Argh, summer chip seal projects have begun

[RolliePollie]

Oh how I hate it when they chip seal!!! DOT has ruined my riding routes with their dastardly chip seal projects. And of course they would have to do the roads that affect me. Didn't they know they're supposed to ask me first?!?!?!

Why do they have to do the roads that have so little traffic that it's going to take weeks for that evil gravel to settle down? Why are they doing roads that don't need resurfacing while leaving the atrocious roads to fall apart for yet another year? Why does the gravel have to be the exact size to jam in between brake pads and wheel rims? Why? Why? Why?!?!?!

[zoom-zoom]

Welcome to my world. I live kind of in the sticks. We have several roads that are perfectly fine and were chip-sealed just 3-4 years ago...so they are finally smooth enough to ride in relative comfort. Well, those bastids are chip-sealing about 75% of the roads I ride. The ones they aren't treating are the ones full of pot-holes. WTF?! My only other option is using the poorly maintained MUP. (ick).

[marni]

here in texas they just love chip seal and they spread the gravel far enough and loosely enough that when it is hot, the tar melts so the gravel skids, plus it makes your tires and cleats nasty.

marni

[Bike Chick]

Around here there is a lot of chip and seal and it's always a surprise! You ride a route on Monday and go back on Wednesday and it's chipped. Ugh! Sometimes they just spread a thin layer of chips on the oozing tar from the heat in 50 foot sections. That's fun too!

My neighbor is the road engineer for the county and I've asked him why they don't publish the chip and seal schedule like they do road construction. He just laughs because he thinks I'm kidding.

On a positive note, there are a lot of roads in our area that were once chip and seal that are getting resurfaced. Can't wait until they are finished! Sweet!

[WolfGirl]

Here in Madison they're doing whatever it's called when they put the tar band-aids on the long cracks in the road. Of course it's also hot and humid, so the band-aids aren't drying very well. I hit a long one with the side of my tire and it was tacky enough to slow me down, while bumpy enough to tilt me sideways! Luckily I stayed upright. So annoying!

[OakLeaf]

I hate the way sticky tar grabs my tires on a hot day and makes that little Silly-Putty sound. And it stains my pretty blue tires.