TR Island Boardwalk Troll Claims Four

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  • June 13, 2012 at 12:53 pm #911506
    pfunkallstar
    Participant

    DAMN YOU TR ISLAND BOARDWALK TROLL – DAMN YOU TO HELL!

    I was in a happy group of three bikers, nuzzled right in the middle, three amigos if you will. Tri-Guy to the front slowed down a good bit at the TR S-Curve of doom, but to no avail. A cascade of bikers slammed into the boardwalk surface, still wet with troll goo. Guy Behind Me narrowly missed ramming into me, but took a healthy slide to the right in the end. Upon closer inspection, while I was splayed out on said boardwalk, I noted the fine coating of “traction paint” that seems to have lost all of its grit, ironically inducing greater slippage than the bare wood. Once me and my biker friends gathered our wits, we were greeted by yet another biker who had fallen just a minute beforehand. DAMN YOU TR BOARDWALK BRIDGE TROLL.

    Seriously though, I hope everyone is okay. It looked like mostly bruises and some road rash. I recommend some spray disinfectant and a soapy shower. Boardwalk sludge is TEEMING with stuff you don’t want in an open wound.

    Oh, and can we please get some sort of sandpaper surface installed there. I know it is the NPS, but even they respond after years of bloodshed.

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Viewing 11 replies - 1 through 11 (of 11 total)
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  • June 13, 2012 at 1:58 pm #942940
    txgoonie
    Participant

    It was really bad yesterday. I inched along at maybe 4 mph thinking – no lie – what the term for a raspberry gotten on wood planks would be called instead of road rash. Wood rash? Path rash? (There weren’t any other people or distraction around so my mind was going weird places.) I went through around 9:00pm (with lights and blinkies of course) and think I actually ran into the troll herself. Jogging, wearing all black, with headphones in. That’s her, right?

    June 13, 2012 at 2:04 pm #942945
    Dirt
    Participant

    The last few days I’ve done the 180 degree turn at that boardwalk (going from northbound MVT to the ramp up to Roosevelt Bridge and the reverse). It is an interesting balancing act. I’ve been using 700×40 cyclocross tires with a little tread and less air pressure and they seem to get a little more grip. Definitely better than the skinny race tires.

    Hope everyone is okay. The MVT Bowling Alley isn’t much fun when it is wet.

    June 13, 2012 at 2:09 pm #942948
    txgoonie
    Participant

    Oh, yeah. 700×23 Kalientes at 110 psi are freaking awesome to ride there :-/

    June 13, 2012 at 2:12 pm #942950
    Dirt
    Participant

    @txgoonie 22166 wrote:

    Oh, yeah. 700×23 Kalientes at 110 psi are freaking awesome to ride there :-/

    Been there, done that. Sometimes the big suspense is… will you be the bowling ball or will you be the pin… ;)

    June 13, 2012 at 2:14 pm #942951
    Mark Blacknell
    Participant

    I’ve heard two very different explanations for the grey paint stuff, both directly from NPS. The first was that it was, in fact, traction paint intended to “help” cyclists. The second was that it’s paint to protect the boardwalk from damage at significant wear points (i.e., you all) and seal it against rot. Either way, the guy in charge of that kind of maintenance didn’t strike me as particularly worried about cyclists when I talked to him about it.

    With that in mind, I always always slow way WAY down on that curve. Bikes behind me don’t like? Too bad. Heard too many of these stories for there to be any other reasonable approach.

    June 13, 2012 at 2:20 pm #942953
    chris_s
    Participant

    At the Gravelly Point meeting NPS seemed open to suggestions on what to do about the slippery boardwalks, so if you have a specific material suggestion you should pass it their way, especially if you can point to another boardwalk trail somewhere that you feel is significantly better – something to the effect of “Hey the suchandsuch trail in someotherpark has a boardwalk section which never seems to get slippery, you should contact them to see what they use.”

    June 13, 2012 at 3:00 pm #942966
    dasgeh
    Participant

    My new commute takes me from the TR bridge straight along the bridge (headed to Rosslyn). So I don’t have to turn on the slippery, but a couple times, I’ve had some close calls with cyclists who are turning to continue on the MVT.

    So who is supposed to have the right-of-way there? It seems like the people coming from the south on the MVT have some sort of sign, but the people turning to continue on the MVT seem to think they don’t need to avoid those of us going straight. I thought it was like any T intersection — you have right of way if you’re going straight. Everyone turning yields. Am I wrong?

    June 13, 2012 at 3:59 pm #942981
    Dirt
    Participant

    @dasgeh 22184 wrote:

    So who is supposed to have the right-of-way there? It seems like the people coming from the south on the MVT have some sort of sign, but the people turning to continue on the MVT seem to think they don’t need to avoid those of us going straight. I thought it was like any T intersection — you have right of way if you’re going straight. Everyone turning yields. Am I wrong?

    If you are coming off of Roosevelt Bridge and continuing North to the Roosevelt Island parking lot, you are supposed to have the right of way. Traffic to the right has a stop sign. Traffic coming south from TR Island parking lot is making a left turn in front of oncoming traffic.

    That said, I think few people heading south from TR Island parking lot put that much thought into it. Most just head into the bowling alley without really thinking about yielding to oncoming traffic. If there’s any traffic in the area, I slow way down… I slow way, way down if it is wet.

    Pete

    June 13, 2012 at 4:05 pm #942984
    TwoWheelsDC
    Participant

    There have been times that I’ve thought about getting off my bike and walking because it’s so slick, but then I remember that my tires probably have way more traction than my cycling shoes.

    June 13, 2012 at 4:18 pm #942987
    Dirt
    Participant

    @TwoWheelsDC 22202 wrote:

    There have been times that I’ve thought about getting off my bike and walking because it’s so slick, but then I remember that my tires probably have way more traction than my cycling shoes.

    My recent falls have happened when I had to stop and get off to help others that have wiped out there. Fortunately those are usually just little tip-overs.

    June 13, 2012 at 5:41 pm #942995
    JorgeGortex
    Participant

    I wonder if WABA could work with NPS to sponsor a “power washer day?” Until a better solution is found this stretch of boardwalk needs to be cleaned. A gas powered power washer (or 3) and some hearty souls to use them could make the surface much safer just by blasting the goo off. Not sure how quickly it would come back, but it would be a start.

    On the topic, I am not sure there is any substance you can put on the surface of those wooden boards that is not going to wear out and/or be slime covered itself soon enough. The constant shade, high humidity, nature of the surface makes it a goo breeding ground for sure.

    -JG

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