BIKEPGH MESSAGE BOARD ARCHIVE

Yep! That's one of the reasons PennDOT used to NOT put down the thermoplastic. But, it stays much longer, and is brighter.

Be careful on them! Treat them like wet railroad tracks.

yes they are very slippery when wet

Trying to cross McKnight Rd on a bicycle you are living on a prayer…

@Greasefoot: I'd argue that anyone trying to traverse McKnight (at least, in any vehicle less armored than an APC) is in dire need of divine assistance.

living on a prayer... I believe that's why Stu travels with a mic in his holster.

What I was actually doing was coming down Perrymont and making a left onto the inbound shoulder so I could grab a bus into town. I'd already swung my right leg over to the left side of the bike, so my right foot hit the ground when the wheels went out from under me, one at a time. Very disconcerting, however.

The pic shows the stripes I nearly wiped out on, looking across Perrymont and down (inbound) McKnight. Inbound McK traffic was stopped at the time.

Are they slippery when walking across as well? Probably not the best idea for, you know, pedestrians.

They give stripes a bad name.

@joeframbach - Ohhh, you bet they are. I went over and did a test slide as soon as traffic was clear. Just like ice. Take a couple of quick steps, lock feet, and slide most of a yard. I was wearing my Chrome bike shoes at the time.

There is thermoplastic on the market that has grit embedded into it. If you look at the sharrows going in on Friendship you can see this first hand. Time to tell PennDOT they need to use safer materials.

@scott; "Time to tell PennDOT they need to use safer materials...."

I'll add it to the rather LONG list of things I intend to tell them tonight.

And I'll try to keep reminding them, as they seem to have short memories!

Yep, road runners tend to avoid paint on the roads too.

Just as a control, I tried my same test slide in the same spot this morning, same shoes. Only in dry conditions. I did not slide.