Tram lines are evil I tell you!

hisoka
hisoka Posts: 541
edited July 2009 in Commuting chat
Well my second off in a week and a day last night. This time I was riding by the side of the tram lines, so wouldn't have to cross them, but then chain slipped and I skidded over the tramlines in the wet. So was between the sets of metal but still ok. It was when I tried to get out from between, slipped down into one line and I came off and skidded along the road.

Last week the off was due to a white van man thinking the kerb would be great to park on, turning and braking through a cycle lane, 2 seconds after he had just past me. We can all guess the long bang that happened as I bounded into the side of his van.

Road rash stings like a b*stard today on my elbow.

My advice, always avoid the tramlines!

Just wanted to vent basically.
"This area left purposefully blank"
Sign hung on my head everyday till noon.

FCN: 11 (apparently)

Comments

  • SimonLyons
    SimonLyons Posts: 203
    I ride into Nottinham and avoid all the roads with tramlines.

    I especially dislike the way near the back of the Broadmarsh shopping centre how the gap between curb and tramlines gets narrower as you go up the road.
  • roger_merriman
    roger_merriman Posts: 6,165
    a friend in melbourne tends to have a good rant about the tram lines as well, very easy to catch a road bike wheel.
  • irideredthebike
    irideredthebike Posts: 21
    Isn't it simple - just don't ride parallel to the tram lines when crossing them.

    White vans, not so simple.
  • roger_merriman
    roger_merriman Posts: 6,165
    irideredthebike wrote:
    Isn't it simple - just don't ride parallel to the tram lines when crossing them.

    White vans, not so simple.

    my underdstanding was some juctions thats very hard to do, as the tram lines turns etc.
  • pottssteve
    pottssteve Posts: 4,069
    Tram lines are not nice. I had just moved to Germany and was leaving the house when I heard a crash - I woman had got her front wheel wedged in the rail and fallen off.

    A year later I took them at too sharp an angle, in the wet. Next thing I know I'm sliding along the gravel in the road, the bike on top of me. Busted front brake for the bike and rash all up my left forearm. Still got the scars on my wrist. :(

    DON"T PLAY ON THE TRAM LINES!!!
    Head Hands Heart Lungs Legs
  • Porgy
    Porgy Posts: 4,525
    irideredthebike wrote:
    Isn't it simple - just don't ride parallel to the tram lines when crossing them.

    White vans, not so simple.

    There are tram lines crossing the road in Silvertown near the Woolwich Ferry. I didn;t have any problem with them until one day when it was really wet.

    When my front wheel went onto the tram line there was absolutely no traction - the angle was about 25/ 30 degrees - nowhere near parallel - - after i lost control the wheel slipped into the tram line and i went flying across the road. I even did a sort of sideways somersault. Luckily there wasn;t a HGV right behind me.

    So be careful out there - don;t attempt to ride across tram lines in the wet at an angle less than 90 degrees.
  • hisoka
    hisoka Posts: 541
    irideredthebike wrote:
    Isn't it simple - just don't ride parallel to the tram lines when crossing them.

    White vans, not so simple.

    I think I wrote that badly. I wasn't crossing when parrellel by choice, chain slip meant I sweaved badly and poppped between the two sets of lines. It was on the way out, I thought I had made a good angle but it was wet and must not have been nearly hard enough an angle.

    White vans = mostly evil (not all, some might well be nice)
    "This area left purposefully blank"
    Sign hung on my head everyday till noon.

    FCN: 11 (apparently)
  • N0bodyOfTheGoat
    N0bodyOfTheGoat Posts: 5,842
    Tram are evil? No, two inch wide "trenches" in the tarmac that are >5m long are evil! Thankfully they have finally been filled in, but the section of my old commute along Spring Road used to be interesting on my Felt's 25mm tyres! :shock:
    ================
    2020 Voodoo Marasa
    2017 Cube Attain GTC Pro Disc 2016
    2016 Voodoo Wazoo
  • El Gordo
    El Gordo Posts: 394
    Tram lines are indeed nasty but without the Nottingham Tram there would be no Nottingham Tram Pub Crawl which would be very sad. Every cloud has a silver lining.
  • hisoka
    hisoka Posts: 541
    El Gordo wrote:
    Tram lines are indeed nasty but without the Nottingham Tram there would be no Nottingham Tram Pub Crawl which would be very sad. Every cloud has a silver lining.

    Nottingham Tram Pub Crawl? I don't know that one, tell me more!
    "This area left purposefully blank"
    Sign hung on my head everyday till noon.

    FCN: 11 (apparently)
  • El Gordo
    El Gordo Posts: 394
    hisoka wrote:
    El Gordo wrote:
    Tram lines are indeed nasty but without the Nottingham Tram there would be no Nottingham Tram Pub Crawl which would be very sad. Every cloud has a silver lining.

    Nottingham Tram Pub Crawl? I don't know that one, tell me more!

    Well, in their infintite wisdom, NET, helped out by CAMRA, have identified some 30 odd pubs between the city centre and Hucknall. Admittably this isn't the best part of town but the pubs are surprisingly good (in a real ale way if you like that sort of thing).

    I think you're supposed to visit the lot in the course of a weekend but a smaller selection makes for a very entertaining long night out.

    There's even a website:

    http://www.thetram.net/attractions/beer ... efault.asp
  • Cartesian Centaur
    Cartesian Centaur Posts: 44
    Definitely don't ride over tramlines in the snow as they go round a corner. On a road bike. Bad, bad times.
  • hisoka
    hisoka Posts: 541
    El Gordo wrote:
    hisoka wrote:
    El Gordo wrote:
    Tram lines are indeed nasty but without the Nottingham Tram there would be no Nottingham Tram Pub Crawl which would be very sad. Every cloud has a silver lining.

    Nottingham Tram Pub Crawl? I don't know that one, tell me more!

    Well, in their infintite wisdom, NET, helped out by CAMRA, have identified some 30 odd pubs between the city centre and Hucknall. Admittably this isn't the best part of town but the pubs are surprisingly good (in a real ale way if you like that sort of thing).

    I think you're supposed to visit the lot in the course of a weekend but a smaller selection makes for a very entertaining long night out.

    There's even a website:

    http://www.thetram.net/attractions/beer ... efault.asp


    mmmmmmmmm real ale.
    Looks good, been to the first half I think, must work on second lot :lol:
    "This area left purposefully blank"
    Sign hung on my head everyday till noon.

    FCN: 11 (apparently)

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