Originally Posted by
AlmostTrick
Motorcyclists call them "tar snakes" and consider them dangerous. Surely they affect pedal cyclists too, and I've felt my bike squirm a tiny bit on 'em but never dangerously.
Until now, I've not heard of other cyclists having issues with them either. Maybe it's not as bad for us because of the lower speed and narrower tires?
Good info. I did a quick search on "tar snakes" and there's plenty of discussion about them in the motorcycle community.
I found one discussion (having trouble posting the link) where the consensus seemed to be that they aren't as dangerous as they look/feel, but still can take you down if you're too aggressive or panic and react badly. Of course the traction and dynamics are somewhat different on a bicycle, so who knows how applicable this is.