Dangerous wet RAB

[Jacomus-rides-Gen]

Cycling into uni to hand in a report this morning, the roads were very wet and slippery and added to that I was very very tired and so taking it rather easy. Discretion being the better part of valour and all that.

After entering uni through a lovely swoopy corner, the road continues downhill for 100 meters or so before there is a not very mini RAB, which is a huge, slightly raised, dome shaped white painted circle.

Obviously in the wet this expanse of sloping paint is to be avoided, not only because of the wet paint, but also the copious amounts of diesel that get spilt there by the busses that bump over it at full whack.

As I did my swoopy thing round the corner a girl on a Carrera Subway got up my inside (not very hard as there are 2 lanes in the same direction at this point) though I was very surprised to see her come past. I was taking it easy, but wasn't slouching too much at this point - so she was going at a very impressive pace.

Just as I was thinking how cool it was to be overtaken by another cyclist who knows what they are doing, I realised that she was shaping up to cut the corner too fast. It was almost with a sense of deja-vu that I watched her brake, lean in, hit the RAB and have the bike dissapear from underneath her.

She hit the ground pretty hard, and slid quite dramatically before stopping. Obviously I went to see if she was ok, luckily she was, but was definitely hurting badly and will be very stiff for a few days.

I've e-mailed the uni again to say that this RAB is dangerous to cyclists - I see a cyclist crash in the same way 2 or 3 times a month at this spot.

 

[fossyant]

Hope you told her about wet corners and diesel....

 

[BentMikey]

*cringes*

 

[domtyler]

So you were overtaken by a girl?

 

[trustysteed]

I've e-mailed the uni again to say that this RAB is dangerous to cyclists - I see a cyclist crash in the same way 2 or 3 times a month at this spot.

it's only dangerous if taken at the wrong speed. you didn't fall because you adjusted your speed accordingly.

 

[magnatom]

So you were overtaken by a girl?

Undertaken if I read it right.

She won't be doing that again in a hurry!

Did she have a helmet cam on?

 

[4F]

So you were overtaken by a girl?

That was my first thought, conveniently there is no footage on youtube showing this embarassing situation. I think a strongly worded letter to the uni asking all female cyclists to slow down when they see the OP would be in order

 

[Tynan]

indeed dangerous if taken too fast, anything can be if taken too fast

she's learned anyway

 

[Amanda P]

I had a Fiesta wing-mirror-shaped bruise on my right shoulder for a month thanks to some of that wet road marking paint. The stuff's a nightmare.

 

[Rab]

I thought this thread had something to do with me

 

[Tynan]

paint is always dangerous, doubly so when wet, if yo pretend otherwise you're going to be rudely reminded

I think someone having a smash trying to pass you is even better than someone not passing, it shows that only suicidal speed makes it possible, shows that you're right on the danger line

OP is plain and simple boasting

 

[Tynan]

and not a single mention of what she was wearing, what she looked like, how grateful she was

tsk

 

[Eat MY Dust]

I thought this was another "I fell off" thread!!

 

[jmaccyd]

I do wonder if many people have lost any conception of road skills because they don't cycle as kids. Meet a young lady (er...nice looking, blond with a pretty smile) who had a broken arm from a moped accident. I asked how is happened and she said that she had used the front brake hard while cornering on a wet round-about!

 

[Jacomus-rides-Gen]

I often wonder why there is a need to make road paint so darn slippery - why can't it be high grip not low grip? I think the answer must be that the majority of road users have never used a two wheeled vehicle and have no idea of the challenges faced by them.

Her undertaking manouver was perfectly safe, even though it was naughty, she just didn't slow down enough for the RAB and coupled that with touching the white paint.