Originally Posted by Prowler

^^^^^ Just like on a motorcycle. Just like black ice and loose gravel. Chop the power, pull the clutch and coast straight across. No turns.

Originally Posted by MNebiker

Glad to hear the OP is on the mend. I sympathize with him - I broke 2 ribs on a bridge last fall. Not wet - long story for another time . . .

I find that a big hazard is the transition from trail to bridge. That strip of metal or wood is usually not even with either the trail or the deck. To make it worse, the trail surface often settles. The result is a severe bump that you need to hit straight on or it will toss you off line. This can be a bit sticky as several bridges have a curved approach.

Several bridges on the local trails are steeply arched like something you would find in a Japanese garden. Pretty, but no fun to ride over. There is no smooth transition - the arch starts abruptly and there is no hope of coasting across. You need to shift down and pedal hard - then you have the sharp downslope that may have a quick turn or rough transiton. A couple are short but have a steep arch and no railings.

These trail are heavily wooded, so wet leaves in fall add to the problem.

Like rumrunn, I hate the posts. My mind tells me there is plenty of room, but . . . .

And as the pix shows, bridges seem to be wonderful spots to rest, take pix, fish, etc.

Originally Posted by Miele Man

Another area that often has a raised ridge (at least in t he area I live in) is a newly pave or repaved road. They put down one layer of pavement and it might be a year or more before they add the second layer of pavement. The result is that there is a ridge a couple of inches high where the pavement meets the curb. This is dangerous to a bicyclist who is turning into a driveway or parking lot. If you don't hit that ridge nearly head on (similar to riding over railway or LRT tracks) your front wheel can get deflected and down you go.

Originally Posted by Milton Keynes

I hate bollards. Local town near me has a walking/riding trail with not one, but two bollards on each end of each bridge on the trail, making it even more narrow to ride between. It's a stupid way to keep vehicles off the bridges when just one bollard in the middle would have been fine.

Originally Posted by Troul

one can assume that the purpose for those dual bollards is to "slow those awful cyclists down" because there's no other reason for having two when just one would cover the width to separate the path enough from a motorist thinking it's wide enough to fit thru...

Originally Posted by Troul

one can assume that the purpose for those dual bollards is to "slow those awful cyclists down" because there's no other reason for having two when just one would cover the width to separate the path enough from a motorist thinking it's wide enough to fit thru...