How not to build a bike path

[withm]

My friend and I took our bikes down to Assateague to ride with the ponies today. It was a beautiful sunny day, but cool, and windy. We had a nice time tooling around the park until we came to an abrupt stop. Now I have to figure out where to complain! This is in a National Park on a clearly designated bike path.

[bikerHen]

I would sure hate to come around a corner and hit that! Hope it will be cleaned up soon. If it's in a National Park isn't there a ranger station around somewhere? I would let them have it with both barrels and let the word "liability" fly freely. BikerHen

[fixedgeargirl]

Zoiks! There definitely should have been a "Gravel on Roadway" type sign, especially since it seems to be just after a blind curve. Judging by the tire tracks, it looks like a temporary road bed. These are often put down to mitigate compaction by heavy vehicles. Was this accessing some sort of area where work was being done?

I would let them have it with both barrels and let the word "liability" fly freely.

This is a slippery slope. Now, my perspective is as a mtb'er who has seen access threatened, denied or stripped away as a result of a litigious society and a lack of personal responsibility by a very vocal few. I am also a roadie, and can fully appreciate the shock of cruising around a curve on what is assumed to be a safe bike path only to come up on some dangerous obstacle. The fact is that cycling is an inherently dangerous activity, and is therefore inherent on us to be aware of our surroundings. Whatever agency or contractor laid that gravel w/o marking needs to know about it. However, it could just as easily have been some jerk's bag of garbage or an animal carcass laying just around the curve. You just never know.

Personally, I would take the tack of informing the Park Service in a spirit of *educating* them about a potential hazard. They, whether it's the PS or a private contractor, may just be ignorant.