Why exactly did they put gravel on a road that is in good shape?

[Big IV]

Not Monday. Nevertheless it is going to be one of those days.

Why exactly did they put grave on a road that is in good shape?

Sleeping felt good this morning. I was curled up in bed, a cool breeze rustling the curtains, and birds were beginning to chirp. I should have stayed there.

I got up. I was ready to go to work. Out the door we went. I fell in behind my wife on the road. We were heading the same basic direction. She was leading in her Volvo. I stayed behind her on the tourer. Some mornings I like to follow behind her and wave at the stop signs. Not every morning, just occasionally to keep the romance alive.  This morning was a nice morning to just ride along and wave occasionally.

We were on roads that I know so I was just relaxing and having fun. I was not riding aggressively. Just riding.

My wife usually takes a right at the end of Devine road because to the right is faster. But since I was following along on the bike waving nicely, she took a left. The left will still get her to work but she has to cut down a twisty country road with a name like Short Cut or Black Snake. She was being nice to me. It was a nice thought. I cannot remember the name of that road, but I like it. Twisty country road for no apparent reason. Sometimes roads just look like biker laid them out crooked to be fun. Beautiful road with almost no traffic which means that it is in great shape. It is a fun road. Not as much when you're following a volvo, but it is the thought that counts in life.

So I followed.

Turning onto Short Cut road I swept the bike slowly into a right hand turn. Then the bike was jammed against the ground as I rolled away into someone's yard.  After a bit of a tumble I landed  seated on my butt looking at my bike. The engine guard was dug into the loose blackish grey gravel. Sneaky gravel I call it. The finely ground blackish grey gravel is hard to see squinting in the early morning sun. I'd missed it. I'd hit the turn leaning too far, maybe too fast, didn't even feel the gravel until I felt the road.

Crap.

My wife noticed in her rear view mirror that I've become dislodged from my Valk so she slams on the brakes and nearly fishtails on the sneaky gravel.

She comes trotting back to make sure I'm okay.

I'm okay. Took a tumble. Ripped  the right knee from my best pair of slacks. My arm has a little scrape. I had gravel and dirt down the back of my shirt. The bike looked okay on its side besides the mirror dangling funny.

My wife helped me right the bike. I could have done it myself but she likes to feel useful. So we get the bike up right. She's apologizing because the road didn't look like that the other day when she used it. She complaining that they should put up signs before they gravel over a road.  As she's grumbling I look past her, down the road I tried to turn onto I can just make out an orange sign. I'm betting that a few hundred yards of sneaky gravel down the road is a sign that says road to be graveled.

She said she'd call the secretary and cancel my 8:00. I needed a shower, to doctor my knee a bit and to find a new pair of pants. My knee looked horrid. A little road rash that isn't that bad allowed blood to run down the inside of my pants so it did look awful.

Now I'm trying to think where the antiseptic is kept here in the house. It isn't in the cabinet over the toilet that looks like a drug store. It isn't in the bathroom at all. I'm trying to think like my wife to decide where the next best place would be to keep antiseptic. Surely we have some. We don't get cut often but surely we keep a little antiseptic for times like these.

It is going to be one of those days. Early morning bike slides, hidden antiseptics, and I lost my best pants. All before 8:00. I should probably just crawl back into bed, curl up in the breeze, listen to the birds chirp, and try again tomorrow.

[Hoghead]

I'm glad your injuries are minor. It is more unnerving for me to have an accident no matter how minor. I had a similar experience last yr. on my V65. hit an oil slick and went down at about 25mph. I live in E Tx where there is lots of oil fields and big trucks spill oil, gravel and whatever especially at intersections. I have had several close calls because of it. Hope you heal quickly. Matt

[Ice]

Hey Big IV,

Glad you are OK.
Man we aught to call you Mr. Rogers my friend, the way you wrote that I was there with you twisting and turning and waiving at the wife (and I dont even know your wife ), it was a great read.
Just glad you are OK.

Yuri

[Black Dog]

Glad it was minor, and yer OK...  Sux when a day starts like that  

Once ya give the fat girl a once over, let us know if ya need any parts.

Black Dog

[..]

Shovel ready project???

[Spirited-6]

I "HATE" gravel and it does not like me.  Glad it was not any worse, ride on.

[solo1]

A few years back we were following Doc Moose on the CBR.  The road changed to newly laid down chip and seal.  Doc had ridden that road just a short time before and it was fine.

