Roads spoiling the riding?

[Sprintgull]

Must admit, I feel a bit of a wuss for posting this, but is anyone else finding that the state of UK roads is spoiling the fun of riding? 


Down here in Hampshire it seems in places that we have been under artillery fire from the Isle of Wight such are the size of the craters.  Funnily enough, the sunny weather makes it worse because pot holes in dappled tree shade are almost impossible to see.  Relaxed riding is good riding, but this seems to add a bit of tension.  Another hazard I've found is when other road users take avoiding action, making them do unexpected things.  Okay, we should anticipate this, but there are limits.  I guess the next thing to moan about will be the miles of loose gravel when, sorry if, they fix the potholes.


That's it, rant over. 

[Gman1969]

We seem to be quite blessed in Essex, yes there are a few potholes but we have had a weekend of spirited riding on some of the best roads Essex has to offer

[gogs01]

Plenty of potholes in Scotland too - too many, but not enough to stop me wanting to ride on the roads here - yet.

[Our Gee]

So called Potholes are only a small part of the problem and do seem to be the only thing the media knows about. The B1257 Stokesley to Helmsley road in North Yorkshire is practically a no go road for bikes these day. Some of the defects are horrendous and a risk to life and limb. I recently spoke to a cyclist in Helmsley who had crashed when his wheel got caught in a deep ravine like rut, not a pothole. A new stretch of dual carriageway near to where I live has been partially re-laid. had various holes filled and part tarred and chipped and this is a road constructed from green fields not more than 10 years ago. The A170 from Thirsk to Scarborough is currently being “Tarred and Chipped” from Sutton Bank to Helmsley, bloody disgrace. Incidently, the Asphalt Industry Alliance, whoever they are recently said it would cost over £12 billion to bring UK roads to a “reasonable” standard.
I,m off to France in s few weeks for some real roads, can’t wait.

[Tones]

I'm with Our Gee, Yorkshire roads are a disgrace. Councils appear to be happy with paying the less than 1% of motorists who make a claim. eventually, it is going to take a few lost lives to get an improvement. the sad thing is, it would take a lot less than the tax raised from fuel, road licence, new vehicle tax etc. to pay to get them all fixed in one year!!
Government too busy spending our money on their forgettable vote winning causes.......Waits for incoming rant

[pwbike]

We get similar issues in Australia.
Potholes, uneven surfaces after repairs, loose gravel left after resealing/repairs, tar snakes, melting tar, and the list goes on.

[Stratman]

I'm wouldn't be surprised if it's some devious plan to keep traffic speeds down - damn dangerous though and typical of this short-sighted government. Clearly, doing 35 in a 30 is more dangerous than being hit my someone swerving to avoid a pothole.

[Levisp]

What I don't get is that here in West Sussex the powers that be seem to be intent in pebble-dashing perfectly good roads instead of fixing the really bad ones. Why ? There is a bridge near where I live thats also on a bend that was breaking up and getting very dangerous. They closed the road overnight and resurfaced the whole road properly with tarmac. They have done a really good job. Its a joy to ride on. So the authorities can do it, its a shame they don't. I'm sure resurfacing a road properly costs more than the nasty pebble-dashing but in the long run its got to last longer and therefore be cheaper in the longterm. Why when they do repair potholes they cannot make them flat with the road. Potholes to bumps. Great !

[ds99]

Generally I get no enjoyment whatsoever in riding in the South of the UK, either the roads are rammed, there's roadworks, the weather is crap, the roads are in a terrible state, and/or everyone is driving while fiddling with their phones.


If I try to get off the major routes it's constant piddly little roads and/or 20 mph zones.


But It may be different "up north" or in Scotland (but the weather is iffy and still rammed in summer)



Europe:





UK:

[Our Gee]

Ever wondered just why does a so called “Pothole” appear in the first place. I think that in most cases it is the result of an un-corrected defect from when the original surface was laid.(Probably to a low grade standard and no where near that of continental Europe). In the UK we have a strange habit of laying some nice fine grade tarmac then scattering granit chippings and rolling them into the surface. This highly complex and technical practice results in local areas of “over density” of chippings with no bonding ashphalt. Result, a future “Pothole”. It’s just like a scone mix with too many currants, scone falls to pieces.

[guest4915]

I always tend to ride into Wales where the roads have always been generally extremely good. It's got to be down to very low traffic density and HGVs in particular.

[Our Gee]

Really surprised that there isn’t more interest in Sprintgull’s thread.

[Sleuth]

All I can say, are potholes are braille so the blind can drive! :))


Here in Belgium, we know all about this.  You can hear when you leave the Netherlands (almost silent road noise) and enter Belgium (Car / bike begins to shake from the deformed roads) / and you are deafened due to the road noise!


Having said that the when the drivers give you space to filter in traffic jams - it is fun.


I just wish roads looking like "Europe" from above were within easy reach of here.

[ds99]

I just wish roads looking like "Europe" from above were within easy reach of here.

Well, you are much closer to decent roads, than us here in the UK! You are a days ride from the Alps?

[Taz]

Cheshire East council in the UK issued a statement to say that they do not carry out pot hole repairs in the winter as it is cheaper to do them in the summer. They also have a policy that if the pot hole is not deeper than 150 mm it does not need repairing.


Remind me again why I pay my Council Tax.  These idiots here are a joke.