[centurionomega]

I rode the Marin Headlands yesterday and coming down Conzelman from the top at Hawk hill I saw what looked like a bunch of fixed gear skid marks in the road.

I used to think I was tough but I can't imagine coming down that hill with no brakes.

There was even one skid mark that went off the edge of the road. Ouch.

I also saw a millipede crossing McCullough as I was climbing up. Hope the little guy made it.

 

[txzen]

Funny, I saw that driving down there this past weekend. I figured it was either the suicide fixie crowd, or people reacting to the Park Police sitting down by that first big left hand sweeper with their radar guns (again).

 

[redmr2_man]

haha, it was my 1st time down it last weekend and I remember thinking....holy ****, am I going too fast?! do people die here?!

fixed gear makes sense now, but at the time I had some white knuckle fear after seeing those ha!

 

[slow.climber]

Which direction? East (back to the bridge) or west (out to the ocean)?

I've met people on both fixies and single gear bikes on the east side. Mostly single gear. Most of them bail at the round about (McCullough/Conzelman). I can't imagine making it that far

There are lots of skid marks on the west side. I've never met a fixie or a single speed on the west side. I expect that the skids are from people who aren't familiar with that descent. The sign says 18% but that's the average. The first part of the descent is over 22%, according to the engineers that were rebuilding it. I got to know them fairly well. They pulled that number directly off the drawings.

FWIW, I've been first on the scene for crashes on the west side before they rebuilt the road but none since them. The damage ranged from concussions, a broken arm, lots of road rash, a few guard rail injuries, one guy went out on a back board. None of these riders were on rental bikes. They were all locals who had recently started doing that descent.

Oh, about the millipedes, they don't bite or sting. They roll up into a ball when you try to pick them up. Some species might emit a defensive chemical that irritates some people's skin/eyes. But it washes off easily.

Centipedes are the ones to avoid. Those kids might sting.

 

[philipw33]

people reacting to the Park Police sitting down by that first big left hand sweeper with their radar guns (again).

are you talking about the single lane downhill part at thr to of hawk hill? are the police giving tickets to speeding riders?

 

[mcwenzel]

FYI they are handing out tickets and enforcing the 15 mph speed limit on Conzelman dowhhill. Also ticketing for failing to stop at stop signs. I received a warning two weeks ago, buddy got stopped today for speeding. They are running DL numbers.