Further to the previous post, little more specific to urban highway/street conditions. One of several posts to come.
Two small patches for friction, AKA tire tread contact points, ever ride through a bit of mud or muddy puddle slowly, then onto clean pavement. Look back and see the width of the tire marks left behind. Not very wide typically. This has to be realized as we travel on variable road surfaces, concrete, great friction co-efficient, when new. When concrete surface in tire travel sections of the lane become polished by the action of high daily traffic volumes, throw in some winter sand/salt and several decades later polished and nice and slippery when wet.......usually the roads are resurfaced before they get that far, we hope.
Rain grooves in concrete help dissipate the water but can be a little unnerving, stay loose, arms gently guide the handlebars pointed in your intended direction and feel the sense of the bike trying to control you.....not something we are used too.
Asphalt, overall less friction coefficient than concrete but subject to "lane rutting". Be very wary around right lanes fo the road, bus lanes and high volume bus stops, ridges can get 2'', 5 cm to 4", 10 cm high just off the centre hump and can dump you easily. If turning right at an intersection, when in bus stop/bus lane best to ride the right tire rut cautiously to avoid the ridge in preparation for the turn. There are already enough distractions, cars, people, bicycles, signs, obstructions to views, noise, lights and weather factors at the intersection as you prepare to turn. This ridge should be looked for, and you will learn where are, particularly in the hotter weather and sunshine which soften the pavement enough for it to shift into a ridge, you never forget them. At night the reflection of the various elevations of the pavement, if the street is lit, is your only clue they are present. Sometimes the headlight can show the pavement variation.
Heavy Trucks/Gravel truck routes also contribute to tire rutting, typically the right lane, in high cross winds could get tricky if you travel over the center hump. (Highway settings)
Street car tracks, nice and polished and like a magnet for the front tire. Attention is heightened on these streets, along with the other distractions, as your maneuverability in traffic can become limited physically and psychologically, by the tracks. Crossing as close to right angles is safest but not always possible. Checking behind to see how close vehicles are behind you, then slowing down, turn the handle bar firmly until you cross the track, wet/icy tracks, more caution. Practice is the key, if not used to riding near tracks, pick low traffic times to get used to the tracks, early mornings on Sunday/Holidays generally gives you opportunity to try different approaches to the tracks without having to deal with the other vehicles/distractions.
Watch for washouts, holes in pavement adjacent to catchbasins usually at the curb, as some of these can be undermined to a point where after a rain storm, the asphalt may be weakened enough to give way as a bike tire travels over it. Bike tires have high pounds per square inch, my opinion anyway and very narrow, compared to a car tire.
A request, if you will? Every time you add one of these things, could you please edit your first post and add a link to the others at the bottom? Makes for a good quick reference.
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