Branch Down Across Capital Crescent Trail

Branch Down Across Capital Crescent Trail
Originally uploaded by chigginsiii

Creighton reports this is about 0.8-0.9 miles down from Water Street. This is from this morning.

Comments

[Rick Blum]

This was clear by 10am this morning (Mon 7/27) when I went through. Thanks to whomever is responsible for clearing the tree so quickly.

[Bonzai Buckaroo]

I have always been curious as to how trees know where the trails are when they lose a branch or topple over????

[Michael]

Good to hear that the tree was cleared so quickly, but there's also a pre-existing hazard around the 8.5 mile marker on the CCT. There's a series of bumps about 3" high where tree roots are growing under the asphalt. It's in the middle of a straightaway so cyclists may be going at higher speeds on that section.

The park service knows about it but all they've done is spray paint the bumps with orange paint, which has now faded. I almost had a serious accident on those bumps on Sunday. I emailed the CCT Coalition about it, as well as about the fallen tree. Hopefully the NPS will put up a better warning for those tree root bumps, or fix the trail.

[Rick Blum]

Michael's absolutely right. Those bumps are the worst repair-needed obstruction in my ride from Silver Spring to the Key Bridge, and they've been that way (other than the paint) since I started riding 2 years ago.

[Michael]

Wow, 2 years? That's pretty outrageous for the NPS to sit around and not post a better warning. How difficult would it be to put a traffic cone by those bumps? Or a more permanent warning sign? I came within 6 inches of getting a concussion, breaking my neck or something similar on Sunday. I hit those bumps and got some air. That forced me onto the rough dirt and grass to the right of the trail. I didn't want to go down into the fallen trees and heavy underbrush further to the right so I yanked on the brakes (harder than I should have, I know).

That caused me to flip over the bike. I smacked into the ground on the back of my left shoulder and then my left cheekbone and forehead hit the dirt hard. Because I landed on the dirt, I escaped with a sore left shoulder, a badly bruised left cheek, a 1" cut on my forehead and another welt right next to my left eye. If I had hit the asphalt, I might have broken a shoulder blade, cheekbone or skull. And my neck might not have fared so well either. So the Park Service really needs to post a warning there if they aren't going to fix that section of the trail.

My email has already been forwarded to the NPS so there's not much more to do with direct communication. But I'm going to start talking about this problem on any cycling websites that I can. Though my injuries were painful, they didn't turn out to be too serious. But will the next person be so lucky? I don't think so. I don't want to read about a cyclist getting paralyzed or killed on that section of the trail when just a simple warning sign can make a big difference.

[Rick Blum]

There are a few spots with single, taller bumps along the CCT, so be awake. But that's the worse section. (And you clearly go faster than I do!)

Glad you escaped more serious injury.

[Rick Blum]

Hey Michael--- Looks like your bumps and scrapes motivated a fix, at least to that really bad spot. There are still bumps, but NPS took care of the worst part.