I rode Dearborn today...anyone else?

I just missed the press conference and just hung out at lunch to see how it would all work. It seemed easy enough, so I took Dearborn as my starting route home to Roscoe Village. Normally I hit Franklin to Orleans then north to Lincoln.

I have to say, it was pretty easy and relatively safe. The ambassadors were helpful with the the auto traffic. The walkers were easy enough to avoid. I had to chuckle at two riders riding side by side in the lane.

What I didn't see was any oncoming traffic; southbound riders. I am guessing that will come in time or at other times during the day.

Way to go Mayor RE! This is really making a statement.

Who else rode the new path?

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Permalink Reply by Duppie on March 18, 2013 at 3:51am
Sorry to hear that. Here is to hoping that it is just a big bruise.
Did you go and see a doctor?

spencewine said:

I went down, as well, on Dearborn bridge this morning. The good news is that I'm alive, the bad news is that the cupcakes I was bringing in for work didn't survive and I may have a broken right hand...it's swelling up like a balloon.

Permalink Reply by Julie Aberman (Hochstadter) on March 18, 2013 at 3:54am

crap! Feel better.  Do we know a mobile bike doctor for situations like these? He/she could show up at your office at work and tell you if you need to go to the ER or doc or just ice it.

spencewine said:

I went down, as well, on Dearborn bridge this morning. The good news is that I'm alive, the bad news is that the cupcakes I was bringing in for work didn't survive and I may have a broken right hand...it's swelling up like a balloon.

Permalink Reply by Skip Montanaro 0mi on March 18, 2013 at 3:57am

Twitter?  SMS?  Alerts won't help much if you're already on the road, and since most people travel at approximately the same time, most of the people who would benefit from an alert will already be on the road by the time the first person through could send an alert.

Would an alert app for Android/Iphone be a possibility? It could take care of how to distribute the alert, collect GPS coordinates if available, and give the user the option of a few common hazards to select from (accident, road closure, ice, etc), making it easy to use in a pinch.


Julie Hochstadter said:

This is the exact type of info we'd like to feature and highlight real time on the newly improved site. 

Permalink Reply by Lisa Curcio on March 18, 2013 at 4:07am

Adam, how you managed to stay upright I cannot imagine! Getting up was a trip because it was so slick.

Julie, I was wishing I had some way to broadcast it immediately.  I posted before I changed clothes so I could get it out as soon as possible, but at the time I come in (arrive downtown around 8:00) I think most people are already on the road.

Fortunately, as far as Dearborn is concerned this will no longer be a problem in about a week since the plates will be finished.  There was one truck there already just before 8:00.


 
Adam Herstein (5.5 mi) said:

Ah, guess I'm not the only one who took a tumble on the bridge. I was riding very slowly but felt the bike start to tip over under me, so I jumped off just as the bike fell out from underneath. Luckily I landed on my feet, so nothing was hurt. It was tough to even walk across in my snow boots!
Permalink Reply by Adam Herstein on March 18, 2013 at 4:10am

Honestly, I have no idea. Good balance skills, maybe? Glad you're okay!

I try to tweet things like this to #bikeCHI, but that's not quite the same as a real-time alert.

Lisa Curcio 4.0 mi said:

Adam, how you managed to stay upright I cannot imagine! Getting up was a trip because it was so slick.

Julie, I was wishing I had some way to broadcast it immediately.  I posted before I changed clothes so I could get it out as soon as possible, but at the time I come in (arrive downtown around 8:00) I think most people are already on the road.

Fortunately, as far as Dearborn is concerned this will no longer be a problem in about a week since the plates will be finished.  There was one truck there already just before 8:00.


 
Adam Herstein (5.5 mi) said:

Ah, guess I'm not the only one who took a tumble on the bridge. I was riding very slowly but felt the bike start to tip over under me, so I jumped off just as the bike fell out from underneath. Luckily I landed on my feet, so nothing was hurt. It was tough to even walk across in my snow boots!
Permalink Reply by Anne Alt on March 18, 2013 at 4:11am

Yes, they're using a barge with a cherrypicker underneath. Also, my understanding is, that because the counterweight system of this drawbridge is fairly precise, the counterweight has to be adjusted as weight is added to the bridge deck so that the bridge mechanism continues to function properly.

