Ritterview

So, I am going for a ride on a beautiful Fresno morning, first meet Mrs. Ritterview at Starbucks, and now headed East to do some hills.

Google maps view: https://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&om=1...04257,0.007231


As I head East on Perrin the route looks clear, and after the Stop sign on Sommerville, I get up to 20 mph.




As I move along I get here, and do not notice the rut that awaits me. The rut at that time was in the shadow of a tree, and as I come around the curve I have a window of just a few moments to notice it. The rut has been there long enough for weeds to grow in it, and for the City of Fresno to paint new white lines right over it (thus serving to further obscure it).





The rut:




Next thing I know I am flying through the air and then bouncing on the pavement landing with a sickening thud. Luckily I didn't fly into the traffic lane, and there were no cars around to run me over.

Shaken up. Nothing broken. Road rash on knee, elbow, wrist, hip, and especially shoulder. The jersey gives the idea.



Had my new Edge 305 running, thus documenting the speed and location of the crash.


Yeah, yeah, I should have seen it. But the shadows, and curve, and white line over it, and speed make it very easy to miss.

Fresno is no different than other cities, in that it makes bike lanes, but then accepts conditions in the bike lane that it would never accept in a roadway. The rut is in the bike lane only, and has been there long enough for Fresno to paint a white designated bike lane stripe right over it. The attitude seems to be so what, it is only a bike lane. That a defect in a bike lane should cause a cyclist to crash, and have luckily minor but just as easily major injuries doesn't seem to be a concern.

Ganesha

So file a damage claim with the agency, usually the city, that is responsible for that road.

oilman_15106

My brother actually mailed his crushed wheel to some city government over a pot hole and they sent him a check for the wheel!

Mariner Fan

Is that rut deeper than it looks in the picture? Sorry about your wreck. How is your bike?

bitingduck

It looks like if you hit it about a foot to the right of the line (where there's a sharp edge on the far side) you'd be likely to pinch flat a clincher at almost any pressure, and if you weren't used to that sort of hit easily go over.

Take a the picture and your bike to your city council person and see about getting repairs and getting the hole fixed. The magic word is usually "liability".

galen_52657

You hit that and fell in broad daylight????

Ritterview

Does your incredulousness relate particularly to my failure to identify the defect, or that the defect should cause me to fall?

curiouskid55

In Los Angeles the bike lane logo is secret code to the DWP for " Dig Here." That road is so wide I wouldnt be using the bike lane anyway at 20 miles an hour specialy with all those driveways. Just be glad you didnt get seriously injured. General rule of thumb is that not falling down is your job when you are on a bike.

johnny99

If you think there is a saftey hazard, then definately complain to the city. Maybe they can smooth it out a little. About getting reimbursed for your damages, good luck. Your city will likely deny the claim unless someone has previously reported the problem and they haven't fixed it yet.

Scorer75

Wow, he fell and took a beating (did you not see that jersey?) and you aks if "that" made him fall as if a cyclist of your claiber would simply have skipped over it. What a dick move on your part.

Maybe he saw what looked like clean path in front of him and reached for a drink or a bite to eat. I've been spooked by less than that when not expecting it and jumped across dips twice as wide and twice as deep, your post was uncalled for and just wrong.


Excuse me for a moment as I step off my soapbox.

Shifty

I think I had the same reaction as Galen, for me it was just that I seem to encounter that kind of thing all the time, and from your photo there is nothing else around, except you said that it was in a shadow at the time. It's just the surprise of the severity of your fall on that hazzard. There are lots of variables that make you fall and others to keep on moving, and why I might want to be more careful in the future. Sorry you took a hard fall, glad you had no serious injury (bones broken). You might think of riding with a bit less of your weight on the bars, that lets the front float over things a bit more.

galen_52657

Why...both of course

Ritterview

I used the "Contact Public Works" web page, we'll see what response I get. I will keep at it. Mainly I want greater attention paid to the surface of bicycle lanes in general and that sinkhole repaired in particular.

https://www.fresno.gov/Government/Dep...ublicWorks.htm


I could just see motorists complaining about the cyclist who, instead of using the "perfectly good bicycle lane", rides next to them in traffic. I applaud the City for providing wide streets and for including, at no small expense, bike lanes. I would like to do my part for cycling by actually using the bicycle lanes as intended instead of eschewing them to ride in traffic lanes.

