Steel plates, white stripes, grooved pavement

standup · Post by **standup** » Mon Jun 23, 2008 3:55 pm

So I've got a brand-new buddy 50. I spent the weekend bopping around adjoining neighborhoods in the city and rehearsing part of my commute, putting a grand total of 50 mi. on it.

The motorcycle safety course is on my radar, but haven't signed up yet.

Commuted to work this morning because I couldn't resist. I'm now hyper-aware of the road surface. Potholes that can make the suspension bottom out! Once or twice in the last few days!

City streets in Baltimore are rough. I assume steel plates covering holes are most dangerous if they're wet and very slick. True/false?

And this morning's route took me over an old drawbridge. The section that used to raise is a steel grid, open below. Teeth on the edges of the grid sections. I could feel it grabbing the tire, but I had enough forward motion that it didn't feel risky.

And old trolley tracks! There's one that crosses my route at a really long angle, and there's no way to cross perpendicular without stopping.

What else. Trying to vary the throttle and go easy, but some of my route is on roads that really do move at around 40, so on a 50cc scooter I'm running the throttle pretty high. I avoid going all the way to the top, but it feels hazardous to drop back to 30 mph.

Any thoughts on road surface hazards? Should I go around the big steel plates? Is the drawbridge risky?

siobhan · Post by **siobhan** » Mon Jun 23, 2008 4:01 pm

Wet steel plates = super slippery! Try to find a way around them. Even dry plates cause me to sloooooow down.

Trolley tracks are also dangerous...again, I would try to find a perpendicular way over them as you don't want one of your tires getting stuck.

As for the drawbridge...yikes on your first time out! You must have a good head on ya!

Is there another route you could find to avoid all/most of these things? Even if it's longer, it would be safer.

Just my 2 cents...welcome!

paige · Post by **paige** » Mon Jun 23, 2008 4:28 pm

Painted stripes, grated bridges, metal plates...all challenges for scooters. Just be aware and you should be fine. The advice I have for trolley tracks is: if you can't cross them perpendicular, try crossing one rail at a time. Sounds awkward, but it works. Cross one rail at as much of a perpindicular as you can, then ride in the space between until you are ready for the next little jig to get over the second rail. Also a good method is to practice evasive maneuvers in a parking lot.

Peby01 · Post by **Peby01** » Mon Jun 23, 2008 4:39 pm

Congrats of the new Buddy!!

I know that Baltimore City can be a real pain driving in a cage, it's even worse on a scooter! I am finding out the closer I get to the city, the more people are "rude" to us scooter enthusiasts.

I rode my 50 from Harford County all the way to Highlandtown! It was a great ride, if not a little scary. I had to go over a few steel plates and actually had to stop on one. It was dry out but I slide a little. (maybe oil from other cars???)

From my experience riding around Baltimore, no matter what road you take, they are "improving" the roads. So just be careful and use your best judgment - you seem to have a good grasp of scootering already!

Maybe I will see you around.

standup · Post by **standup** » Mon Jun 23, 2008 5:38 pm

I'm trying to plan a smart route through South Baltimore, and the old drawbridge is actually taking the long way.

Looking at the Baltimore city crime map for the last year, there are a couple of hotspots I'm trying to avoid. Who wants to be scooter-jacked at a light? I picked the crime area that's more about car break-ins and stealing stuff out of somebody's yard, skirting the one that tends to have robberies and armed assaults.

Of course, crime is lower by far outside the city limits, and I've been living within the city limits for years. But I know my neighborhood and the surrounding areas pretty well. The backroad scooter commute is new ground for the most part.

Crime is a moving target, but the drawbridge grate is there everyday. Tough call.

I like the drawbridge route, though, it takes me along a riverside and through some wetlands. Nice ride.

xtetra · Post by **xtetra** » Mon Jun 23, 2008 5:43 pm

I try and force myself to relax on scarified pavement and steel grating. The scoot or bike does wander a bit but its not too hard to maintain a general lane position.

Still can be un-nerving no batter how many times I go over it though.

On other road hazards.... I took the very back way to a wedding this weekend. Following any sort of farm vehicle....watch out!

Unless you have horse police in Baltimore you shouldn't need to worry about this one.

illnoise · Post by **illnoise** » Mon Jun 23, 2008 6:03 pm

City streets in Baltimore are rough. I assume steel plates covering holes are most dangerous if they're wet and very slick. True/false?

