
If it looks shiny and black and it HAS been raining, it's probably an expansion plate.
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Recommended reading for all cyclists - Cyclecraft - Effective Cycling
Condor Cycles - quite possibly the best bike shop in London
Don't run red lights, wear a helmet, use hand signals, get some cycle lights(front and rear) and, FFS, don't run red lights!
shameless POWERCRANK plug
Recommended reading for all cyclists - Cyclecraft - Effective Cycling
Condor Cycles - quite possibly the best bike shop in London
Don't run red lights, wear a helmet, use hand signals, get some cycle lights(front and rear) and, FFS, don't run red lights!
07-17-07, 11:44 PM
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While my daughter and I were on loaded touring bikes in Hawaii 2 weeks ago I watched her learn the hard way about mud/leaves/slime on the side of the road (that's another memory/nightmare I get to deal with for a few more years). She landed hard on her knee and it ended the riding portion of our trip, but she's up an moving around just fine now. Seems like in the 'rainy' seasons all that stuff gets washed away with regular rains, but in the summer in builds up and gets really dangerous during the occasional showers.
