Ack! Aurgh! Biff!

[BroDeal]

I went down for the first time in a long time today. Really stupid mistake. While riding in light rain, I went to cut across a small park using short piece of sidewalk. At the bottom of a slight hill the narrow walkway starts with a turn sharper than 90 degrees. I was dragging my brakes and was going so slow that I did not even think about the road paint at the corner. Doh! I spent the rest of the ride deathly afraid of paint.

Wet paint, unsafe at any speed.

 

[Polyarmour]

Sorry to hear you went down. There must be more appropriate road paints available. I don't think our road paint is a problem. I have no issues riding on it wet.

 

[Susan Westemeyer]

Great thread title.

Susan

 

[Giuseppe Magnetico]

Sometimes those low speed crashes can be funny and let you know you're alive at the same time. As winter approaches my daily commute turns into a vast array of 35+mph down hills with ice patches on the right days, then back up on the way home. The spot where I learned my lesson is a fast exit of one of the main paths into a sharp right hander over a rubber mat covered wood walking bridge. Instantaneous front wheel wash out if slightly damp. This is by far the safest way to crash a bike, if you're gonna go down make sure you have a rubber mat to fall on!!!

 

[knewcleardaze]

I must remember that a bike will fall over when rider does not keep it in motion.
During an early spring ride a couple of years ago, we encountered an extreme upgrade on a blustery afternoon. One of my cycling wives (my two riding buds) is all of 110 pounds, soaking wet. She managed the difficult grade just fine. The other managed to dismount and walk. I struggled to turn the cranks, as I had to save face in front of my buds. Cranks stopped turning, and over I went, still in the pedals. Thankfully, only small tear in my tights and mildly embarrassed by not having the sense to dismount and walk.
It was a memorable day.

 

[Afrank]

Ah wet paint, a cyclists worst enemy. I've felt my tires slip on it more than once in the past, thankfully haven't gone down though. If only we all had Gregorio's skills on wet paint (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jo7Y7GoixuQ at 7:55).

By the way, we should make this the official crash thread, just because of the title .

 

[ElChingon]

By the way, we should make this the official crash thread, just because of the title .

Good luck with that, they locked the previous one.

 

[Hugh Januss]

Look out they may make you an honorary triathlete.

 

[Sanitiser]

Sorry to hear you went down. There must be more appropriate road paints available. I don't think our road paint is a problem. I have no issues riding on it wet.

Catseyes on the other hand...

 

[42x16ss]

Another thing is that first bit of light rain after a few weeks or more of dry weather. It's just enough to loosen all of the crap on the road without washing it away.

 

[BroDeal]

Sorry to hear you went down. There must be more appropriate road paints available. I don't think our road paint is a problem. I have no issues riding on it wet.

Our paint is put on thick and has no absorbtion whatsoever. It might have some plastic content. Aside from the water that sits on the paint, as it begins the rain, oil from vehicles makes things even slipperier. It is a well known danger, which is why I feel like a dumbass.