traction lines in cement roads= me shitting myself

[srbbnd]

Does anyone feel like they are going to die when they are riding over roads with the lines imprinted in them to help traction? My scooter gets super wobbly, then to boot there are the metal spikey grate crossings on the drawbridges right after, which is even more wobbly. There are three of these when heading to the beach from downtown. Anyone have this problem or fear.

[jrsjr]

Anyone have this problem or fear.

Yes. I have all those fears and on the 2006 Cannonball, they all came together - steel grate bridge, acrophobia, insane crosswinds - on the Decatur Bridge. Honestly, there wasn't much traffic, so I rode down the center of the bridge. That way, when a 45 MPH crosswind hit my poor scooter that was already wobbling on the grating, I didn't just fly right over the rail and down into the river. If that is the kind of fear you are describing, then I am right there with you.

[TVB]

I don't have thoughts of death, but yeah: I really dislike grooved pavement. One of the main north-south roads on my side of the city has that, along with a 60mph speed limit, and I avoid it as much as I can. Unfortunately it's less than a block from my work place, and the local geography all-but-requires taking it for various after-work or over-lunch errands. I just remind myself that, as long as I maintain a firm grip on the handlebars and don't do anything stupid, I'll remain in control.

Likewise with metal grates, which I don't have to deal with very often. (Though when I do, it's often been... a doozy... such as crossing the 5-mile long, 200-foot high Mackinac Bridge illegally on a 50cc, with traffic backed up behind me because the other lane was closed, and did I mention that I suffer from acrophobia?)

[Whimscootie]

Yeah, they freak me out!

Also those arrows and lines made of some kind of rubber or mat or something that is not painted on. They are slicker than chicken snot!

[Dooglas]

Around here sections of grooved pavement have warning signs for motorcycle and scooter riders - so it is definitely not your imagination. (now, metal grating is another discussion, and even more scary in my opinion)

[Tenchi]

Our street is paved with tiny, little rocks that throw the front end of my Buddy back and forth. Guess that's in the event of snow or something, beats me. Wouldn't like a set of road rash from that, I'll tell you. Same with rain grooves. The front end starts doing twist and shout...and I'm not listening to my IPOD.

[Syd]

There is an on-ramp from work that is grooved - I don't know why, it doesn't show here and it rarely rains, every few days as I ride down it I feel the scoot randomly wander and I wonder are my tires low, is my bike falling apart, am I falling apart?

It's not you.Not that these replies will help, you'll still get freaked!

[srbbnd]

Thanks for the support. Thought I might be crazy, The random jerks are the worst, feel like a bowling ball on a stick. Avoidance is my favorite strategy but sometimes you got to cross that bridge.

[Dooglas]

Our street is paved with tiny, little rocks that throw the front end of my Buddy back and forth. Guess that's in the event of snow or something, beats me.

How much snow do you get in San Jose?

[TVB]

Our street is paved with tiny, little rocks that throw the front end of my Buddy back and forth. Guess that's in the event of snow or something, beats me. Wouldn't like a set of road rash from that, I'll tell you.

There's a popular method of repaving roads around here (because it doesn't require hiring very many people to do it) that consists of laying down sticky tar, then spreading a layer of little rocks over it. They leave it up to traffic to embed these new rocks into the road surface, and "presto!" in just a few short years it becomes a relatively solid surface, almost safe for two-wheeled vehicles to ride on without losing traction, but still really hazardous if you find any of your body parts sliding on it.

[Syd]

Our street is paved with tiny, little rocks that throw the front end of my Buddy back and forth. Guess that's in the event of snow or something, beats me. Wouldn't like a set of road rash from that, I'll tell you.

There's a popular method of repaving roads around here (because it doesn't require hiring very many people to do it) that consists of laying down sticky tar, then spreading a layer of little rocks over it. They leave it up to traffic to embed these new rocks into the road surface, and "presto!" in just a few short years it becomes a relatively solid surface, almost safe for two-wheeled vehicles to ride on without losing traction, but still really hazardous if you find any of your body parts sliding on it.

I found this on the Ohio DOT's site:

How are Chip Seals Different from Asphalt Overlays?

The difference is in the construction method. Hot Mix Asphalt pavement is produced by heating liquid asphalt and mixing it with aggregate, with the mix then spread and compacted to form a durable road structure and riding surface. Chip Sealing uses the same ingredients as asphalt concrete paving, but the construction method is different. With chip seals, a thin film of heated asphalt liquid is sprayed on the road surface, followed by the placement of small aggregates ("chips"). The chips are then compacted to orient the chips for maximum adherence to the asphalt, and excess stone is swept from the surface. The ingredients of hot mix asphalt and chip seals are the same; only the construction methods are different.

In my experience, the compaction is usually done by traffic, with the excess stone being swept away into windshields.

[TVB]

In my experience, the compaction is usually done by traffic, with the excess stone being swept away into windshields.

And in the meantime, that excess stone collects on the shoulder, between lanes, and down the middle of lanes between tire tracks, where it lurks... waiting to send scooterists and motorcyclists slipping to their doom.

[charlie55]

Our street is paved with tiny, little rocks that throw the front end of my Buddy back and forth. Guess that's in the event of snow or something, beats me. Wouldn't like a set of road rash from that, I'll tell you.

There's a popular method of repaving roads around here (because it doesn't require hiring very many people to do it) that consists of laying down sticky tar, then spreading a layer of little rocks over it. They leave it up to traffic to embed these new rocks into the road surface, and "presto!" in just a few short years it becomes a relatively solid surface, almost safe for two-wheeled vehicles to ride on without losing traction, but still really hazardous if you find any of your body parts sliding on it.