True, very true.

The section that used to raise is a steel grid, open below. Teeth on the edges of the grid sections. I could feel it grabbing the tire, but I had enough forward motion that it didn't feel risky.

yeah, in that case, it's usually feels scarier than it is. Just stay calm, ease up on the bars, and let the bike take you across.

And old trolley tracks! There's one that crosses my route at a really long angle, and there's no way to cross perpendicular without stopping.

Then stop. those will kill you. The only time I ever crashed was when I pinned my tire in a trolley track. Cross as perpendicularly as you can, if you can't, stop and walk it over.

As far as potholes and manholes, if you've got the space, avoid them. If they sneak up on you, unless it's just something that's very clearly going to make you crash (open manhole), try to keep your line and hit it straight-on in the middle, put your weight on your feet and get a good grip (but not a deathgrip) on the bars and keep your speed and you'll be OK. Sometimes swerving is more dangerous than hitting it. Check your wheels and tires asap, though, it's easy to bend a rim or blow out a tire on something like that.

EP_scoot · Post by **EP_scoot** » Mon Jun 23, 2008 6:21 pm

In addition to all the problem areas already mentioned, here are some other things you need to keep an eye on:

- "grease strips"; these are the snake like tar strips the road work crews apply to cover cracks on blacktop. Usually they have white toilet paper on them when they first apply them. Slippery on hot weather and wet conditions.

- wet leafs; not so much of a problem now, but keep an eye for those during the Fall. Also later in the summer if fall comes early and there are trees dropping their leafs, but sprinklers are still going on. It could be a nice day, but the sprinkler runoff might have made leaves on the road wet.

- if there is road construction or repaving, keep an eye for changes in the pavement or a drop in the pavement from the old surface to the new surface. Stay away from where the 2 surfaces meet as the edge is about 2"-3" tall. You don't want to be anywhere near that.

- stay away from the center of the lane on stop lights/signs. That is where you will find the most concentration of oil, grease, fuel from idling cars/trucks. You don't want that gunk on your tires or to loose your footing when you put your feet down.

I think that is why most scooterist like coffe so much . . . we ride in a dangerous world, STAY AWAKE FOR IT ! Ha !

illnoise · Post by **illnoise** » Mon Jun 23, 2008 7:49 pm

EP_scoot wrote:Igrease strips"; these are the snake like tar strips the road work crews apply to cover cracks on blacktop. Usually they have white toilet paper on them when they first apply them. Slippery on hot weather and wet conditions.

I always thought the "Grease strip" was the darker patch in the middle of the lane that you talk about later. But I could be wrong. One of my not-so-PC friends calls those tar patches "the Koran" because it sort of looks like Arabic writing when they go nuts with it.

All your points are great though. One more: don't forget that the road gets crazy slick just as it starts to rain or drizzle, that water mixing with the grease and oil on the road is nasty, once it's rained hard for a while, the roads are actually LESS slick.

And don't ride through standing water, or use extreme caution if you can't avoid it, you never know what's under there.

apetit · Post by **apetit** » Mon Jun 23, 2008 9:36 pm

Read "Proficient Motorcycling" by David Hough. He goes into these traps and many more; He also gives information on avoiding and surviving them.

anthony

Post by **ericalm** » Mon Jun 23, 2008 9:50 pm

Before I started commuting to work when I first started scootering, I rode my routes several times on weekends and low-traffic hours. Even though you've jumped in head first, I still recommend doing this, especially if changing your route.

As most of us have learned, the topography of a street is much more important when you're on a scoot. Over time, I learned where all the seams in the road stop and start and where all the various holes and hazards are.

7eregrine · Post by **7eregrine** » Mon Jun 23, 2008 11:10 pm

apetit wrote:Read "Proficient Motorcycling" by David Hough. He goes into these traps and many more; He also gives information on avoiding and surviving them.

anthony

2nd that book. Got mine 2 days ago and I can't put it down. Almost done with it.

At the very least, pick up the Motorcycle book from your local DMV. Everything you asked about is mentioned in that book...

Modern Buddy

Steel plates, white stripes, grooved pavement

Steel plates, white stripes, grooved pavement

Re: Steel plates, white stripes, grooved pavement