Autumn Dangers

[MichaelW2]

I normally highlight some seasonal dangers that new riders may not have considered before, so if you are a newbie commuter and this is your first autumn, read on:
1. Wet leaves are slippery
2. Wet leaves over white road paint or smooth metal are very slippery. Don't lean over hard on wet leaves.
3. Low sun. This time of year (maybe a few weeks to go), when we see the sun it can be very low, on an East-West axis at normal commuting times. If you are riding into the sun, drivers behind may not see you so well. If the sun is behind you, drivers in front, eg waiting at junctions, may not see you. No light or hi viz gear can compete with thermonuclear fusion. Consider a detour, a change in commuting time or just be extra vigilant.
4. Debris from trees. Branches can get tangled in wheels and chain so don't ride over them.

 

[ianrauk]

Don't forget crushed Conker mess... right nawty stuff...

 

[ColinJ]

Wet leaves slippery ... Yes - a colleague had dismounted and was walking his bike into a station when he slipped on wet leaves outside and broke a hip!

I bought a cycling jacket and went out wearing it for the first time on a drizzly day. 10 minutes later I crashed on wet leaves and ripped it (and cut and bruised myself) ...

 

[RoubaixCube]

I bought a cycling jacket and went out wearing it for the first time on a drizzly day. 10 minutes later I crashed on wet leaves and ripped it (and cut and bruised myself) ...

Sods law. Im sorry for your loss

 

[MichaelW2]

Bouncing acorns are another danger but in my vast experience they as rare as squirrels getting caught in your spokes, so I omitted them from the list. Still, I was grateful for eye protection that day.

 

[Sixmile]

I would always be wary of the suns position. A fella only a dozen or so miles up the road from me was hit and killed last autumn with the driver claiming they couldn't see him.

I would also add that don't hide in the bushes. Ride out a bit so not to be in the 'dark bits' of country lanes where the contrast of light can be severe.

 

[mjr]

I normally highlight some seasonal dangers that new riders may not have considered before, so if you are a newbie commuter and this is your first autumn, read on:
1. Wet leaves are slippery

1a. Some are convinced that a little tread on the tyres bites better through leaf mulch because we haven't had much trouble with wet leaves.
1b. Riders coming the other way or overtaking on a bend through the wet leaves may slide and knock you off. If you can, try to time riding over wet leaves on bends so you've got them to yourselves - this also makes it less nasty if you slide over.

2. Wet leaves over white road paint or smooth metal are very slippery. Don't lean over hard on wet leaves.

2a. Puddles can also hide such slip hazards, as well as potholes - try to avoid puddles when possible.

4. Debris from trees. Branches can get tangled in wheels and chain so don't ride over them.

Aye. They can easily trash a derailleur.

 

[ColinJ]

Sods law. Im sorry for your loss

The thing was ... it was a few days before a 2-week cycling holiday in Spain. Before I even hit the deck I was thinking that I might end up injured and unable to go. Fortunately, the injuries were superficial and only gave me a few nights of troubled sleep and a few aches and pains. It was a good holiday that year.

As for the jacket ... it was a cheapo one from Aldi so damaging it wasn't as annoying as it would have been if it had been an expensive one.

 

[Twizit]

Bouncing acorns are another danger but in my vast experience they as rare as squirrels getting caught in your spokes, so I omitted them from the list. Still, I was grateful for eye protection that day.

I wouldn't classify squirrals as that rare in the danger that they pose. Suicidal little blighters around here and I've nearly been taken out by them on numerous occasions!

 

[ColinJ]

I wouldn't classify squirrals as that rare in the danger that they pose. Suicidal little blighters around here and I've nearly been taken out by them on numerous occasions!

I won't bother posting a link to it (it's a bit ughy!) but there is a famous picture of a bisected squirrel stuck in someone's front wheel. I don't know what happened to the rider, but the squirrel had definitely gone to meet its maker.

 

[Rooster1]

+ Squirrels - they are out in force at the moment, I had one run under my front wheel!

 

[RoubaixCube]

+ Squirrels - they are out in force at the moment, I had one run under my front wheel!

Did it make it or was it's fate sealed by a rather squishy end?

 

[vickster]

Other cyclists with no lights

 

[BurningLegs]

Not applicable to many commuters, but I have had a few close encounters with young deer in autumn whilst off-roading. Going along some single track with lights on and they can spook then dart around in a rather unpredictable manner. Quite worrying when you're hurtling along without much space to change your line!

 

[MontyVeda]

If you live in a university town, autumn also brings students. These parasites are best given a wide birth until at least November when they've spent all their money on cheap beer and spend the rest of the year indoors, trying and failing to cook an inexpensive dahl.