SH 22 is a disgrace.

[PirateJafa]

1. I am not sure if knobblies are intended for proper road use. Check again, might contravene with your principle of safe riding if it is indeed not fit-for-purpose on normal tar-sealed road.

2. The argument for "chosen your route more wisely" is irrelevant. Roads are meant to be driven on, and if they cannot accommodate this then they are not fit-for-purpose and hence a problem that needs addressing.

Sounds like you need to broaden your horizons.

And since when has the word "road" been synonymous with "racetrack-smooth asphalt with perfect camber and nay a bump in sight"?

As I understand it a road is a vaguely identifiable route from A to B that will keep you from paddock-bashing.

an open way (generally public) for travel or transportation
wordnet.princeton.edu/perl/webwn

A road is an identifiable route, way or path between two or more places. Roads are typically smoothed, paved, or otherwise prepared to allow easy travel; though they need not be, and historically many roads were simply recognizable routes without any formal construction or maintenance.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Road

Bloody pansies need to take some Hard Pills or some Anti-Wusstamines.

[Ocean1]

1. I am not sure if knobblies are intended for proper road use. Check again, might contravene with your principle of safe riding if it is indeed not fit-for-purpose on normal tar-sealed road.

Some of 'em are road legal. Not their intended purpose, to be sure, but they are perfectly safe. Certainly don't have the sheer grip of a modern road tyre, (nor probably even an ancient petrified nylon road item) but they give way more feedback, so arguably safer, at the appropriate speed.

2. The argument for "chosen your route more wisely" is irrelevant. Roads are meant to be driven on, and if they cannot accommodate this then they are not fit-for-purpose and hence a problem that needs addressing.

Guess there's two things that might make a particular piece of road unacceptably dangerous. Either some bits of it are dodgy out of proportion to most of the rest of it, (and therefore effective boobytraps), or your expectations of the road are unrealistic.

[Big Dave]

Hair splitting & semantics don't change the fact that there were parts of the road where the bleed was unavoidable.

[tri boy]

NZ roads are going to the shithouse. Plain and simple. It's not from a shortfall in our taxes, just dopey fuckers in charge of the management and planning.

[Ixion]

Gravel is fine. Potholes, lumps and bumps, I don't mind. Off camber is no big issue. But tar bleed I draw the line at. It's a hidden menace that can't be easily avoided, especially at night or in the rain. Find the ikey contractor who laid it down with cheap shit material and burn him.

[Marmoot]

Guess there's two things that might make a particular piece of road unacceptably dangerous. Either some bits of it are dodgy out of proportion to most of the rest of it, (and therefore effective boobytraps), or your expectations of the road are unrealistic.

I think you've hit the nail right on the head, here.

The melt tar seal can happen without any sign, sometimes right in the middle of the corner, and at times not even noticeable (some melt tar seal spots aren't actually the shiny variety, but rather just simply softer and give way when stepped on).

When they occur, they are definitely out of proportion to the rest of the road, and at times do become boobytraps.

[Elysium]

And lets not forget that SH1 is the main highway of this country so you're going to get tourists who going to be using this road so you'd expect to be at least decent by international standards.

[Big Dave]

Marmoot said booby!

[Ixion]

Mm. Boobies. This thread is no good without pics

[Marmoot]

Marmoot said booby!

when I grow up I wanna be a boobytrap

[PirateJafa]

The melt tar seal can happen without any sign, sometimes right in the middle of the corner, and at times not even noticeable (some melt tar seal spots aren't actually the shiny variety, but rather just simply softer and give way when stepped on).

When they occur, they are definitely out of proportion to the rest of the road, and at times do become boobytraps.

So take that possibility into account before you hit the highways.

NZ roads are going to the shithouse. Plain and simple. It's not from a shortfall in our taxes, just dopey fuckers in charge of the management and planning.

Problem solved:

[Big Dave]

when I grow up I wanna be a boobytrap

Sucker's game.

[Choco]

So take that possibility into account before you hit the highways.



Problem solved:

Cheap knock-off imitation of my bike!
The bastards!

[Madness]

I did 22 in it's entirety for the first time yesterday.

The ride down was fine, left Autobahn at around 10.45 so the sun hadn't had time to do it's thing. Went to Raglan for a spot o' lunch & a natter, first time to Raglan too (very noice).

The ride back up 22 was a shocker. The first patch of wet tar took me by suprise, the rear was boogeying like it was a 70's revival disco. I was now aware of the issue and tried to avoid them best I could. The problem is they're on almost every bend, right on the "line".

My riding companions for the day know the road pretty well. We slowed right down at one point, I wasn't sure why. Then I saw it, the biggest pool of molten tar I've ever seen. It was like a pool of liquid mercury, quicksand, or even a black-hole, ready to swallow my bike like a fat chick on a Donut.

Freaking disgrace alright. Someone is going to get hurt, if not already.

It hasn't put me off 22 though. I'll just pick the days, cloudy is good.

[Mr Merde]

Tell me about it !!!!!!

I live not far from 22, in a place called Onewhero.

The roads on a hot day are trechorus. Especiall the road past the Tuakau bridge going up the hill. I have been living that way for about 1 1/2 years now and have seen at least 10 instances of repair work on this hill.

The last major one was when they removed the surface of the road just before we had that massive storm last winter. The rain washed the road away and to get out of the area we either had to go towards Port Waikato or Pukekawa.

I'm tired of pulling stones off my bike that have been stuck there wirth wet tar. I've had headlights smashed from the gravel kicked up on these roads by other vehicles. Going around corners to find either liquid tar or very loose gravel in exactly the lines that suit a motorbike is a common occurance.

Even my partner dislikes these roads when they are hot as she finds her car covered in stones stuck to the bodywork and the wheels slide in the molten tar.

Whats with the roads in this area. 10 attempts to fix the road by pouring fresh tar down and covering it with gravel. They then rely on they traffic to crush it into the tar. The number of times you look at the raod and swear that it seems to be flowing down the hill is ridiclous. Surely just on proper job would fix it all.

Chris