In 2012, My daughter Jenny and I rode our tandem on the Sweetwater ride. It was a drizzly day, and the roads were wet. There is a metal grate bridge just before entering Morgantown for the planned SAG stop. I had ridden over it many times and never gave it much thought… but when the metal grating is wet, it is like riding on banana peels! Unfortunately, we fell hard, slid, and hit the guard rail. So instead of enjoying the afternoon at the lake, we were in the emergency room at Morgan County Memorial Hospital. Bridges 101: • Metal Grate Bridge (dry conditions) – Be very careful! • Metal Grate Bridge (wet conditions) – Be very, very careful! Get off your bike and walk. • Wood Bridges (there aren’t any of these on the Sweetwater route), but these can be just as dangerous. • Boards are parallel to traffic flow – STOP! Walk your bike across (wet or dry). Bike tires can easily fit between the board panels, and you can bust a wheel or worse. • Boards are perpendicular to traffic flow – Be careful! • Wet pavement– Be very, very careful! These can be slick! attempting to navigate a metal grate bridge in the rain 17 Dale Bozell I rode the 100-mile Sweetwater route in 2018, but most of my rides that year were between 15-35 miles, two, maybe three times a week on average. Since I had done centuries in years past, I didn’t think much of it because I planned to draft off stronger guys for most of the ride. Also, the night before the ride, I stayed up too late and didn’t sleep well. The weather was mild that day, but there was a strong breeze causing a head/cross wind the entire time. There were large portions of the ride I could not find a draft, which I did not expect. The group’s pace was moderate, but it started wearing on me c racking on the 100-mile route Dustin Stuffle