Chip and seal is tar, then fine gravel on top. It makes a bike squirrelly and covers the underside of the fenders until the gravel starts binding to the tar.  A bad way to resurface roads but cheap. It sounds like that's what you ran into.

Glad you weren't badly hurt. 

I thought that only Indiana pulls surprises like that.

[Big IV]

If this was chip and seal it needed more seal. Yeah, chip and seal can be tough to ride on before cars compact it enough. It's ride-able but squirrely so you don't want to be surprised by it. I think more states are using that as a cheaper option. PA uses it. NC uses it occasionally.

Nothing was really hurt but the pride. I've cleaned up. The aged gauze tape does not want to hold to my knee so I found a knee brace to hold the gauze in place. That was a good idea.

I've cleared my morning to put my leg up and lunch on advil because I'm getting sore.

The bike is fine. I must have went off across the right mirror. It's a bit off, but a little adjusting should eventually get that back where it goes. Engine guard might be roughed up a bit, but I think it is fine. It's still straight.

Thanks for the well wishes. I'll heal so I'm fortunate. After lunch I'll ride on.

[donaldcc]

Good story Big IV, glad it wasn't worse. 

[Cattman]

Glad you're ok and the bike is too. Indiana has started doing chip and seal on some State highways this fall. State rd 252 across southern Johnson co was done a month ago and the school system in that area already has 8 buses with broken windshields. They are supposed to be doing St rd 135 south from Trafalgar into Brown co. This is the main route for all the fall leaf watchers and tourists going to Nashville IN. Be careful out there.

[Varmintmist]

Tar and chip. The grey stone is limestone, orange or brown is river rock.

What the purpose is is to rejuvenate the base material, or the asphalt, refered to as tar. What they put on the road with a paver is asphaltic concrete, asphalt, stone, and manufactured sand or choke. Chipping works pretty good actually for the lower cost, lower road downtime, less manpower and resources. The other option is to mill it down below the manholes and drains and repave.

In tar and chip, the chips only purpose is to get beaten into the cracks in the road along with the tar, and seal them from water intrusion. They put a lot on so that after the public beats the chips in with the rubber tired rollers that we drive, they broom it off and get instant berm.

You can have a 100% chip road, however that is basicly starting with larger stone and working up in layers  to the small chip stone. It is almost as good as getting AC from the plant and cheaper. Most public roads are paved, then chipped for a few years before they have to get repaved again.

Grew up on a blacktop crew....

Hope you and the bike are OK. For antiseptic, try soap and a washcloth, then rub the whole thing with single malt from the inside.

[Dino]

Damn John, glad your ok! I hate when they tar and chip a road ,should be illegal., At least last time it was mud,don't make me come down there to clean your bike!lol. Take care ,and keep the shinny side up.

[SANDMAN5]

Glad you're OK!!

[HayHauler]

MAN!!  too many of these lately...  Glad you are OK!!!


Hay 
Jimmyt

[big turkey]

My brother in law did the same thing when he took a wrong turn in North Carolina.


SmokinJoe and Chris( MY Brother in law ) and I were on Cherohala Skyline, Chris passed us

and headed off in the distance.

We get to the turnoff and sure enough there's Chris and a ton of people standing around him.

He had taken the wrong road and in sight of the turnoff he should have taken, he wrecked.

Mrs. Rattler, a Cherokee with Blue Eyes had sit him up, turned his wide open revving bike off and

put it on it's kick stand.

Minor injuries but his Suzuki 1400 Intruder was totaled.

This was all because, like you, someone had decided to put a load of gravel on a perfectly good road.

He went down hard and lived to tell about it.

Glad Your Ok.

Just wanted you to know that his happens quite often and needlessly if you ask me.

They should have put some signs up in your case and his case.

They don't give crap about us motorcyclists.

Al

[solo1]

I kinda agree with Al.  We had a ton of road improvements here, rotomilling, lane detours, edge traps everywhere but no signs warning motorcyclists.

Same goes for those tar strips.

[Big IV]

Damn John, glad your ok! I hate when they tar and chip a road ,should be illegal., At least last time it was mud,don't make me come down there to clean your bike!lol. Take care ,and keep the shinny side up.

You need to come down and visit but I am not going make you wash the bike. Although you do a nice job. It hasn't shined the same since.

[Detn8er]

STONE STONE STONE.......There is NO Gravel on your road.....It's crushed STONE.

