Speed bumps at Ox Bow

[John Yoder]

I’ve told you earlier that I thought the speed bumps at Ox Bow were dangerous, and seeing (or not seeing them) again this morning made me want to pass along a list of their problems.

 

1. This morning around 10 a.m. when I rode the loop, I noticed more than before how hard they are to see in the deep shade of the trees. There wasn’t a cloud in the sky, and I know they are coming, yet three of them surprised me. I went around two and hopped over the another because it came up on me before I could go around it. If you wonder why cyclists will fall from these speed bumps, this is the primary reason: they are hard to see. Painting them yellow doesn’t make them visible in the shade.
2. The best way to deal with them for me is to go around them, but you have to be going slow and “thread-the-needle” of the five inches of asphalt to make it smoothly. Less skilled riders would likely go off the pavement where they are in danger of falling from hitting the pavement when the try to get back on the road.  
3. The speed bumps are a barrier for all bicycles, but more so for trikes and tandems.  My wife refuses to ride the route because it is so difficult to go around the speed bumps on her recumbent trike. I haven’t tried them with our tandem, but my sense is that it would be virtually impossible to thread-the-needle of narrow pavement on the side to go around. You can’t line up the back wheel to go around, even if you succeed with the front wheel. And a tandem captain cannot lift the front wheel to jump the bump as I did on my single this morning. They put up real barriers for trikes and tandems.
4. A single rider at slow or moderate speed who hits the bump at an angle of less than 90 degrees has a good chance of falling.
5. A single rider who hits the bump at a right angle while going 15-20 mph is in danger of fall because the jolt can easily turn the wheel.

 

The speed bumps are a menace to cyclists and so unnecessary. Take a look at the speed bumps at Greencroft Goshen. They slow the cars and provide a smooth path for cyclists, too. Of course, they are more expensive than a metal strip, but what you have is a liability and stain on the reputation of the park department.

 

John Yoder

Yoder...@gmail.com

574-596-4299