How to kill a cyclist 101
 

Let's see how many we can come up with. Here's the latest on my way to work... Definitely qualifies as thought in engineering if nothing else..:eek:

http://www.tsplace.com/jeep/bikelane.jpg

What'rya *****ing about? They covered the hole, didn't they?!? :)

KeS

They did warn you with the half wheels on the bike....:twitchy: In our reality that sucks.. Good luck.

Geniuses!

Holy $(@*. They even tapered that crack down so it really grabs on hard.

:bang:

paint a skull and cross bones on the pavement

You pay for that with your tax money?

Well atleast you saw it so we all know your not dead from it....so your title didnt work for you sorry =)

Noice. The construction workers are just trying to keep you on your toes. Need to make sure you're aware.

Nice.

We have quite a few of those "storm grates of death" in out town too. The kind your front wheel can drop into all the way to the axle.
Makes you wonder what the road designers are thinking????

The least you can do is buy a couple cans of Plasti-Dip and spraypaint the metal plates down.

Write your city councillors or whatever representatives/city staff you can contact. Let them know you plan to sue the city if their sloppy work ever causes an injury. To be fair those plates likely weight hundreds of pounds so it's not like a bike is gonna just spread them apart so the hole can swallow you. Still worth firing off some emails and/or phone calls.

They're wide enough that a 28mm tire will cleanly fit between them. Which means the wheel drops in and the rider goes over. For perspective's sake keep in mind that those plates are about 10' long, so that gap is fairly wide.

Supposedly it's being addressed, we'll see. There's a local board in the same jurisdiction as this that I frequent and the cycling advocate for the city ran it straight up the flagpole. They're supposed to turn them 90 degrees.

May I suggest using wider tires, perhaps?

Do you propose that he use 100MM tires? Because that gap is huge.

I was being facetious.

However, if you want ride over steel plates with a gap, then using a tire of sufficient width that won't cause you to fall in is advisable. If you need 100mm tires to safely navigate the terrain, then by all means get them.

I ride over all sorts of crap out there including railroad tracks, potholes, grates and gaps in bridges, all of which can cause a crash if you are not attentive. Granted, the construction folks probably could have done a better job aligning the plates, but it's not like you would just ride over a construction site without using due caution.

I'm not up on VA law, but this area you should probably take the lane (and not the bicycle lane).

They are just trying to make the point that bike lanes are dangerous.

Dare I ask where this lovely situation is? I've been riding over steel plates in DC on a regular basis, but I haven't seen any with a gap like that, so far. I always worry about them when it is wet, though - I always assume they get very slippery.

I see crap like that all the time here in Louisville. It's not limited to the bike lanes either.

I once bent a rim on my car in a huge pothole on I-65. The roads around here need some work.

Looks like one in Arlington on Clarendon Blvd (1500 block??) that I rode over this morning. Might be the same one.

Ahh, not fixed yet? I took a different route this am, but yes, it's the same one.. Between N Ode and N Oak on Clarendon.

Rosslyn..ArtM Pretty much pegged the location..

I saw this tonight while riding home and had to dodge them to avoid screwing up my wheels and tires. There were about eight plates in the BIKE LANE that is rarely used.

I've heard that before, as I'm sure that we've all heard that before. There are two sets of drain gates that are of the tire trapping variety that I have and so far nothing has been done about them. And one of them is right in the middle of the street AND in the shade, if one doesn't know that it's there it could get ugly.