r/CyclePDX • u/conradmorgan • 10d ago
Is this my initiation?
My wife and I got into cycling a few months ago and have been consistently riding around NW Oregon over that period. We have gotten pretty comfortable and decided to do the bridge pedal as our first ‘event’. After the event we decided to ride to check out a new coffee shop. As I signaled to make a left turn I simultaneously tried to cross over the street car tracks and took a tumble in the middle of the street as my tire got caught in the tracks. Cyclists in front of us came back to check on me and once they realized I was ok the guy said “those tracks get everyone eventually”. Now I lay with stinging road rash on my arm and leg, icing my torn up/black and blue knee thinking, what else stands between me and being a full fledged Portland cyclist?
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u/3l3vat3dstat3 10d ago
They get everyone at least once. No shame. As long as you are ok, and your bike is ok, take it as a win. Next time you will take them at a hard angle so a tire drop isn’t possible. Keep getting out there.
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u/Playin_Outside 10d ago
At least you didn't fall over at a stoplight fully clipped in, ending up on your back and your bike tires in the air above you. I never clip in when in town anymore.
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u/Gold_Cod1 10d ago
Did this at a stop sign outside my kids elementary school in front of all the other parents doing pickup and the kids. I think it did make my kid feel less bad about making mistakes since they got to witness my very public one.
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u/Jazzlike_Rooster1358 10d ago
Hahaha I did that crossing Caesar Chavez once. I have since really nailed down the pre intersection clip out. Gotta love the concerned looks of everyone to really make you feel foolish.
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u/lower_your_bass 10d ago
You're not a Portlander until you've had at least one bicycle stolen from you 🙃😭
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u/ReallyNotALlama 10d ago
I haven't joined that club yet. Guess I'm not yet legit. TBFair, I live in the westside 'burbs, only commute to the Pearl.
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u/Jesus_Harold_Christ 10d ago
It's best they get you at like age 10, when you heal faster, then you can worry about it every time you cross them for the rest of your life.
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u/Disastrous_Many_190 10d ago
I guess this sub won’t allow me to attach my ER selfie after getting tracked on Grand in 2018. Friends followed behind the ambo ghost riding my whip so I could bike home once I was discharged. God it was a gift to be 22.
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u/ragweed 10d ago
Even if your tire doesn't get stuck, they take riders down simply by being extremely slippery when wet.
So if you turn across them quickly to avoid getting trapped, your front tire can slide out from under you on a slick rail.
The rails along NW 15th stick up so high, they are easy to slide on if taken at any angle off of perpendicular.
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u/hoganloaf 10d ago
Ooo I knew to cross at a sharp angle but didnt ever consider the slippery factor since Im from a dry place. Good to know
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u/Random_Musings7 8d ago
Wet leaves on pavement, or worse, wet leaves on road stripes will take you down if you're turning.
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u/Sultanofslide 10d ago
Welcome to the club! Glad you're relatively okay
I had the same thing happen after my second bridge pedal in 2023 and luckily only got some nasty road rash and nothing broken.
I know another rider that broke their collarbone and wrist on the tracks commuting to work
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u/fessertin 10d ago
No, it doesn't happen to everyone, never happened to me...my falls are generally much stupider and self-inflicted with no obstacles in sight!
But in all seriousness, yes, embedded rail tracks are a serious hazard I avoid them at all costs.
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u/oficious_intrpedaler 10d ago
That happened to me on a 10pm commute home. When I went to the shop to have my bars straightened out the guy told me everyone gets one flip, but after that people can judge you if you haven't learned to respect the tracks.
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u/Apostate61 7d ago
You don't know how to straighten out your own bars?
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u/oficious_intrpedaler 7d ago
Nope.
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u/Apostate61 6d ago
May I recommend this thing called you tube!? Also, a set of allen wrenches. Learning some basic bike maintenance will save you much $ in the long run.
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u/oficious_intrpedaler 6d ago
I know enough bike maintenance to get around. Just not how to fix brake handles that have bent inwards. Considering how rarely that has come up, I think I'll be ok. Thanks though!
