You are wrong about the conditions. First you're using a google maps image from nearly 2 years ago, the little bits of potholes that are starting around the edge of the plates has had 2 years to grow. Second, I'm on it every day, and I'm telling you you're wrong about the condition it's in. 3rd, the two sets of tracks are at different heights from each other, causing some bounce/bumps which make sliding out or slipping into the track a higher risk, and while yes, that one you linked to is in really bad condition, it's at a right angle, which makes it already better than mine, because it solves the entire issue I asked about in this thread, and doesn't have metal plates all around the tracks, causing extra slip concerns, also making it better than mine.

Additionally, you seem to be consistently missing the issue, that if I didn't cross my lane on the track, I would be riding at something like a 30 degree angle to the track, giving my wheels a much greater chance of getting sucked into the track, causing an accident. This is a common concern/risk with railroad tracks, as you can find across the entire forum from peoples stories about my exact concern happening to them.

Thanks for the advice, it's really sounding like I should use the path to cross, and then move back into the road when safe to do so, if there's any heavy traffic at all. I'm able to stay just in the right hand lane when crossing instead of going across both, by doing a not quite 90 degree angle, (basically, solid white to dashed white, not double yellow), it's really only been an issue the once so far when once I moved over to the solid white some jerk college kid thought it meant he could pass me, in the right lane, directly on the tracks, but it's bound to happen again.

no loss of dignity to stop, and walk the bike across, and then get back on?

though the classic Cyclocross barrier leap and remount is something to learn ..

back in the day they also flipped over both toeclips at one as soon as they were back on the saddle..


when you get to the track turn your front wheel at a right angle to it ,

and move to the far side and come back to the near side so your bike can square up to the tracks . your rear wheel will follow.

OK, well then, it's definitely a dangerous spot for sure. I wish you luck and good fortune.

1. I'm not talking about pouring concrete, I'm talking about 8 inches x 3 inches of brown foam on the ground from a spraycan you get at Home Depot. Frankly, you could do the same thing with a stick. Only the outside of the rail where the tire first transitions from the asphalt to the steel. Inner edge would just get mooshed by the first pass of a consist, anyway. 2. Maybe in Raleigh they have more robust enforcement by the RR companies, but here in the North East... ah, not so much. Like, you think NSC or CSX is watching that crossing? Really? I'd be impressed. Fact is, around here we have stranger things just bubbling out of the ground next to the tracks. NJ: The Landfill of Opportunity. Gosh, I've got much better ways of getting arrested and hauled into court. And my lawyer always buys me dinner, with my own money!

I'm curious, what size tire are you running? I commute over several tracks that angle with questionable road quality and just get out of the saddle and barrel right over them with no concern, 12-22mph depending on mood/hill. But I use 2" tires inflated to ~70psi.

Just some words to the folks here and anyone browsing not a member..... You should always listen for train, no matter how safe you think it is, you never know if a loose freight car or cars might roll through and kill you on the spot. They often won't trigger the crossing circuit.

- Andy

45° is very crossable straight on. No adjustment to you whatever course you're riding is needed. If you wish, a slight wiggle making an S to cross more square to the rails may help, but isn't needed. OTOH, if you're flying on the curve (hard to gauge how sharp it is) and leaning, you might want to square up a bit so the bike is verticl as you take the bump, hen resume the curve.

More of a priblem are the nea parallel crossings you see near cities and in narrow valleys. These require that you secure a full lane so you have room to make an S-curve as you cross.

I always lift my front wheel and just hop over tracks with the front, that works well for for me, I've never yet crashed on railroad tracks even when they are wet.

Yes, many of us do. But it's not possible to hop while in a curve (unless you really like road rash).

Fat tires would help. Or simply dismount. It will slow you down less than a crash. Drivers are part of the opposition , it's hard to change that.

Just got a new specialized tri-cross bike. Still using the tires that came with it, 700x32's, inflated once a week up to 100psi or so. When those wear out, or before my first tri of the year, whichever happens first I'll drop down to a 700x25 or 28.

Honestly, if it's that much trouble, I would just dismount and walk it over. I'm not eating asphalt or replacing bent wheels just to avoid a brief inconvenience - no way.

Old thread, but topic is spot-on and timeless.

I have to traverse a skewed crossing (not as acute as this - the telephoto makes this look less acute than it is) and can't always go perpendicular due to traffic. I know to slow down and raise off the seat and keep a firm grip on the handlebars.

I am not sure the following works, but I do it intuitively. I tilt the bike toward the direction the tires would slip, if they did, so that the tire will land flatter on the surface that it would slip on. (For these road riders, that would be toward the left from our view.) I think it both makes it less likely the tire will slip and puts me in a better position to recover if it does. Not sure if this is correct. Traverse my crossing hundreds of times a year and have yet to fall. In case it matters, tires are mountain 26 x 1.75 or so, with minimal tread.

Now I will go read the thread :D

Video compilation from Knoxville, TN at https://goo.gl/maps/7ZAgm6xc2aT1He1BA

I'm not too proud to get off and cross on foot. I wiped out on a rr crossing when I was a teen; once was enough.

There are a few places in greater Boston where train or trolley tracks cross the road at an angle. Cleveland Circle, for those who know the area, is especially egregious. So I cope with this sort of thing a lot. A helpful technique is to go light on the front wheel as you go over each rail - lean back to get more weight on the back wheel and pull up a bit to pop the front wheel up a bit as it goes over. You don’t have to literally get it off the ground, just get most of your weight off of it and it’ll float over without getting sucked in or sliding. If your back wheel then slips a bit, that’s no problem, just stay calm and you’ll be fine. It’s losing the front wheel that tends to go badly.

A zombie thread that brought back even older memories. I used to cross those tracks 45 years ago.

Heaven forbid if you have to dismount and walk 5 meters!