If anyone else has more technical info on this, feel free to chime in.

Lisa Curcio 4.0 mi said:

It is a little more than nailing.  They are using bolts spaced pretty closely.  The use of bolts implies, I think, something on the bottom holding them in place.  I guess, hence, the barge.  I don't know how they would do it without a barge or a really crazy ironworker suspended under the bridge.  Actually, thinking of the ironworkers I have known, "crazy ironworker" might be redundant. ;-)
 
Tricolor said:

Yesterday I saw they nailed down four more plates.  It seems like a slow operation.

Permalink Reply by Anne Alt on March 18, 2013 at 4:12am

Lisa - Very sorry to hear about your fall. I hope you're putting some ice on any bruised parts and taking an NSAID of some sort.

Permalink Reply by Lisa Curcio on March 18, 2013 at 4:14am

Spence--that sounds like maybe ER worthy.  Dan, no swelling for me, and I did think to take the ibuprofen, so maybe that is keeping swelling down.

Skip--probably the only way to do it is what you are suggesting.  I of course have a "dumb" phone (what else would you expect?) and do not do twitter, so I would not have been able to use it if it existed.  The other problem I could see is that even though my phone is in a jacket pocket I doubt I can't really hear it while I am riding.

Permalink Reply by spencewine on March 18, 2013 at 4:19am

My fiance is an ER doc, luckily she's not working today...she's going to have a look.

Thanks for the condolensces, but it's my own stupid fault. I was 100% going to take State Street today because of the ice, but then I got close to dearborn and thought that maybe the bridge plates would be complete and I wanted to see it (basically changed my mind right as I was approaching Dearborn)....when I got up the hill and saw it wasn't done yet, I thought I'd just be careful and get across. Luckily, I fell on the less aggressive grate.
 
Julie Hochstadter said:

crap! Feel better.  Do we know a mobile bike doctor for situations like these? He/she could show up at your office at work and tell you if you need to go to the ER or doc or just ice it.

spencewine said:

I went down, as well, on Dearborn bridge this morning. The good news is that I'm alive, the bad news is that the cupcakes I was bringing in for work didn't survive and I may have a broken right hand...it's swelling up like a balloon.

Permalink Reply by Michelle S on March 18, 2013 at 7:00am

It's terrible to read of all these falls today.

 

Lisa, I had no idea about this when I ran into you and Anne at lunch time! I'm glad to hear you're doing OK. I think it was back in January, I rode home one day across the Dearborn bridge when it was snowing wet snow, and I almost slid out. (Last year I had balloon tires on my cruiser and it was never a problem but these thinner tires on the Linus are a different story.) That was enough to make me not ride on any day where it is anything close to freezing and with precipitation.

Permalink Reply by Lisa Curcio on March 18, 2013 at 7:08am

Thanks Michelle.  Obviously I am getting around just fine. ;-)

It is continuing to be nasty.  I expect I will walk across on the sidewalk on the way home unless by some miracle the plates are finished.

spence--report?
 
Michelle Stenzel said:

It's terrible to read of all these falls today.

 

Lisa, I had no idea about this when I ran into you and Anne at lunch time! I'm glad to hear you're doing OK. I think it was back in January, I rode home one day across the Dearborn bridge when it was snowing wet snow, and I almost slid out. (Last year I had balloon tires on my cruiser and it was never a problem but these thinner tires on the Linus are a different story.) That was enough to make me not ride on any day where it is anything close to freezing and with precipitation.

Permalink Reply by Anne Alt on March 18, 2013 at 7:32am

I've spent plenty of time riding over bridges in all kinds of conditions on various bikes. The patterns I've observed are:

1. Riding in a straight line makes it much easier to maintain control on a grated bridge.

2. Wider tires are less squirrely than narrower tires on a grated bridge.

3. Larger diameter tires are less squirrely than smaller diameter tires on a grated bridge. (observed on my mountain bike w/26x1.75" tires vs. road bike w/27x1.25" tires vs. folding bike w/20x1.25" tires).

Your mileage may vary.

I hope that everyone gets home safe tonight.

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