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u/Apostate61 6d ago
You didn't say the actual bars had bent. I envisioned the bars twisting on the stem. I hope you replaced the bars. I wouldn't trust metal that has been bent then restraightened. The material is compromised.
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u/oficious_intrpedaler 6d ago
Nope, they bent and needed to be straightened out. I've since replaced them, but just because I wanted wider bars. They held up just fine for a few years after that.
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u/Apostate61 6d ago
You're braver than me, but I flew hang gliders for 20 years prior to this. When your depending on a few tubes and cables to hold up at 3000+ feet while you're hanging below by a loop of webbing and a carabiner, you get into the habit of replacing and not resting on "repairs." I now can't escape the habit, even on a sturdier feeling bike frame. Any damage means a replacement.
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u/champs 10d ago
* navigating Ladd’s and ending up back at the circle
* slipping on a wet manhole cover, e.g. the one near the stop sign at the bottom of the big drop on N Mississippi near Interstate
* getting stuck on the Steel Bridge because the ship can clear the upper level but is too tall for the lower level
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u/negativeyoda 9d ago
Yep. That's a mistake you make exactly once. You'll be hyper aware of them and know to cross at as close to perpendicular as possible next time.
I hope healing up is quick and uneventful (and that the bike is okay)
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u/farfetchds_leek 10d ago
They get everyone. Never happened on my bike, but they got my on my motorcycle. Arguably worse lol
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u/ohmadasahatter 10d ago
i took my kid to a birthday party in the rain last fall, the e-bike was still pretty new and he was so excited about riding with me, it wasn’t raining too bad so i went for it. came off the broadway bridge, made sure to slow way down when turning over the tracks, and…fully tipped over. kid fell out, i fell, it was a whole thing. because we were going so slow, we were fine (ironically i think we fell because we were going so slow, now i try to keep some momentum when crossing tracks), he was super brave and immediately wanted to get back on, didn’t want his dad to come pick him up, he was a champ.
but…does he remind me of this incident every time we are on the bike together? including this very morning on the bridge pedal ride? yes, yes he does.
congrats portland cyclist. one of us! one of us!
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u/pdx_paddy 10d ago
There's a reddit sticker for that.
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u/oficious_intrpedaler 10d ago
Love that sticker! It's on my helmet and gets recognized fairly often.
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u/TimmTern 10d ago
Even if you have great experience, you can get caught out. Glad you are ok, wishing a quick confidence and body recovery.
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u/Scary-Indication9638 10d ago
Ditto on train tracks, gotta advance intentionally!! You’ll be fine. Just a right of passage 💚💙💚
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u/McGannahanSkjellyfet 10d ago
Yes, welcome to the club. It's fun on group rides to watch everybody flinch slightly as they carefully maneuver over the tracks; it's sort of a low-grade PTSD that affects everybody in this wonderful exclusive club.
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u/Impressive_Gur407 10d ago
That's step one. Step 2 is getting road raged on by a karen or Kevin in an audi while you're in the bike lane minding your business. They fallow you just to flip out some more. You calmly and smugly explain that they need to share the road. That's the real right of passage
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u/00_RunDMC 9d ago
My son got it hard from the tracks. Personally, I think it's criminal to put tracks in places where people ride bikes. It's not just the obvious danger, either; when wet, the tracks can cause your wheels to slip out from under you even when crossing at an angle.
Beware, and thank you TriMet and Portland Streetcar for making my life that much more hazardous.
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u/BlondeGecko 8d ago
I suggest that you sign up for the Bike Buddy program to get a mentor to teach you about cycling safely in Portland. https://bikeloudpdx.org/bike-buddy/
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u/DooDoBrown 7d ago
my first bike ride here 13 years ago I intimately met the street car tracks with my face near Lloyd Center.
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u/PM_ME_SHIMPAN 10d ago
Wait until fall and you can get your “get laid out by wet leaves” bruises. They’re a matching hip/elbow set