Wonder about those "Falling Rock" signs?

[Frosty]

It was this picture this caught my eye ...
I am riding across Washington this weekend (North Cascades Hwy over and US 2 back). I was checking the WA DOT for construction and notices and one project was US 2 in Tumwater Canyon outside of Leavenworth. They are putting in that steel netting to stabilized the hillside. It should not affect the ride but I had to admire the reason for the project. The 500,000 rock fell on the road in 2010. Hello ABS ...

 

[bicyclist]

In 2010, I was riding in the area of Mt St Helens and came around a bend to encounter several rocks in the road about the size of your head. A nasty oil streak led from one rock to a dead VW parked by the side of the road. You never know what's around a blind curve.

 

[Phil Tarman]

The time I rode the North Cascades Highway, I had to wait for a Huey to lift a rock out of the road. It was about half the size of the one your picture, Frosty.

On my first really long ride, I was on my GL650i Silverwing riding with a friend on his GL1200 Goldwing. We'd ridden from Fort Morgan to Grand Junction (330 miles), spent the night with my folks and were scouting a possible bicycle-camp route. We'd ridden down to Montrose, across to Gunnison, up to Lake City and stopped for lunch. Then we rode out to potential campground and when we got there, my buddy's clutch wasn't working. We figured out it was dry and he found the only can of brake fluid in Lake City. Then we filled his clutch reservoir and bled it so we could get back on the road. It started snowing just as we were finishing up -- and this was on May 8, my son's birthday, and we were hoping to back in Montrose in time for his birthday party that night!

Snow continued to Creede, then turned to rain. We hit patches of snow and ice going over Wolf Creek Pass, but by the time we got Durango, it was 65F when we ate supper at a fast food place. By the time we were going over Molas Pass and heading down towards Silverton it was dark and snowing and Jim was riding way too fast for me. I touched a floorboard in a curve and thought I was going to die! But we made it past Silverton, and then it snowed again as we were going over Red Mountain Pass. As we were on the last few miles before Ouray, with cliff on our right and canyon drop-offs on our left, Jim was out of sight again and I came around a curve and there was a basketball-sized rock still rocking from where it had fallen. By this time, I was absolutely sure I was going to die.

We got to my son's at 10:30, about a half hour after my folks had headed back to Grand Junction, ate a quick piece of birthday cake and got home to my folks at 12:30. The temperature in GJ was 72F. I still don't know whether to watch for falling rocks and ignore the road or to watch for fallen rocks and pay more attention to the road.

 

[banjoboy]

That is a remarkable rock. I've never had to face on my bike a large rock in the rock. Even the baseball size rocks I find occasionally going up Hurricane Ridge in the Olympics makes me pucker.

Terry

 

[EX Winger]

Yep ,Rock on road can happen anyplace where thare are higher elevations above the road, , just about all routs in the westrn 2
3 of US for sure , and I would expect the ame on similar roads in the eastrn 1/2 of the country.

 

[Hobodog]

Wow! Too bad I didn't have time for a pic of the moose... seemed about the same size at the time.

HD

 

[tawilke46]

We have had vehicles hit by rocks, concrete chunks or other debris thrown from road overpasses. Some of the incidents were fatal.
Speaking of obstacles.......
I had a large tool box fall off the back of a truck a 100 feet or so in front of me (I was on my bike). From then on I increased the folowing distance to 3 to 4 seconds. I remain leery of a vehicle carrying anything that appears not to be properly secured.
Even had a pizza box fly out the top of a garbage truck as I was passing him. The box landed sqarely on the middle of my windshield temporarily blocking my forward vision. The least they could have done was save me some pizza. Ah, the joys of riding exposed on a motorcycle. Would not trade it for anything....
Part of the experience.

 

[ARKNT]

Even had a pizza box fly out the top

They were just testing a new extra fast pizza delivery service. Might still have a few bugs to work out before it catches on. Then again coming from a garbage truck it may have several bugs with it.

Brad

 

[RedLdr1]

They were just testing a new extra fast pizza delivery service. Might still have a few bugs to work out before it catches on.

Just wait until a drone delivers it! Hey, I didn't order feathers on my pizza!

 

[crowbuster]

The Rocks do not have to come vertically to ruin your day. A couple days ago my wife told me that while driving our little Honda Fit she met a logging truck which threw a rock which hit the car. When I finally got around to look at it I was stunned. Direct hit, golfball sized, halfway up the driver side windshield pillar. Huge dent with shiny metal peeking up thru the cracked paint. Looks like it was shot with a .50 muzzleloader. My first thought was Wow, what would have been the results to a motorcyclist! Without a fairing and windshield I think it would have been Lights Out. Another excellent reason to ride an NT with a National Cycle super tough windshield in the fully up position.

 

[Phil Tarman]

The 2nd day I owned my first '99 Concours, I was riding to a meeting in Denver. I had ordered a new Shoei helmet but it hadn't arrived yet and I was wearing an old Bell that steamed up if I closed the faceshield. On my Silverwing that hadn't been an issue since I had the biggest Goldwing windshield JC Whitney sold. But the Connie shield wasn't as high. In rush hour traffic on I-25 in downtown Denver, I saw a rock coming at me and watched it right into the right lens of my glasses. The lens was gone (popped out and made a mark all around my eye socket), but I couldn't stop in the traffic. I rode on to my meeting with one eye closed -- if I had been able to stop, I probably would have seen better with no glasses than with a half a pair.

When I got to my meeting I called a friend in Fort Morgan who just happened to be coming to a different meeting at the same place. He went by my house and dug around in my chest of drawers till he found my old set of glasses and brought them to me. That made the ride to Cheyenne later that day much better.

I always think of that incident when I see riders without helmets or any eye protection. I've been hit in the face by a big bug when riding a bicycle down a hill at 40-45mph and that hurt, too. Eye protection of some sort seems like a no-brainer to me.

 

[gbrand42]

The people in this car certainly used up a large proportion of their luck in this one:

http://youtu.be/TfvmbDOeo70

I would have bought many lottery tickets after having this much luck.

 

[Nick Wilkinson]

That coyote gets everywhere. Beep! Beep!

 

[Phil Tarman]

This is the 3rd time I've responded to this thread...I just keep remembering things. The first time I rode the North Cascades Highway, I came around a turn to find traffic stopped (I was the first westbound vehicle) while a Huey lifted a big rock out of the middle of the highway. It wasn't as big as the rock in the picture in the first post but made an impressive thing to see a helicopter lift up and fly away with. (I think I've got dangling participles in that sentence.)