[Big IV]

I'm currently wearing a leg brace to hold a piece of gauze onto my leg. As I walk I'm sure it will weep a little blood. It is making getting on and off the bike interesting. I'm not very sore this morning. So off to work I went.  Ride safe!

[Stitch_in_La]

Similar stuff dwon here in the swamplands, somebody mixed wrong or timing don' know for sure.  The warning sign said fresh oil, after the intersection and curve where it started.  Wife driving the F250 diesel called and told me not to take the normal way home.  Tar and grey stone coated tires and undercarrige, brown goo up to the windows.  State highway deptsaid contractors fault. drove to find them, guy said whats the problem, my truck I said. Hundred or so vehicles had to be cleaned at their expense for that one.

Charles

 

[Bob E.]

Glad you are ok.  I hate the stuff too.  They just did my road a couple weeks ago.  It is finally getting cleaned of the loose gravel, but you still have to watch for piles here and there.  They did the road on garbage day and they even coated my recycle bin with tar...the township says they'll replace the container if I bring it down.   But get used to it.  With state and local budgets what they are...along with the high cost of asphalt...you are going to see more and more of it.

[fudgie]

We were taking some back roads thru Iowa on the way back from Sturgis. We didnt want to take 20 again since it beat us to death coming out. So we decided on St Rd 3 I believe. It goes thru the ice cream capital.  Why 3 goes east to west is beyond my thinking.  ??? But I dygress. We were at the IA/SD line on SD 50 when we hit a chip and seal in progress. Flagger gave us a warning flyer about them not being responsible for damage and find another route. He said no mc has been thru here yet, they all turn around. We been on the road before sun up, hot, tired, and 7 more hours till we stop for the night. With no alternative route so we are going for it. We had to wait for pace car to get back. Sat in the shade behind a construction sign for 15 min. 2 miles of chip and seal. Bike did great. No damage. CT performed great. 

[Jabba]

I found one the other day too.  But the chips were pretty compacted... there were piles of stone in the centers of the lanes, and on the center line.  About 2" deep.  I rode ON those a little just to get the wife comfortable with it.

I agree with the poster that corrected ya'lls use of gravel.  Gravel is ROUND and comes from a river.  Stone is not, and is crushed, and is what they use on roads and driveways.  Stone... crushed.  Gravel = round.  P gravel.  L Gravel. (Used for septic fileds).  #53 stone is the most common for driveways.  They use a finer stone for chip and seal.

Cattman... they chipped and sealed 252?  I been along it a couple times recently and didn't notice chip and seal.  Plus... 135 is getting all new asphalt.  I can't believe they are gonna chip and seal a road THAT busy.  135 is one of the busiest n/s arteries in the area.  thousands of cars an hour on that one. 

Jabba

[fudgie]

I found one the other day too.  But the chips were pretty compacted... there were piles of stone in the centers of the lanes, and on the center line.  About 2" deep.  I rode ON those a little just to get the wife comfortable with it.

I agree with the poster that corrected ya'lls use of gravel.  Gravel is ROUND and comes from a river.  Stone is not, and is crushed, and is what they use on roads and driveways.  Stone... crushed.  Gravel = round.  P gravel.  L Gravel. (Used for septic fileds).  #53 stone is the most common for driveways.  They use a finer stone for chip and seal.

Cattman... they chipped and sealed 252?  I been along it a couple times recently and didn't notice chip and seal.  Plus... 135 is getting all new asphalt.  I can't believe they are gonna chip and seal a road THAT busy.  135 is one of the busiest n/s arteries in the area.  thousands of cars an hour on that one. 

Jabba

My bike does not like #2's. 

[RP#62]

Me and MichaelP were on the way to the VOA rally in Lacrosse back in '01 when we were stopped on a two-lane blacktop somewhere in rural Illinois for road work.  Turns out they were in various stages of chip 'n seal.  We finally got waved on and ended up being two cars back from the oil truck.  We had no problem handling the bikes, but by the time we got through all the stages, my swing arm looked like a nutty buddy.  we spent the first day of the rally trying to get all that crap off the bikes. Nearly 10 years later, I'm still finding little black spots here and there.  I would drive an extra 100 miles to avoid that again.
-RP

[dipstick]

It sounds like you got bit by the state of NC, thats how they like to "re-pave" the roads. They lay down liquid asphalt and then put finely crushed stone over it and let the exess get blown away over time by traffic. I guess they forgot about motorcycles when they dreamt up this finely tuned plan. Im glad yer alright and didnt get torn up too bad.