Road Warning - Tutakaka loop in Northland

[phill-k]

The loop out from Whangarei past Tut's and Sandy bay etc back in via Hikurangi.

The mongrels who have been doing the sealing have been doing some amazing little patches especially from Sandy Bay back into Hikurangi.

Patches starting or ending mid corner, some taking three quarters of a the lane leaving a nice little ridge running around some of the corners, but particularly after Sandy Bay lots of loose small roading gravel sitting on top of some of the sealing. Sometimes the roading gravel lies round for weeks on these roads, always seems to gather mid corner as well.

Looks like to-day was the best for a ride with rain forecast for most of the weekend anyway.

I'm going to write to our council about this and also the Insurance Council as well, its time these contractors were made to finish a job properly - sweep the road after sealing ect.

I know last time they worked on this road one of the Northland lads wreaked his bike out there, its time the councils started facing up to their liabilities, perhaps the Insurance Council might look at some of their claims and investigate the liability behind them.

This has pissed me off for a while but to-day I find myself having to drink a number of large rums as drifting on a shadow is not my idea of fun. Fucken legs flew out everywhere:shit:

[Warr]

I wrote my VFR off on that stretch between last Christmas and New Year & Rider in Black wrote his off last year on the same stretch also and someone on a bike had a major around the same spot as R-in-B went down a week or 2 before him.
Fine gravel in the corners if you stray off the car tracks you are tempting trouble :(

[Swoop]

Most certainly get onto the council and have the bloody contractors clean up PROPERLY after themselves.
It is probably considered "standard practice" to leave the road in poor condition and expect the cars to do the cleaning... It certainly is down here.

It's been years since I did that road. Is it fully sealed all the way now? Used to be a long journey on the gravel.

[phill-k]

It's been years since I did that road. Is it fully sealed all the way now? Used to be a long journey on the gravel.

Yes fully sealed, we lie not far from the Hikurangi end, often will see/hear anything up to 30 - 40 bikes on a weekend day if its fine, makes a great ride of about 70kms. Likewise the old Russell Rd is fully sealed and that at times suffers from the same problems of fine gravel on corners.

[scooute]

Why do they keep doing that to the roads??? mongrels... if its not that then its the shiny tar that sits at a diff level to the rest of the road surface, we get alot of lil patches of that around here, its mind boggling trying to shift from normal chipseal to gravel and then tarmac all within spitting distance of each other, and the wonder why people always have trouble... they need to wake up, sorry to hear about your drifting incident and all the poor folk who have gone down before!!! Ride safe all and I hope your letter helps make a difference!!!

[DMNTD]

... Likewise the old Russell Rd is fully sealed and that at times suffers from the same problems of fine gravel on corners.

Heh....and hangi pits in the middle of the bloody road!
Odd but I do miss the Norfland roads