Rivers of Tar

[MrKiwi]

This weekend, being a three day weekend down here in the lower North Island, I jumped on the bike for a 3 day ride.

The temperatures were pretty hot, consistently high 20's and low 30's. The route I took was Lower Hutt, Masterton, Napier via the Ongaonga alternative route, Wairoa to Gisborne on Saturday. Sunday I rode the Waioeka Gorge to Opotiki, round to Kawerau, up past the lakes to Rotorua, Taupo back to Napier. Yesterday I rode Napier to Taihape, Mangaweka to Rangiwhatia to Kimbolton to Ashurst, Shannon, Levin and home. Some 1600 kms.

Great ride, great weather other than the cooler and very windy ride through the Manawatu.

However, what got me were the rivers of tar between Napier and Wairoa, on parts of the Waioeka Gorge and on parts of the Napier to Taihape road, especially the Gentle Annie. Roads just melting with tar bleed.

But but but I ask myself - the temperatures on these stretches were no hotter than other parts of the ride, so why all the tar bleed?

[nodrog]

Its that time of the month.

[bogan]

They watered down our dino-distillate just a tad too much in that batch.

[Swoop]

Its that time of the month.

Are you suggesting that we carpet bomb the roads, with tampons?

[Ulsterkiwi]

just had a similar experience on SH43 over the weekend. On the stretch from Taumaranui to the metalled section through the gorge there was a definite sparkle to the road. Was very unpredictable and made us back off the pace quite a bit. Thats ok, ride to the conditions and all.
I am curious though, there are places in this wee world of ours where it gets a lot lot hotter for much more of the time and they can build roads which dont melt, why cant we do that?

[Gremlin]

I am curious though, there are places in this wee world of ours where it gets a lot lot hotter for much more of the time and they can build roads which dont melt, why cant we do that?
Try 50 degrees and the tar still hasn't melted <_<

[HenryDorsetCase]

Rivers of Blood RAAAAAAAAAA \m/

[HenryDorsetCase]

Try 50 degrees and the tar still hasn't melted <_<

thye are made of concrete and unobtanium? is there a prize? do I get it?

[slofox]

I see plenty rivers in these parts too. Of course they are resealing a lot of bits about now - in the hot sun. In my experience, these will have melted in about two weeks and be worse than before.

[buggerit]

bottom of Tapu hill, Coroglen end, looked like a sea of waste oil the other day, safer roads and all that:killingme

[Laava]

Yep, that gentle annie has some very wet sections of tar at the moment!

[SPman]

At 45 C in the shade, our roads in back blocks W.A. are fine - I've never seen the dreaded molten tar syndrome over here - what looks like tar bleed on the roads is just volumes of traffic pushing the aggregate down into the seal over 5-10 yrs....and even then the tarry surface doesn't melt in the sun.........

Put it down to the "cheapest will do, quick and nasty" mentality, beloved of officialdom and contractors in NZ.

[BlackSheepLogic]

But but but I ask myself - the temperatures on these stretches were no hotter than other parts of the ride, so why all the tar bleed?
Lowest bid wins. If the cheapest guy's busy someone better got the job.

[Ocean1]

They watered down our dino-distillate just a tad too much in that batch.

Probably. If it's cut with kero you can put a much thinner layer down.

Cheap bastards. Complaint to the relevant authority is the "correct" approach.

Maybe we need a taxpayer's road fault reporting web site...

[bogan]

Probably. If it's cut with kero you can put a much thinner layer down.

Cheap bastards. Complaint to the relevant authority is the "correct" approach.

Maybe we need a taxpayer's road fault reporting web site...

Yeh it's fucking atrocious, they just threw gravel at my street (resurfacing is much to generous a term) ; corugations and bumps right from the start. At least there is so much loose gravel tar bleed isn't a problem :facepalm:

[R650R]

Maybe we need a taxpayer's road fault reporting web site...

There's actually a non taxpayers road fault reporting website... you just have to go undercover and pretend you are a cyclist ;)
Its amazing how fast a pothole gets fixed when you say your a cyclist instead of a truck driver :)
If everyone does this eventually the repair bill will mean road cyclists will have to pay road user levy of some sort hehe....

[Mike.Gayner]

There's actually a non taxpayers road fault reporting website... you just have to go undercover and pretend you are a cyclist ;)
Its amazing how fast a pothole gets fixed when you say your a cyclist instead of a truck driver :)
If everyone does this eventually the repair bill will mean road cyclists will have to pay road user levy of some sort hehe....

I'm a cyclist and I pay road user levies - on my two bikes and my car. My bicycle has almost no impact on the road surface, unlike the two ton cars which pay half the rego I pay on each of my motorbikes.

[Trade_nancy]

The LTSA or whatever they now call themselves...have a major hand in the road conditions. I moaned to them last year about road conditions in the central North Island - specifically gravel. Sections of rumpty, bumpy reseal with sprays of dusty grit and stones.
A guy with from their road inspection unit entered an email dialogue with me and did agree to repair two sections of road I mentioned. They got done. When I complained that the contractor - Higgins had resealed several rural main road sections with a lumpy squirt of gravel over wet tar - he said - I know - I make no appologies for that as I can get 10 times as many repairs done if they do it that way.
So it is done as mentioned to cut $$$ and those in authority sanction the poor surface standard.
On our rural road about 200 metres along from our house is a small intersection they turned up to last year and did this sort of repair to. I waited til the 30kph signs were taken and went down walking the dog to check it out. The intersection was awash with stones - all small roading chip - up to 10mm deep in parts and widespread at about 5mm deep. I rang the local council - Manawatu District and moaned. Seven days later the stones were swept off the road and into the adjoining ditch..now about a foot deep with stones. The intersection surface is now breaking away and fresh chip debris is building up. They (council and Higgins) use the road too - so they must know the outcome was pathetic and choose to ignore it.

