cydewaze

I dunno what's wrong with the county I live in. They don't seem to be happy unless they are 1) ruining all the good roads, or 2) wasting money.

My wife and I have a 60 and a 45 mile loop that we do on weekends. They're actually the same ride, but the longer version has an segment that we cut off to make it 45. We've taken several BF people on the ride, and most have enjoyed themselves. It's a fairly car-free route through rural countryside.

The best thing about the ride is that it has a fun, downhill ending. The last 1-2 miles is slightly downhill, with a steep, twisting part at the end that you can take at between 35 and 40mph. Then you get a slight uphill to slow down on before you get to the car. It's a blast.

Last year, this steep section was a little rough. The pavement was broken in some spots, so you had to be really careful. So, as you can imagine, I was VERY pleased when I found the entire road re-paved in fresh, black, smooth-as-glass asphalt this spring. You could take both the twisty section and steep decent full-out with little concern over the road surface.

So, of course, most of you will understand my outrage yesterday when we arrived at the end of the ride to find that they had redone this entire road in CHIPSEAL!

WHY oh WHY would ANYONE chipseal a freshly paved road??? We barely made it up to 25 on the downhill because of all the loose gravel, and because of the poor chipseal job, the road is already starting to develop washboard sections near the curves from people applying the brakes.

The entire road is ruined, and I can't for the life of me figure out why. Why not leave the new asphalt? It makes NO sense!

angelo

+1, I don't understand the "chip-and-seal" thing.

But probably in week a or so, some liquid asphalt will be sprayed onto the surface and you'll be able to ride it again.

Lithuania

wow man this sucks. I bet its still nicer then my regular rides around here.

Jakey

They are doing that to all the roads around here... Its cheaper to do that once every couple years, than to really repave the thing. Sucks for us. Pretty soon everyone will have to buy steel bikes and run 28 tires.

badkarma

I did 65 miles yesterday, and I'd say 2/3 of the route was chipsealed. I HATE chipseal!!!

billallbritten

We've been lucky in West Kentucky, after a scandal some years ago re: chip'n seal over good asphalt, most of the county roads are now asphalt, but I've noticed a disturbing trend in the last 60 days with patches 20-50m long in chip and seal over the asphalt. Oh well, so much for a set of <200g tires and <80g tubes. Better keep the heavier kit.

cydewaze

Oh, I understand the cost savings, but it was already brand new asphalt!

DrPete 

Come out by my place and ride in the BARC. Maybe not quite as scenic or hilly, but lots of smooth, chipseal-free goodness to ride. It's about an 80-mile round trip to the Bay Bridge, too...

Al1943

Have you written your county commissioner? I've found that the elected officials responsible for road repairs and improvements often don't have a clue as to what is really going on and actually appreciate some feedback. In some cases I've had good positive results. I also have the street repair phone number coded on my cel phone and often call in chug holes. This also works. The squeeky wheel gets the oil.

Al

Biggziff

All the local, rural routes around me are chipsealed. In PA, I've seen them repave a road and then a few weeks later come and chip seal the right most 1/3 of the lane. Why do they do that?

Lithuania

BARC?

cc_rider

Beltsville Agricultural Research Center?
Baltimore Annapolis Recreational (something-or-other)
Baltimore Area Restaurant Consortium?
Baltimore Amateur Radio Club?

RoadToNowhere

Unfortunately, the local elected officials tend to listen to voices louder than those of the cycling minority: those of the taxpayers in general. Limited budgets just don't always allow freshly paved roads, and chipseal is a stopgap that can last for a few years. As both a cyclist and an elected borough councilperson, I listen to both, and provide at least a small voice for the cycling community.

That being said, I totally agree - chipseal sucks.

Beth

EventServices

The original pavement could have been just a base layer. The Chip-Seal would be the driving surface. Not sure.

I do know that road technology is sometimes counter-intuitive.

And as far as washboard roads go, it's not caused by brakes as much as it's caused by automatic transmission.

cydewaze

That would make sense, except they went through all the trouble of painting the yellow & white lines on the road. I would think if it were a base layer, they'd leave the lines off. Still no lines on the chipseal though.

MoreHills

Same here. They put down a nice pave job for one or two years and come back to Chip-Seal it. Why would you Chip-Seal a perfect road? One of them was a heavy traffic state highway. All the roads I ride have been Chip-Sealed. I have to change my routes all the time because many are done again the next year. I've never seen how this can be cheaper. I always had the cynical view that it was someone getting a kickback from the rock quarry.

When you figure in the wasted fuel for more roll resistance on car tires and all the busted windshields I doubt it will come out to a savings for the taxpayers.

galen_52657

Could be 'political paving'. In Baltimore County, all the council-people get to pick roads in their district for a capital improvement, always right before the election. I used to work for the county as an public works inspector for county-wide resurfacing contracts. We paved over perfectly good roads and would go right by more deserving roads - all in the name of garnering a few votes!

DrPete 

I'll go with A--Beltsville Agricultural Research Center, final answer.

It's an area just outside the beltway to the east of route 1 in PG County. Basically it's federally owned farmland where they do various, well, agricultural research. The upshot is that the roads are fairly lightly traveled, quite scenic, and because the dept. of Agriculture actually encourages bike commuting, the roads and shoulders are in great shape. I've made up one cue sheet so far, but there are a lot of ride options. Best place to feel really far away and still be within a couple miles of the beltway.

MoreHills

Might be the case as I have seen the same happen here. I don't know why most people would want their road chip-sealed every year. Feeling important I guess. Takes a month before you can drive at normal speed over it. Just more chance to crack your windshield. Mine has a pop in it right now due to this fine material.

ElJamoquio

Federally owned farmland, huh? Didn't Stalin try that one?

johnny99

Have you looked at the purpose of the National Forest Service or the Bureau of Land Management? These agencies manage huge amounts of land for industrial purposes.

MoreHills

And I think that would fall more on the fascist side than the communist side. Never heard anyone saying this lease rates for cattle, timber, mining, ect. are outrageous! Usually the opposite.

orcanova

What is chip seal?

SpongeDad

Are you inside the agricultural reserve? There's chunks of Montgomery County around Poolesville and western Potomac where the roads are intentionally crappy (narrow, chipsealed) as part of the "preserve the farms" idea.

It was the chipseal on Partnership Road that spurred the Ti frame purchase.

Lithuania

Pete,

let me see that cue sheet. Ive never ridden up there before. I would love to ride out to the bridge.