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Bicycle accidents may occur in the presence of roadway asperities, discontinuities and other pavement failure modes and conditions. We examine the dynamics of ramp-climbing and potential pitchover by the rider when idealized asperities are encountered from a theoretical point of view, and derive an expression for the speed at which pitchover will occur if and when a sudden stop occurs. A series of experiments was carried out in which road bicycle behavior was examined for idealized roadway asperities of known size and configuration. Finally, a series of braking experiments was performed to determine the emergency stopping potential of a road bicycle.