George

I was at the bike shop today, and I met the new mechanic. He came from the other store downtown. We got to talking about going down and I told him about my crash a few months ago. He told me he went down in exactly the same spot. After he recovered, he started to look around wondering what happened. He said it's shady there most of the day and allegy grows and you can hardly see it. I told him it was a little moist, but it didn't look like anything to worry about. He said you would be surprised how many people fall down there. I said if it happens that much, why don't they put a sign up, before someone gets killed. Anyhow I got a mission, and I will get to it. Those are clout jobs, so I don't know how far I'll get, but I'll give it a try.

Terrierman

Wow George, there are a couple of usually damp spots on a couple of trails I ride too. I've nearly gone down myself and know to slow down and only coast never pedal through them now. Way slick from algae on the pavement. Signs, or better, a drain to dry it out are a great idea.

freeranger

We used to go down to DC/Rockville Md.area and ride on an asphalt path. Well, the path had a few wooden bridges in shaded areas. The first time we rode there, went down and slid across one of them. Guess it was algae, or maybe moss, but you might as well have poured oil on them, it was that slick. We had matching, bloody knees, that day! Gotta watch those shady spots!!

BSLeVan

When I was a kid we used to ride our single speed bikes all over town, every street, alley, or dirt road. There was one alley that went past the rear of a resturant. They used to keep buckets of grease from the fryer near the back door, and of course it some of it would end up on the blacktop of the alley. The initiation for any new kid that moved to town was to be taken on a ride through that alley. No one warned him or her where the safe path (without the grease was) and the resulting fall always seemed funny then. Today, I realize how stupid youth can be.

stormchaser

Spritz a litle bleach/water on it once a month since you're riding there.

I went down once on a boardwalk through the swamp on my MTB. I went down so fast there was nothing to do. My hip was so badly bruised I could hardly walk for 2 weeks.

maddmaxx 

In New England we do it in the Fall on wet leaves. They do however seem to be more visable in their international safety orange vests.

Scary is realizing that your doing 17/18 mph on a 3 foot wide dirt path with trees on one side and a dropoff on the other with an unknown thickness of leaves under tire. Its like driving a bit too fast on snow and ice (sorry california folks, thats white solid water that.........well, you've got the Mighty Ducks so maybe you know). Everything will be alright if nothing goes wrong.

Terrierman

That's my new favorite line. I'm stealing it.

The Weak Link

I'm glad you're not pregnant.

Artkansas 

I've fallen on algae. That stuff is so slick. It grows in the gutters because all the people in the neighborhood overwater their lawns and the pavement never gets dry. I feel with you.

Beverly

In addition to the leaves we're blessed with walnut trees along many of the trails. The walnut shells hide under the fallen leaves and await the unsuspecting cyclist. I've seen many people pick themselves up from the trail and wonder what in the hell happened

will dehne

It is a terrible feeling. You go nicely along and all of a sudden the front wheel becomes unstable. Wet leaves or oil on pavement is deadly. I had two big crashes in 15 years of biking. One was on wet leaves. It was a very bad fall. Six months of recuperation.

maddmaxx 

You can borrow it. We use this a lot in the Laser business.



We also have a line that says "Lasers are the wave of the future.......and always will be".

Yen

Uh, yeh, we know what the white stuff is.... we see it every winter on the hills behind our house. It's also about an hour away from us at the ski resorts (the beaches are an hour in the other direction). That's right, ski resorts in SoCal !

George: Thanks for the heads up about the algae and slippery surfaces in general. I'll keep an eye out for that.

Artkansas 

When I lived near Palm Springs and saw that white stuff on the mountains, I knew that it was time to pick oranges off the tree in the front yard.

Yen

Yes, our tangerine tree is LOADED at that time.

Tom Bombadil

Yep, I've seen this. And certain types of walnut shells have sharp edges that can slice into wimpy road tires.