Marbles of Death! A658

[JKW]

Just a warning. Today those lovely people at the Highways Agency (or Leeds City Council - whichever ) have decided to 'resurface' the A658 Harrogate Road from Leeds Bradford Airport through to the top of Poole Bank.

'Resurface' means 'spray down some tar and dump an inch's depth of pea-sized gravel on top of it'. So the entire stretch of road is a nightmare for 4 wheels never mind 2. There are massive heaps formed already at all junctions and in lines down the road and visibility is down to about 100 yards with all the dust.

Avoid if possible folks and go careful!

 

[AdamA]

Gelände Straße
There's that adventurous spirit...

 

[JKW]

Gelände Straße
There's that adventurous spirit...

NOT on an effing RT me old chum.

 

[phooey]

Just a warning. Today those lovely people at the Highways Agency (or Leeds City Council - whichever ) have decided to 'resurface' the A658 Harrogate Road.

'Resurface' means 'spray down some tar and dump an inch's depth of pea-sized gravel on top of it'.

This can be an opportunity to practice your bike handling skills on loose surfaces. Do it sensibly, don't throw chippings up at other vehicles and DON'T exceed you capabilities.
In essence its no different to a wet road surface.
Go enjoy !

 

[Jacal]

This is a public highway and we're talking practicing bike handling skills on loose surfaces

 

[cookie]

In essence its no different to a wet road surface.

it's completely different.

that kind of "resurfacing" should be banned. it's a frigging nightmare to ride on.

 

[AdamA]

This is a public highway

so is this:

and we're talking practicing bike handling skills on loose surfaces

So it's not a loose surface then?

 

[AdamA]

it's completely different.

that kind of "resurfacing" should be banned. it's a frigging nightmare to ride on.

He did say "in essence" not it's the same thing.
Riding in the wet and riding on the loose require the use of very similar if not identical skills and techniques. Both are perfectly safe to ride in/on if you can get your head around it.
This is a completely gravel track on GSAs with road tyres (Tourance and trail attack IIRC).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oPe1PQ9HaBA

 

[Dahoum]

Gelände Straße
There's that adventurous spirit...

Dummen Kommentare
There's that UKGSer spirit

 

[rce]

Hate the stuff, downright dangerous, especially after the first couple of days and the cars have sped back up to near normal speeds. Trying to turn right with traffic barrelling down on you through a mound of gravel is no fun.

Here is what happened to four of us when they re-opened a chipped road too soon.


Ended up having four bikes recovered and new tyres all round.

 

[cookie]

He did say "in essence" not it's the same thing.
Riding in the wet and riding on the loose require the use of very similar if not identical skills and techniques. Both are perfectly safe to ride in/on if you can get your head around it.
This is a completely gravel track on GSAs with road tyres (Tourance and trail attack IIRC).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oPe1PQ9HaBA

i still maintain it's completely different. you can easily just go straight on a wet road with no input. not so on gravel.

it's possible to (almost?) get a foot peg down on a wet road. try that on gravel.

the skills required to travel the two surfaces are utterly different.

 

[The Grey One]

i still maintain it's completely different. you can easily just go straight on a wet road with no input. not so on gravel.

it's possible to (almost?) get a foot peg down on a wet road. try that on gravel.

the skills required to travel the two surfaces are utterly different.

Surely the point is you might expect to have to ride wet roads from time to time ( OK , most of the time in the UK ) but you only expect to choose to ride on gravel. The public road is no place for such surfaces.

John

 

[Deleted account 211025001]

i still maintain it's completely different. you can easily just go straight on a wet road with no input. not so on gravel.

it's possible to (almost?) get a foot peg down on a wet road. try that on gravel.

the skills required to travel the two surfaces are utterly different.

Having ridden up your drive I would concur

Andres

 

[judge]

it's completely different.

that kind of "resurfacing" should be banned. it's a frigging nightmare to ride on.

Oh how I miss the bike trips to Ireland

 

[richie]

Oh how I miss the bike trips to Ireland

agreed that is how they are all done over here, get on with it

 

[beatmeier]

agreed that is how they are all done over here, get on with it

that's real life FFS .......if you expect perfect conditions go on a track or play play-station ......not that i like gravel, diesel spills and cow shit on the road but it's just part of the real world .....

 

[phooey]

This is a public highway and we're talking practicing bike handling skills on loose surfaces

Its a public highway - absolutely. Same as any other, and the highways agency have decided to re resurface it. You are expected to ride / drive on it to get from A - B. They put handy advanced warning signs out so they don't get sued.

Any road you are on you should be practising and getting better at riding.

Now you can take the view that it is just a dangerous inconvenience or you can look at it from a different perspective.

There are a lot of riders who see a strip of gravel on an otherwise sound stretch of tarmac and they tense up ( pit of the stomach adrenalin hit that rushes straight up to the adams apple as a feeling of 'hands of death around your throat ' ) - not the best approach. Riders who have experienced loose surfaces ( or slippery ones ) and are comfortable with the change in feedback they get riding on them are much better equipped to deal with them safely.

Resurfacing is a fact of life - you can wobble along in trepidation or learn how to ride on it skillfully and enjoy it.

Choice is yours.

 

[alleycam]

Result Phooey!

That's the cat amongst the pigeons

All part of the fun

I'd say say the only thing that does my head in is how to get the spray tar off my bike after a run on roads like that. Spent a day once on the cleaning after a trip down a wet just-resurfaced road when it clearly hadn't set. I used neat WD40, others used petrol...

 

[Jacal]

that's real life FFS .......if you expect perfect conditions go on a track or play play-station ......not that i like gravel, diesel spills and cow shit on the road but it's just part of the real world .....

Totally agree BUT to say "go and practice on it" and "enjoy".....No thanks!

I try my best to avoid all obstacle's on the road ie manhole covers, white lines, diesel spills at roundabout....the list is endless but after 50 years riding with little accidents I'll try to keep my body and bike in one piece.

The days of riding the Nurburgring in 10 mins or throwing the bike down a trail are well gone for me....BUT....if you enjoy riding on loose chipping don't let me stop you

 

[JKW]

Probably didn't make my point in the first post - and, by the way, it was just meant as warning to those who wanted to avoid the area, if they wanted to . If you don't want to then don't; and if you enjoy the challenge then fill your boots.

So to make the point clearer. This was not just a "spray and roll in gravel" exercise which, for example, is happening this week on a couple of stretches of the A65 between Skipton and Settle and is perfectly rideable (with care) - there is some loose gravel but nothing to cause severe sphincter spasms.

They were dumping tons of the bloody stuff, very thickly, resulting in heaps a couple of inches deep on the carriageway while the work was continuing and at every crossing point. In my book that it is not an inconvenience or test of bike-handling skills - it's bloody dangerous! As John says "The public road is no place for such surfaces."