[R650R]

I'm a cyclist and I pay road user levies - on my two bikes and my car. My bicycle has almost no impact on the road surface, unlike the two ton cars which pay half the rego I pay on each of my motorbikes.

Bikes do have an impact, they create an entire mini industry of cycle stores that have trucks and vans delivering goods to them daily and employees driving their cars to work there. Then there's all the extra road sweeoping due to complaints about glass.....
Your car and motorbike regos are vehicle specific, there is no component that says contributing towards cycle use. :)
Then there's the 50 odd SUV's and wagons at the country pub when the local club has their weekend rides.... so much for saving the environment....
Do you know that green paint for cycle lanes costs about $200 per square metre.....

[Ocean1]

There's actually a non taxpayers road fault reporting website... you just have to go undercover and pretend you are a cyclist ;)
Its amazing how fast a pothole gets fixed when you say your a cyclist instead of a truck driver :)
If everyone does this eventually the repair bill will mean road cyclists will have to pay road user levy of some sort hehe....

Interesting. Maybe we orta hijack it.

I was out south of Martinborough way on t'weekend, heading north on the middle road up the valley. There's a sweeping right hander 5 minutes from Feathers and the 1290's dash lit up as I rounded it, traction control trying to manage a full on two wheel drift that left a visible trench scrubbed off the surface for 6-8 metres.

I went back to look. You could scrape the top layer off with the side of your boot. Easy. Took me fucking hours to clean the shit off the bike.

[haydes55]

1290

.


Prrrrrrrrrrrr

That's all.

[MrKiwi]

Yeah... what he said

[R650R]

I went back to look. You could scrape the top layer off with the side of your boot. Easy. Took me fucking hours to clean the shit off the bike.

Used to get a product called MobiSol via Mobil oil when at Roadfrightners, best degreaser/detar ever used, takes it all off and no yellow grime left afterwards like when you try to do it with kero'.
Not sure of its accessible to joe public but used to use it on the white GSXR wheels now and then. No problems except tyre fitters would complain wheel weights wouldn't stick to rim :)

[SPman]

Bikes do have an impact, they create an entire mini industry of cycle stores that have trucks and vans delivering goods to them daily and employees driving their cars to work there. Then there's all the extra road sweeoping due to complaints about glass.....
Your car and motorbike regos are vehicle specific, there is no component that says contributing towards cycle use. :)
Then there's the 50 odd SUV's and wagons at the country pub when the local club has their weekend rides.... so much for saving the environment....
Do you know that green paint for cycle lanes costs about $200 per square metre.....
Shit- it's only $25/m2 over here......another overpriced kiwi ripoff....like the seal.

[Ocean1]

Used to get a product called MobiSol via Mobil oil when at Roadfrightners, best degreaser/detar ever used, takes it all off and no yellow grime left afterwards like when you try to do it with kero'.
Not sure of its accessible to joe public but used to use it on the white GSXR wheels now and then. No problems except tyre fitters would complain wheel weights wouldn't stick to rim :)

I know an ex Mobil chemist, I'll ask him.

[rastuscat]

I'm a cyclist and I pay road user levies - on my two bikes and my car. My bicycle has almost no impact on the road surface, unlike the two ton cars which pay half the rego I pay on each of my motorbikes.

My feelings exactly.

I get pissed off any time someone throws that "cyclists don't pay for the roads" shit at me. It's uneducated tripe.

[MrKiwi]

My feelings exactly.

I get pissed off any time someone throws that "cyclists don't pay for the roads" shit at me. It's uneducated tripe.

Err what...

[rastuscat]

Err what...

When I'm cycling people tell me cars have more right to the road because they are registered. Never mind that I pay registration for a motorcycle, three cars and two trailers. And my cycle does nil damage to the roads.

[bogan]

And my cycle does nil damage to the roads.

Have you seen the durability or our roads lately? Even a butterfly's fart will do damage to em.

[local]

Except cyclists, via cycle lanes, have their own section of the road that they pay nothing directly towards. When those same cyclists are in their cars they use main section that is paid for by them and all other motorists through the various taxes and levies. On the whole, cyclist's use of the road is paid for by motorists - whether those motorists use it or not.

Back on topic: I guess it's easier to meet KPIs for KMs of road resurfaced in FY## by doing a cheap job, then it gets to feature in FY## +1s KPIs when they have to redo it?

[kiwi cowboy]

My feelings exactly.

I get pissed off any time someone throws that "cyclists don't pay for the roads" shit at me. It's uneducated tripe.

I got no problem with them on the road except when they think they OWN the road riding in groups covering the whole lane and sometimes encroaching into the other lane and get abusive when asked to obey the rules.:facepalm:

[R650R]

I get pissed off any time someone throws that "cyclists don't pay for the roads" shit at me. It's uneducated tripe.

It's also A grade Live-bait that never fails to get a bite. Actually no one pays for the roads, it (rego,fines,taxes) all goes into the consolidated funds and SOME of it gets spent on shoddy repairs and halfway upgrades...
Perhaps we'll switch to they don't pay for their fair share of A&E and ACC costs... cant argue that one :)