Definitely an invitation

Definitely so for someone with the handle TractorLegs.. to me however that might be a bit daunting.. not so much the bike riding part but watching out for cars.

Yeah, I'd be tightening the toe straps, so to speak.

Yes it's an invite. But remember -- Whatever goes down must come up!

Have fun.

Ha! that reminds me of this excerpt from a book my friend had on climbing: Siwash Rock: "A sign has been placed on the southwest face threatening climbers with prosecution. The sign is cemented on and makes a good foothold."

In all seriousness, signs like this are fairly common in my area, many saying "Steep Hill - walk bikes". They're not intended for serious cyclists, but for newbies, children and relatively inexperienced riders who often more speed than they can handle.

Steep descents remain a major cause of accidents. I remember many years of riding TOSRV, and later volunteering. After a few years, the National Guard, who provided medics and emergency transport knew exactly where accidents would happen. Among the places was a short steep descent with a curve. The crew stationed there had a dream of so perfectly placing the ambulance that they could catch a crashing rider on the fly. Of course that never happened, but they did have crashers come to rest within a few yards, which saved some walking.

That's my experience too - I used to ride "The Courage Classic", a three day tour in the Colorado Rockies that benefitted the Children's Hospital. The crashes (quite rare, actually) were on the downhill portions . . .

yep. my life-long summer vacation spot, mackinac island, has many such signs because the car-free tourist-mecca island is inundated with inexperienced bike riders every summer, many of whom are midwestern flat-landers who don't even know what a steep hill is, much less how to safely ride a bicycle down one.

turkey hill, pictured below, is extremely steep and has a very tight radius curve that wraps around the bluff to the left as it drops, but it's also only about 100' of vertical drop, so it's not that long. any experienced cyclist on a bike with functioning brakes could get down it no problem. i have done so dozens, perhaps even hundreds, of times, but for the uninitiated. . . . .

At least the message is clear (at least to English readers), unlike signs that try to depict the situation.

At first glance, the placement of the sign made it kind of funny. But I think the meaning is clear to anyone driving a bike or car on the bridge. But I agree that "bicycles keep left, cars keep right" might be clearer.

To me it's clearer: if you wanna drive a car, it better be amphibious

I didn't see the hill in the OP's picture. I assume it's there, somewhere.

I live in the Alps where we have more than a few steep hills. No warning signs for cyclists, though. OTOH, there are lots of warning signs about cliffs for skiers. I guess skiers have less sense than cyclists.

It's about expectations and deviation from the norm. I wouldn't expect hill warnings in hilly or mountainous areas, just as I wouldn't expect "warning, sharp edges" on a knife.

OTOH- skiers might need notice that a slope is changing to a cliff.

Yes, that was my initial reaction. But then I figured that the sign's placement along the span implied something different.

it's interesting that the sign has no indication whether it's UPhill or down. i've often been seriously concerned either way.

Bikes are like trucks, uphills present no danger, only added effort. It's the downhills that call for warning. Ever see a "dangerous climb, use low gear" sign on the road?

BTW- IME inexperienced cyclists never need to be told to dismount and walk on climbs, for the obvious reason.

As part of your commute one would hope after taking the route for a week or so

you would have a good idea of the cornering speed you need to come down to

in order to not highside out into space. surface , sand and such in the corner would be a variable to bear in mind.


town grid here is Re-paved over landslides after they settle for a while..

The first time I had an opportunity to ride downhill on a steep, twisty road (Vitae Springs outside of Salem) I was astonished at how well my Fargo handled. It was easy to get around the corners, even easier than on my old Triumph Bonneville which I still consider a good handling motorcycle. I wouldn't want to ride the other way, though.