Well, you got me there, I will try to do better next time. Nonetheless, even if I do, there may be other cyclists with the same propensity to be oblivious to road hazards coming around a bend and hidden in the shawdow of a tree, and equally inept in allowing this hazard to cause them to fall. Therefore, I seek to encourage the City to adhere to the same standard of road surfacing for bicycle lanes as they do for car lanes.

charlisity

There is a white wipe mark at an angle just past the shade. Is that where you wipedt he road clean with your jersey?

efrobert

The pictures don't make the rut look that bad. I'm not saying it's not that bad, maybe the picture just doesn't do it justice. Did it actually stop your tire, or did you loose your ballance after running over it.

Ritterview

I've included more shots to provide greater appreciation of depth. I think it is around 2" deep. It doesn't look so formidable even in person, but hit it unawares at speed and it is a different story. I wasn't really aware of hitting a bump, or even losing control. The first thing I realized is that I was going down and after crashing I had to look back to see what had caused it. The sand lurking in the trough may have contributed, creating some slippage action.

No, I was going forward a distance before ultimately landing. One of the photos shows where I eventually was deposited, which is marked as well by the bar plug which had come out. The white streak was probably left by some other unfortunate cyclist who has his own story to tell.

Xrisnothing

That rut is nothing. On a bike path I use on my commute, there is a rut that is deep enough to drown in when it rains. It's crazy dangerous. I'll try to get a picture tomorrow. I don't know what it is with cities digging in bike lanes and not filling them in properly or at all.

galen_52657

Really, dude that depression would barely register around these parts.

I cross that kind of thing all day long with one hand on the tops, the other hand adjusting my shorts, while carrying on a cell phone conversation with the phone pinched between my shoulder and ear.....

jyossarian

Sorry to hear about your accident. Hope you heal up quick.

To be honest, that rut doesn't look that bad. I ride over worse everyday. Even w/o popping the front wheel, shifting your weight back, or standing up probably would've kept you in the saddle although you may have pinch flatted.

substructure

Man, that stinks for you. I hope you heal well.

Xrisnothing

The picture is really washed out. It's bright outside and I didn't even get off of the bike for the shot. You can see some knobby tread marks going through the dirt. I'm sure at 20mph on a roadie, you've got a good shot at going down hard. I especially like how the road crew began digging at the stripe. As said before, the line is the "dig hear mark" for the road crews.

The hole has been there for at least a month and a half. I got a pinch flat when I wasn't paying attention, looked up, saw the hole then narrowly escaped its clutches only to hit one of the large rocks you can see in the picture.

Mo'Phat

On my route, I get root buldges. Where tree roots kick the asphalt up about 4-6 inches and break the top. Those are fun. I just use them as mini launch ramps, but if I'm caught unawares, my berries get a jingle something awful.

I more in awe of the otherwise immaculate condition and width of that bike lane.

DocRay

That's the cleanest, smoothest bike lane I've ever seen. I see real potholes every day, that's what the steering on a bike is for, it's also good for avoiding broken glass and sharp stuff.

Ritterview

It appears that no one is too impressed with the rut, and everyone, while meting out various degrees of sympathy, implies that I am an incredible Fred to have gone down with this miserable little depression, one that is as nothing in comparison to the real potholes in your bike lanes.

I maintain that in comparison to your pot holes, this rut is the tool of the devil himself.

Let us consider that you wanted to obtain video footage of cyclists crashing, and thus wanted to design the perfect pothole so as to send as many riders spilling as possible. Would you dig a yawning chasm so as to really get them? No! Cyclists would see it and avoid it. Your primary consideration must be to catch the cyclists blissfully unaware and at maximum speed. It is all about stealth.

You would design:

(1) A depression on a wide open street sufficiently after a stop to allow the cyclists to get to maximum speed.
(2) You would have a bike lane in immaculate condition and with significant width, so as to lure the cyclists into complacency and the highest speeds possible.
(3) The depression would have straight and smooth edges, so as to be less noticeable.
(4) It would be just deep enough to have effect, but not so deep as to make noticeable shadows.
(5) It would have sand in the trough, to get the tires sliding and to obscure shadows.
(6) It would be wide enough so that the tire would hit the trough, slide on the sand, and at no reduced speed hit the lip on the far side to be further turned. All subtle enough so that the rider would barely notice it happening before it was too late.
(7) You would put it right after a curve, so the window for the rider to notice it while riding at speed would be minimized.
(8) On an East-West street, you would place it on the Southern side, so that shadows from the tree by which you would place it would obscure your handiwork.
(9) You would extend it the length of the bicycle lane, so that every cyclist would hit it in the bike lane, and few could avoid it.
(10) As a final diabolical touch, you would paint an immaculate white line right through the depression, so as give the illusion of continuity.

wakked1

Or (11), you just put whatever hole you want in Fresno coz apparently nobody expects them at all.