Puddles and Pot Holes = Problems?

blobert

Hello Folks,

Just wondering if anyone else has been experiencing problems with water filled potholes in recent times when it has been raining heavily (such as yesterday).

Seeing as I cycle a bike with 700x23c tyres (and very unforgiving Specialized Armadillos at that) I tend to avoid them at all costs during dry weather.

However when there are pools of water around it becomes something of a mine field.

I had quite a painful fall down by the Leeson St bridge on the canal a few weeks ago. Front wheel suddenly stopped while cycling close to the path and I took a tumble, when things had dried up I went back to find a narrow hole a few inches deep, fairly lethal. I had another more minor tumble the other day from another pot hole that again stopped my front wheel dead when I cycled into/over it. I've seen a few other people having near falls also.

Just wondering if anyone else has had similar problems on Dublin streets? Have been thinking of setting up another bike with wider tyres specifically for wet days in the hope of avoiding this, do you think it would help?

I know you can report potholes to Dublin City Council as well, perhaps I should start doing this.

One final thing is I've noticed they've put in a few of those drain covers down around the Portobello bridge the wrong way, i.e. the gaps in the drain running parallel as opposed to perpendicular. I assume they normally put them in the other way so bicycle wheels won't get stuck in them but again, if its covered in water or you don't see it I'd imagine a thinner tyre would get completely jammed in the cover leading to a nasty spill.

Much as I love cycling and the time it saves me in my commute my recent near misses are making me enjoy it less. My current route involves College Green, O'Connell Bridge/St, Quays etc so it's not much fun to begin with, have started wearing a helmet for first time in 10+ years of daily cycling...

Any suggestions would be much appreciated.

High&Low

When it is raining in Dublin like it was yesterday I make an effort to cycle a little further away from the kerb and not cycle through the puddles. Traffic is normally slow moving when I am doing my commute and I ignore taxis and buses that are beeping at me to get out of their way.

Chips Lovell

While falls are always a possiblity, the main danger with potholes is that they can damage your wheels. I'd skirt the puddles if at all possible.

Danbo!

Try and avoid puddles as much as possible.

I had a close call with one of those parallel drain covers as well, it hurts if your in the saddle, can very easily cause a puncture, and, if you're doing a fair speed, can damage the wheel.

Get to know your commute, where all the dangerous potholes are, and common sense will tell you where they will be. Around bus stops are particularly bad where the road hasn't got the same strength at the edges (cycle track + Drains) because cars dont drive there, but big heavy buses pull in and cause the road to 'collapse' at bus stops and at weak points where there are storm drains.

If the puddle is covering the entire width of the cycle track, check over your shoulder and signal as if to turn right, when you get a gap, "take the lane," as in, cycle in the middle of the road away from the kerb and puddle. Most important when doing this, especially in the dark, is that you are visible with lights and hi-viz. Even light showers can make cyclists invisible thru misty rain and a hi-viz really helps.

Seaswimmer

I posted here recently about a parallel drain cover on rock road/merrion road. I e mailed dublin city council (customer service I think) and it was fixed within a few days. It has been replaced with a grid type. so wherever you see them, report them.....and as a previous poster said, avoid the puddles. You never know what is in/under them. Even overnight a pothole can appear...

FrankGrimes

I rarely have to cycle through the city centre but had to yesterday and it was lethal - so many potholes, many covered by puddles, with loads of slippy manhole covers located close to corners. Had a few near misses but kept it going but I agree it does make cycling an awful lot more stressful than it should be.

The cyclepaths around the Churchtown area are so bad I have to avoid them point blank when its wet as there's so many puddles hiding potholes and my pet hate - ripples in the path due to tree roots. Those ripples can cause some damage too.

Ghost Rider

I've also had a good experience reporting a dangerous pothole to Dublin City Council: they filled the offending crater within a few days.

The address to use is roadmaintenance@dublincity.ie.

Howitzer

I guess reporting it would be the best bet.

I slammed into a hole the other day in 700x32's - but no damage / off.

I wouldn't fancy any narrower tyre than that for my route.
I'm amazed that a pothole could stop your wheel dead. Sounds scary.
I had a luas track stop me once (my own inexperience on that route).

You'll get over the shocks and back on form - takes a bit of time.