Brun meets tarmac

_Brun_

So, cycling up Camden Road after work this evening on the inside of two lanes of traffic (despite the road not being marked as such) I was somewhat surprised to find that instead of being up right and travelling at some mph, I had lost all forward momentum and was on the floor somewhere in the gutter.

After picking meself up rather quickly (I'm well hard, by the way) I noticed a piece of Camden Council's finest road furniture had caused my spontaneous dismount...



Didn't have anything to accurately check the width of the gaping hole on the right of the drain cover, but it's certainly big enough for a 23mm tyre to disappear into.

Seeing as the bike had only left the shop floor on Saturday, I was relieved to find that it appeared to have escaped almost unscathed. The front brake lever was twisted inwards which was easily sorted, and I was very surprised to find the front wheel seemed to still be completely true.

I on the other hand, have a slightly grazed and sore right knee. It's a bit swollen infront of the knee cap and expect it'll be rather stiff in the morning, but I've had worse. My head is still the same shape as it was beforehand, whether that's fortunate or otherwise I'm not sure.

Other than informing whatever local authority I find is responsible, I'm not sure what other action I should take. Bike seems fine, but may be worth getting looked over and I don't think I've suffered anything that I need to worry about. Am a member of the CTC so may get in touch with them and see if they have any suggestions.

Great fun!

lost_in_thought

Oh no! Glad to hear you're OK though. At least give the council a good talking to...

cjcp

Yep, definitely one to have a rant at the Council about, even if it's to let off steam! Glad you're ok, fella.

prj45

What nutter designed that drain cover?

It looks like it's specifically designed to catch your front wheel, twist it sideways and then throw you over the bars.

Did Jeremy Clarkson ever work at Camden Council?

tardington

Ouch! Glad everything seems in order in the aftermath!

nicklouse

go back stand the bike up in it and take pics and send them in with a claim for .........

_Brun_

nicklouse wrote:

go back stand the bike up in it and take pics and send them in with a claim for .........

Good suggestion, wish I'd thunk it at the time. Will certainly go back there and do so when I get the chance.

Thanks for the best wishes, which fortunately aren't really necessary in the circumstances. Will pass them on to my bike tho', which is currently undergoing surgery for a pinch flat, and the front wheel might not be as remarkably true as I first thought.

woodyonthebeach

Go hardcore on them and threaten to eat the Head of Camden Councils dog. Im sure that will hit a nerve.

Some of those drains out there are full on bloody death traps. But glad you are alright mate.

itboffin

Glad you're okay but keep an eye on that knee swelling, I had a small SPD related spill resulting in almost a years worth of patella bursitis, painful and inconvenient.

_Brun_

I did the bursa in me elbow a few years ago playing 5s. Was painful while it was swollen but has been ok since, just looks a bit funny having a flabby bit of skin on the outside of the joint

SBezza

To be honest they are very common style of drain cover, I wouldn't go over them, or if I did, I'd cross the middle of it. Yes the edge slots are wide enough to get a 23c tyre down, but they are needed to lift up the drain cover for maintenance.

I hope you and the bike are OK, but I don't think the council will do anything, it looks like it is installed all OK

Christophe3967

Bad luck on this, but at least you're in one piece. FWIW Ealing Council spent (wasted) thousands fighting a pothole claim from a cyclist last year, so don't expect Camden to roll over. The judge was fairly damning in his summing up but whether this has made any difference to the way councils operate is doubtful. I believe that more money is paid in compensation than is spent actually repairing potholes...

Clever Pun

unlucky, a similar thing happened to me

I stopped to let traffic ease and my back wheel dropped right into one of those grates, I nearly plumbed myself but got away unscathed except for my pride

cee

does look like it could cause a few nasty wheelsuck moments...you will be avoiding that in future!

glad you are provisionally OK.

I fear that someone may have hit the nail on the head when they say more money is spent on arguing the toss about fault and compensation than is spent repairing the dodgy road.

Was there not a website where you could register your 'favourite' pothole and the councils would then go and fix it up (maybe if it got enough complaints??)

Sewinman

That sucks - hope you are ok. Some of the potholes on the drag from Brixton to Streatham are getting crazy - I got a puncture through going into one the other day. It was so wide I could not swerve it. Is there any way of making the council fill them in?

simple_salmon

http://www.fillthathole.org.uk/

_Brun_

Been back the the scene this evening to get a couple more pics, in the style that Nick suggested. Should hopefully be enough to convince the council to do something about it. Damn hole's wide enough for the bike to not even stand up straight.

Pictures link to bigger ones. What d'ya yeckon...

cjcp

Bl00dy hell. That's out of order. Definitely send to the Council. How about the local paper too?

EDIT: and the Standard, in case this drain is on one of the routes in their cycling section.

homercles

HOLY...!!!

Feltup

That's a handy bike stand!

always_tyred

When the first "UK cold snap" occurred in November (you in England may not remember it) I reported a burst pipe/blocked drain to the council. It was creating a 2 inch deep patch of sheet ice the entire width of my road at a T junction, and to either side a large area of black ice extending an unspecified distance depending on how wet it was before it froze.

After 4 more calls/letters (including pleading with the water company to assure the council that it WAS their resposibility) and 4 months later, and the other side of the coldest winter in living memory, the council are, I noticed this morning, trying to fix it.

So it is quickly and easily possible to notify councils of road defects and have them promptly fix it.

benborp

Does the fact that the shoddy drain cover is on a red route mean that TfL have responsibility for that stretch of road?

If you use fillthathole.org.uk to report it they'll get the attention of the right people without you having to be messed around on a council switchboard. I reported a stretch of road through Southwark to them a few days ago, yesterday the most dangerous potholes had been temporarily filled.

I used to have three comedy floating paving slabs outside my house where a water leak had washed away the bed underneath them. The council fixed the pavement three days ago, the leak wasn't fixed, I now have three comedy floating paving slabs outside my house.