Thoughts From A Ride
Helmet protection is seriously reduced when you don’t connect the strap–but you knew that.
I never go for a ride without encountering something that sticks in my memory, at least for a while. Some are more memorable than others.
I was headed to my ABATE District 10 meeting on Sunday and the first thing that hit me was that, oh my gosh, I forgot to attach the strap on my helmet. I had just gotten onto I-225 so it wasn’t like I could just do the strap at a stop light or something. Helmets don’t really work very well if they’re not attached so I figured I’d better take things pretty cautiously. And in the meantime I was strategizing about grabbing for my head in case something bad happened.
Of course nothing did, nothing ever does (knock wood), but you bet it had my attention.
Then as I proceeded up I-225 I was in the center lane and two guys on bikes came up on my left. One was on a sportbike of some kind and the other was on a Harley Sportster. Just ahead of us there were cars in both lanes. We were going 70. What did these guys do? They just blasted right up between the two cars and shot on out of sight. OK, I’ve done some lane-splitting, even on rare occasions in Colorado, but never when traffic was going 70. I don’t think I want to go for a ride with those guys.
Then in the stretch between 6th Avenue and Colfax, where I get off when going to ABATE, I encountered–as I always do–what I consider a true hazard on the road. For most of that stretch there is a gap in the pavement about two inches wide separating the lane of continuing traffic with the lane of exiting traffic. Two inches is a big gap!
I always very deliberately cross it at as sharp an angle as I can and it’s never an issue because I do this. But what would happen to a bike if the rider wasn’t paying attention–or maybe it’s dark at night–and you let your front tire drop into this groove? It would have to be scary at the very least and could very easily be a lot worse than scary.
I really don’t understand how CDOT can allow this sort of thing. The fact that it is unsafe goes without saying. But they do, and this is not the only place I’ve seen this sort of thing. A two-inch gap in the pavement when traffic is going across it at a right angle is one thing. Running parallel with traffic is something else entirely. Just be forewarned if you’re riding this stretch of road.
Biker Quote for Today
“Sometimes this place is like watching a truck left turn in front of someone you’re riding with.” — JonnyLotto
Tags: lane-splitting
September 15th, 2017 at 8:24 pm
If a hazard like that has been reported, and someone subsequently has an accident as a result of the hazard, the city is liable for the damages.
I reported a similar chasm on 6th ave while the I25 interchange was under construction and the whole road from I-25 to Federal got resurfaced in about a week.