If this crap hasn't become the standard paving material where you live, then count yourself lucky!
They recently repaved every road north of town with this stuff for many miles... every decent route. That includes the TT course and my field testing course! All were much nicer to cycle on before, even though the pavement was worn in spots. I did a long ride yesterday that was nearly all chipseal and wanted to cry. Hands and feet and back would go numb. My 23mm GP4000s were pumped to 80psi, but that isn't nearly low enough to make a significant difference. Maybe I'll have to go to an MTB with slicks pumped to 20psi.
I thought about complaining... but then considered how puny the lobbying body of cyclists is around here, and how most motorists would be willing to pay *extra* to discourage cycling... and well, it would probably have the opposite effect.
It is a cost thing... chipseal uses less oil which is why it has become more economical and more widely used compared to asphalt... and I guess the highway departments have gotten some money they need to spend, which is why they did them all at once. So it looks like the only tactic I could possibly take is *if* the increased tire wear and reduced fuel mileage negates the cost savings. So then it would be basically be taxing people a different way and not really saving money. But I don't know if that is true.
It is possible to use the same process but make the road much smoother, by putting another layer on top with smaller aggregate. They did that to a few miles of one road, but that was it... they are now done.
Anybody have any helpful suggestions on how to persuade the road dept, or how to live with it?
They recently repaved every road north of town with this stuff for many miles... every decent route. That includes the TT course and my field testing course! All were much nicer to cycle on before, even though the pavement was worn in spots. I did a long ride yesterday that was nearly all chipseal and wanted to cry. Hands and feet and back would go numb. My 23mm GP4000s were pumped to 80psi, but that isn't nearly low enough to make a significant difference. Maybe I'll have to go to an MTB with slicks pumped to 20psi.
I thought about complaining... but then considered how puny the lobbying body of cyclists is around here, and how most motorists would be willing to pay *extra* to discourage cycling... and well, it would probably have the opposite effect.
It is a cost thing... chipseal uses less oil which is why it has become more economical and more widely used compared to asphalt... and I guess the highway departments have gotten some money they need to spend, which is why they did them all at once. So it looks like the only tactic I could possibly take is *if* the increased tire wear and reduced fuel mileage negates the cost savings. So then it would be basically be taxing people a different way and not really saving money. But I don't know if that is true.
It is possible to use the same process but make the road much smoother, by putting another layer on top with smaller aggregate. They did that to a few miles of one road, but that was it... they are now done.
Anybody have any helpful suggestions on how to persuade the road dept, or how to live with it?