Some common Road Hazards to be aware of.

Today’s tip are some Road Hazards to be aware of:

1.  Wet Pavement – When pavement is wet, you have less traction and it also bring up all the oil and make the road even more slick.
2.  Potholes – Pot holes can cause you to go off course or can damage your suspension or even pop a tire.  They are also a danger because when they are full of water you don’t know how deep they are. If you don’t pay attention, and you put your foot down in one it can cause you drop your bike and/or break a leg or ankle.
3.  Tar Snakes – (These are when the road maintenance crews put tar into the cracks on the road as a temporary fix) – These cause the road to be very uneven and they can toss you around in your lane. When they get hot, they also get very slick and cause even more problems
4. Road Gators – (Tire tread in roadway) – This can fly up and hit you and if you hit them, they can cause you to lose control.  Also, these sometimes contain wires that can damage your tires.
5. Grass clippings – These can be very slick and cause you to lose traction.
6. Fresh Oil and Rock Chips – The oil not only gets all over your bike, and the rock chips fly around and hit you and other riders, but it can be very slick. If they put lots of rock chips down, it can be like trying to ride in deep sand.
7. Mud – especially in rural areas, we get large amounts of mud on roads, especially around farm fields.  Mud is slick when wet and very hard when dry and can cause you to go off course.
8. Leaves – Leaves can be very slick and they can hide what is or is not under them.
9. Animals – Alive they are unpredictable and dangerous. And even dead, they can be a hazard.
10. Other stuff on road – this can be trash, car parts, lumber, mattresses, glass, boxes to just about anything you can think off.  They all can be a hazard and are better to avoid if possible.