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Chip and Seal, rumble strips, and speed bumps. All the work of Satan's minions.
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Here's my letter to the Public Works guy, and his response:
Dear Mr. Mattson: Just a note to let you know that the type of repaving that has been done on [name of road] makes the road almost unridable for road bicycles (the ones with narrower tires). With the loose gravel, it is dangerous, but even after that has either been pushed off the road or incorporated into the surface, the texture is so rough that it is very unpleasant to ride on. I realize that this type of repaving may be cheaper than others, and that the needs of cyclists come below other considerations, however this is a wonderful scenic road for touring cyclists and visitors, and a smoother surface would make a big difference. My wife and I will ride on the freeway from now on because of the rough surface on this road. I hope you can take this into consideration when planning future projects. Thanks, My Name ------------------------------ Reply: The work that was done was a "chip seal". This is a standard preventative maintenance activity to extend the life of the road. Virtually all the roads in this area have had, or are only comprised of, chip seal surfaces, including this section of [road name] which had been chip sealed in the past. Chip seals are the most cost effective way we have of trying to keep our roads together. After a bit of time you should notice that it will become smoother as the loose gravel is either swept up or becomes imbedded in the underlying oil. I agree that I would prefer to pave, however the County simply cannot afford to only pave it's roads. Thank you for your comment, we do try to serve all users of our road systems as best we can with our limited resources. Tom |
Your public works guy describes our roads out in the wide open townships. In the denser developed areas even the local roads are paved but more traffic is present. On longer rides I usually ride on the chip and seal roads and avoid the asphalt highways with the 55+ mph traffic wizzing past my shoulder. Just about the time the #8 limestone wears off or into the asphalt, and the roads will get smooth and fast, means its time for the tri-annual chipseal process again.:cry:
FWIW, a little air out of the tires smooths out the road. I read that the little bumps from the stone makes the tires bounce, loosing contact with the road, causing a loss power to the pavement because of the lifting of the bike. Less pressure in the tire keeps the bike from using energy required to bounce. Going too low in pressure is not a good thing due to the potential of a pinch flat. On chip/seal rides I use 80 psi front and 95 psi rear on my 700/23 tires. |
Originally Posted by LesterOfPuppets
(Post 11037854)
I still need to write a letter to the county commissioner about only chipsealing to the edge of the car area of the road and leaving the bike lane alone. Should save the county thousands of dollars.
I don't know if it was done intentionally, but it certainly is nice. |
Hey , isn't #14 a Mars Rover picture :notamused:
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