BIKEPGH MESSAGE BOARD ARCHIVE

I haven't been dumped, but have tangled with them a couple of times. I avoid Warrington for just that reason. There really aren't a lot of legal, safe, non-athletic ways to get south. As in, none.

I haven't here in Pittsburgh, but I am extremely cautious because a friend of mine hurt his leg really badly after getting a wheel caught in San Francisco many years ago. The apparatus on his leg was horrifying enough to me that I will generally go pretty far out of my way to avoid them. Warrington's tracks are a bummer cuz that would be a pretty good route otherwise, in my opinion. In Toronto a buncha years ago, I slid out on the intersection of several sets of trolley tracks -- it was a pretty big, flat, wet-from-rain expanse of smooth metal. I kinda just fell over. Because it was Canada, I didn't get run over. haha.

Yeah, rails of all kinds are evil. I ate it on River Ave back in 2014 and nearly broke my arm.

It's a very common tale to crash on train tracks. I'm not sure if I ever did it or not but I was taught very early on how to deal with them. If you can't approach them perpendicularly it's very dangerous. Pittsburgh has an awful lot of tracks that can't be approached that way. Or even if they can be they're still dangerous, such at the tracks on Neville St by CMU.

I went down hard on Arlington Ave downhill toward the liberty tubes back in the 90's.  I tried to bunny-hop the tracks at speed and didn't do it well enough. I also broke a kneecap going over snow covered tracks coming out of Frick Park in Swissvale.  I was on my way home from Mick's 60th birthday bash and didn't even know the tracks were there - I found out very quickly that they were.  I proceeded to ride home to the south hills in extreme(!!!) pain because it was 2 o'clock in the morning with three inches of new snow long before anyone had ever heard of Uber. I don't like tracks!

I crashed on Railroad near the Consumers Produce a year or two ago.  Similar story to others; it was raining and I didn't get a good enough angle, so my wheel slipped into and then caught in the channel.  Fortunately there were no cars even remotely close, so after bouncing on my hip and shoulder once or twice, I got up and continued on. I didn't break anything, so for me it wasn't any worse than the handful of other times I've lost an edge in rain or snow, but I know others who've broken arms, esp. on the crossings further out Railroad near 29th and on River.

The way I interpret PA vehicle law, a cyclist may use the entire road to cross a track. IOW, it would be perfectly legal to slow following traffic to a crawl or stop as you signal a left turn, then as oncoming traffic clears, get in the left lane and cross immediately back into the driving lane as you cross the tracks at a right angle. The statute in question is subparagraph 2i. 75-3301(c) Pedalcycles.-- (1) Upon all roadways, any pedalcycle operating in accordance with Chapter 35, proceeding at less than the normal speed of traffic at the time and place and under the conditions then existing shall be driven in the right-hand lane then available for traffic, or as close as practicable to the right-hand curb or edge of the roadway, except when overtaking and passing another vehicle proceeding in the same direction or when preparing for a left turn at an intersection or into an alley, private road or driveway. (2) This subsection does not apply to: (i) A pedalcycle using any portion of an available roadway due to unsafe surface conditions.

How do you all treat road rash? Got a big patch on my leg and arm. Stings a bit. Just been cleaning it and covering it with bandage. Also put aloe lotion on it. In a way I'm glad I did crash so now I know the problems with trolley tracks and will avoid them. Just glad the guardian angels did their job for me.

For road-rash I really like DuoDerm gel.  It goes on wet then dries to a clear air-tight dressing - kinda like a second skin.  A little goes a long way so a small tube will last quite a while.  It's especially nice to use at night so you don't ooze all over the sheets. https://www.amazon.com/DuoDERM-Hydroactive-Sterile-Gel-15gm/dp/B0002DMALM?th=1

I'm a big fan of tubular bandages, lots of pads (the non stick kind) and neosporin. Basically you want the keep the wound from drying out (eg keep it covered) till it completely heals.

Duo derm is good stuff. Just make sure whatever you do get the wound clean and keep it clean. When I was in college I slid out going down a hill in Ann Arbor on the way to work.  Luckily the lab I worked in had a big sink and hibiclens. It hurt like hell but I got the wound clean (had to pick out a ton of gravel). If the wound is clean, your body will know how to fix the rest. If you wrap it, make sure what you wrap it with is absorbant.  A big rash will ooze for a while, and if it is too wet it'll never heal - we call this macerated skin. A big set up for secondary infections.  You'd rather have wounds like these drier rather than wetter. PS, don't Google macerated skin images. You're welcome.