Road slippery with oil (possibly)

This morning I was just twenty minutes out of the house, cycling along the riverside park south towards Xindian on the west bank of the river from Yonghe, when I came off my road bike after traversing a small damp patch where water was seeping out from under a construction fence, just where they’re building a new bridge. I’ve cycled through heavy rain and howling wind and never come off the bike after cycling about a thousand miles so far in Taiwan, so I can’t make sense of why a single patch of wet road might have knocked me off unless perhaps the water was mixed with oil.

The water wasn’t iridescent from oil so far as I could see, but I was more concerned with my whole left side being bruised and the fact my shiny road bike’s brakes were damaged. My bike slipped out from under me to the right, while I went left. I don’t think I was going much more than maybe ten or twelve miles an hour, but I’m pretty bruised for all that.

Just in case it is oil, is there some means for reporting public road and path issues, like a web page, perhaps? Because I’d hate to think of some of the kids or old people out on that path cracking a rib if oil is indeed seeping out from the construction site.

In other news, ow. OW. Ow.

Wow, sorry to hear about the spill. I think I know the spot you’re talking about. Is it near Xioulang bridge, a bit upstream from it? They’re building the MRT’s loop line, and the path at that section is poorly designed (due to the steep topography I guess). I usually cross Xioulang (going from Xindian to Yonghe) and head down that path. Since I usually head downstream from there, I have to make a sharp U-turn at the Y intersection, and the pavement is always wet as I reach the bottom of the decline next to the construction site. Thanks for the heads-up. I’ll be sure to slow way down going over the “water” on my next ride.

As for reporting this, since both Yonghe and Xindian are in New Taipei City, I’d go to the New Taipei City Government website.

It might be slime… sorry to hear that. This reminds me of two falls I had with the motorbike here, one because of some slime on the road, another because of a big oil patch on a curve…

Can happen to the best riders even when it’s bone dry. About 1:40 in on this:

youtube.com/watch?v=En4CuCD6O3c

Some speculation there was a biro on the floor which caused the wheel to slip (as a writer, you may appreciate that :wink: ).

I raced against Dan many times when he was a junior - he never had any problems cornering when he was kicking my bottom.

If it was a construction site it is highly likely that there was oil leakage, a pollution issue of course, as well as safety one. Even if it was slime it grew out of their discharge. Yuck.

You should if possible photograph the scene including the slick patch, the damage to yourself, and your bike if possible. A GPS location of the slick spot would no doubt be great to have also.

Call the Taipei city government helpline on 1999 and tell them. They are very good and will pursue the matter. I have had assistance from a roading contractor to repair a damaged scooter after phoning this line.

DO still call even if you can’t get photos GPS etc. Contractors have big budgets and will readily fix small problems when they have to. Plus you’d be being a good citizen in removing a hazard.

[quote=“alphabetman”]If it was a construction site it is highly likely that there was oil leakage, a pollution issue of course, as well as safety one. Even if it was slime it grew out of their discharge. Yuck.

You should if possible photograph the scene including the slick patch, the damage to yourself, and your bike if possible. A GPS location of the slick spot would no doubt be great to have also.

Call the Taipei city government helpline on 1999 and tell them. They are very good and will pursue the matter. I have had assistance from a roading contractor to repair a damaged scooter after phoning this line.

DO still call even if you can’t get photos GPS etc. Contractors have big budgets and will readily fix small problems when they have to. Plus you’d be being a good citizen in removing a hazard.[/quote]

That’s good to know. Thanks. I did find the website for NTC where I could send an email. Every time I hit send, it kept giving me an error message. Cunning.