Yesterday did a 200 mile trip from Portland, to Mt. Hood, to Hood River, then back to Portland via the Washington side of the Columbia. To get from Oregon to Washington, we took the Hood River Bridge. It is 4,418 feet of terrifying metal grating.

I'm a newbie with only 2500 miles and a few months of riding. Thus far, I've had no drops, crashes, or any terribly frightening moments. But yesterday, I really thought it was possible I might go down. Going across that bridge, the front end wiggled like mad as it crossed from groove to groove. (Stock IRC tires, by the way.)

I was too terrified to experiment much, but I tried loosening up as well as tightening, but nothing seemed to make a huge difference. A few times I thought for sure the wobble was going to escalate into a full blown tank slapper, but luckily I made it across without issue.

Is there any way to deal with these damned bridges?

Here's a pic of the bridge, incidentally:

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/9b/HoodRiverBridge.jpg/800px-HoodRiverBridge.jpg

Loose on the bars, no forceful steering inputs, braking, or accelerating. The bike will stay up on these surfaces, but it sure doesn't feel like it sometimes.

aren't they so fun!

just think of it like an extremely long series of rumble strips:D

Wiggly Wiggly!

Relax the arms. Don't tighten up. Center yourself and your mind.You are still under control *mostly*- It just doesn't feel like you are. Look ahead a little further than usual.

Don't forget to slow down before you start crossing... in my experience traction needed for stopping is severely reduced.