Stupid SERT

The Sorry Excuse for a Rail Trail claimed another victim yesterday.

The SERT is notorious for nasty crashes as riders on the popular trail have difficulty making the many transitions from beside the rails to between them and back again. On the sections where riders have to try to fit two-way traffic between the rails, they have to deal with the dropoff on the outside. The sections between the rails are mostly above open water or wetlands, so the trail is up on the levee originally built for the railroad. Without the rails in place, the riding surface would be wider, without the tripping hazard of the rails at the edge of it.

At the transitions, riders have to cross one rail without enough room to set up perpendicular to it. You can dismount and walk, but there's not a lot of room for that, either, especially if several riders reach the crossing and some of them want to ride it.

My wife misjudged a crossing yesterday and went down hard. She has bruised ribs (if not cracked) and some road rash. The rib injuries and attendant breathing difficulties are the most disturbing. So much for getting into a regular riding groove.

And people wonder why I say I feel safer in traffic. Traffic riding is definitely safer than bicycle racing and often safer than path riding.

The stupid SERT is a camouflaged killer.