Crevasses
Dictionary Definition:
Fissure or crack in a glacier resulting from stress produced by movement
Scott's Definition:
Fissure, cracks, grooves, bumps, seams, ruts found all over Seattle freeways but particularly evident where ever construction is ensuing and particularly dangerous on I-405 Totem Lake (Kirkland) and I-5 (Everett)
Ok, I just have to vent a little. As many of you know I live in Kirkland but the dealership is in Marysville. It is a 39 mile commute one way to the dealership and I ride it on my bike as often as possible. The ride is quite an adventure between making sure I am seen by all the people doing 75 while talking on their cell phones and drinking coffee not to mention navigating the continuous set of obstacles that Washington Department of Transportation seems to put in front of me along the way. I mean seriously, I dam near need an off road bike to get through Everett between the fissures, cracks, grooves, bumps, seams and ruts they have engineered through their construction areas. Anybody that has done that section of the road has to agree with me that it is about as motorcycle friendly as a 20 degree wet January morning. Oh and did I mention the tire troughs along I-5 that become rivers when it rains due to the ware and tear of thousands of cars and trucks every day? I watch cars drive in the rain through these things and they might as well be driving up a river bed. Tires really are amazing. They can channel so much water away so as to allow a few inches of rubber to keep you from sliding into oblivion, although I see that quite often too. Ride in the trough on a rainy day on a bike and you could find yourself up side down quick.
The other thing that infuriates me is when they groove the road or a lane. On my ride through Totem Lake in Kirkland they have these signs that say "Motorcyclists Use Extreme Caution", unfortunately they happen to appear only after you find yourself in a less than motorcycle friendly section of the road. And the best thing I've seen is they will put up a sign saying grooved roadway ahead but they won't tell you which lane is groove so that you might be able to move over to a section that is not grooved. You just have to know based on experience riding through the area what lane to be in (btw, as of the date of this entry, you should be on the second lane from the right when going south bound on I-405 as soon as you pass the 124th street exit). The left lanes are grooved!
So, I have it on my to do list to raise these issues with the DOT as well as our contacts at the State Patrol. All these issues are so easily fixed if the safety people with DOT and the contractors would focus on it a little. We need to raise these issues as a group to the DOT and Olympia and ask that they help us get some of these issues resolved.
Stand-by and I will find the right source to contact so that you can forward an email and also request that DOT focus more on ensuring the roads in the Puget Sound area are more motorcycle friendly.
OK, I am going back to my mild mannered self now. (yeah right! :) )
Have a great weekend and may the Sun be with you!
Scott
Fissure or crack in a glacier resulting from stress produced by movement
Scott's Definition:
Fissure, cracks, grooves, bumps, seams, ruts found all over Seattle freeways but particularly evident where ever construction is ensuing and particularly dangerous on I-405 Totem Lake (Kirkland) and I-5 (Everett)
Ok, I just have to vent a little. As many of you know I live in Kirkland but the dealership is in Marysville. It is a 39 mile commute one way to the dealership and I ride it on my bike as often as possible. The ride is quite an adventure between making sure I am seen by all the people doing 75 while talking on their cell phones and drinking coffee not to mention navigating the continuous set of obstacles that Washington Department of Transportation seems to put in front of me along the way. I mean seriously, I dam near need an off road bike to get through Everett between the fissures, cracks, grooves, bumps, seams and ruts they have engineered through their construction areas. Anybody that has done that section of the road has to agree with me that it is about as motorcycle friendly as a 20 degree wet January morning. Oh and did I mention the tire troughs along I-5 that become rivers when it rains due to the ware and tear of thousands of cars and trucks every day? I watch cars drive in the rain through these things and they might as well be driving up a river bed. Tires really are amazing. They can channel so much water away so as to allow a few inches of rubber to keep you from sliding into oblivion, although I see that quite often too. Ride in the trough on a rainy day on a bike and you could find yourself up side down quick.
The other thing that infuriates me is when they groove the road or a lane. On my ride through Totem Lake in Kirkland they have these signs that say "Motorcyclists Use Extreme Caution", unfortunately they happen to appear only after you find yourself in a less than motorcycle friendly section of the road. And the best thing I've seen is they will put up a sign saying grooved roadway ahead but they won't tell you which lane is groove so that you might be able to move over to a section that is not grooved. You just have to know based on experience riding through the area what lane to be in (btw, as of the date of this entry, you should be on the second lane from the right when going south bound on I-405 as soon as you pass the 124th street exit). The left lanes are grooved!
So, I have it on my to do list to raise these issues with the DOT as well as our contacts at the State Patrol. All these issues are so easily fixed if the safety people with DOT and the contractors would focus on it a little. We need to raise these issues as a group to the DOT and Olympia and ask that they help us get some of these issues resolved.
Stand-by and I will find the right source to contact so that you can forward an email and also request that DOT focus more on ensuring the roads in the Puget Sound area are more motorcycle friendly.
OK, I am going back to my mild mannered self now. (yeah right! :) )
Have a great weekend and may the Sun be with you!
Scott
Labels: Motorcycle, Puget Sound Roads
posted by Scott at 5:54 PM
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