I found this on the Ohio DOT's site:

How are Chip Seals Different from Asphalt Overlays?

The difference is in the construction method. Hot Mix Asphalt pavement is produced by heating liquid asphalt and mixing it with aggregate, with the mix then spread and compacted to form a durable road structure and riding surface. Chip Sealing uses the same ingredients as asphalt concrete paving, but the construction method is different. With chip seals, a thin film of heated asphalt liquid is sprayed on the road surface, followed by the placement of small aggregates ("chips"). The chips are then compacted to orient the chips for maximum adherence to the asphalt, and excess stone is swept from the surface. The ingredients of hot mix asphalt and chip seals are the same; only the construction methods are different.

In my experience, the compaction is usually done by traffic, with the excess stone being swept away into windshields.

Shades of "Cool Hand Luke".

[pugbuddy]

Grooved highways really suck but steel grate bridges take the proverbial cake. I crossed the border from Kentucky to Indiana across one and literally rode no faster than 10mph; there were deep grates on that.... Never again!

[siobhan]

I just wanted to share this picture from my 4 days of riding a rented Weestrom out in Oregon (which is the most unbelievable riding place I think I've been in the US so far).

How a sadist designs a bridge.


BTW, the trick for steel deck bridges is to relax your grip/arms and let the bike track itself. Stay off the brakes.

[pugbuddy]

I just wanted to share this picture from my 4 days of riding a rented Weestrom out in Oregon (which is the most unbelievable riding place I think I've been in the US so far).

How a sadist designs a bridge.


BTW, the trick for steel deck bridges is to relax your grip/arms and let the bike track itself. Stay off the brakes.

That's horrible. Scary horrible.

[TVB]

I'm thinking I'd push my scooter on that sidewalk (or whatever) to the left.

[jrsjr]

Yep, this is view from underneath the so-called Decatur Bridge where the cross-winds, the acrophobia and the steel grating all came together to spoil a nice scooter ride.

[libwitch]

I was taking my normal route between work sites - which I had driven two days before - and found myself on two miles of pavement that had been torn down to the grooves. The grooves were just wide enough for my tires to get stuck in - it was a miserable drive.

[az_slynch]

Yep, this is view from underneath the so-called Decatur Bridge where the cross-winds, the acrophobia and the steel grating all came together to spoil a nice scooter ride.

Decatur, Nebraska I presume? My default was Decatur, Alabama and was having incongruities on the bridge.

At least it wasn't the original Tacoma Narrows Bridge, right?

[PeteH]

Hehe. My physics teacher, back in 1974 or so, loved to break out that movie (on his trusty pre-VCR 16mm film projector) when introducing the concept of torsion. He'd literally cackle, "see the car? See the car?!?!"

[TVB]

Yep, this is view from underneath the so-called Decatur Bridge where the cross-winds, the acrophobia and the steel grating all came together to spoil a nice scooter ride.

Decatur, Nebraska I presume? My default was Decatur, Alabama and was having incongruities on the bridge.

I assumed it was Decatur, Michigan, southwest of Kalamazoo; the Dowagiac River runs through that area I think.

[KABarash]

pavement that had been torn down to the grooves. The grooves were just wide enough for my tires to get stuck in - it was a miserable drive.

Sometimes, only sometimes I look at that as a good thing. Milling down the old asphalt is frequently done in preparation for re-paving. However, in many places it too is done to 'smooth out' areas where the asphalt has 'slumped' and caused wash boarding.

[TVB]

The road I used to take from my house to the grocery store was milled down several weeks ago in preparation for repaving. And by "milled down" I mean that they tore the whole durn road out, down to the sandy dirt. Which it needed, because it had been patched and repatched so many times it was like riding on cobblestone; I finally started taking a different route this year. They've been making good progress on repaving, and were ready to lay down the last one-inch layer of tarmac ... when Winter hit. I assume they're still hoping the snow will clear and they'll be able to finish this year, because the road is still closed. And it looked so smooth and ride-able before it got covered with white stuff ...

[jrsjr]

Yep, this is view from underneath the so-called Decatur Bridge where the cross-winds, the acrophobia and the steel grating all came together to spoil a nice scooter ride.

Decatur, Nebraska I presume? My default was Decatur, Alabama and was having incongruities on the bridge.

I assumed it was Decatur, Michigan, southwest of Kalamazoo; the Dowagiac River runs through that area I think.

I'm afraid az_slynch wins this round. Well done, slynch. But the whole thing is more than a little confusing. I remember at the time seeing a sign that called the bridge one name, but then the toll ticket said "Decatur Bridge." I think I still have that toll ticket somewhere. The name stuck in my mind because I am from Decatur, Georgia. There is a wikipedia entry for the bridge, which they refer to as the Burt County Missouri River Bridge. I'm guessing the name I saw at the time was Burt County Toll Bridge. According to the wiki entry, they have stopped taking tolls and gone to joint ownership between the counties that lie at either end of the bridge. Frankly, the thing I remember most was the howling crosswinds that had been pummeling us all day. Riding up the steep ramp to that bridge deck, I had the sense that I was being offered up to the primitive wind gods. At the far end of the bridge, I was just profoundly grateful that the offering had been rejected.

[az_slynch]

There are many Decaturs.

Never visited the Georgia one. Maybe next time I'm back East.

[jrsjr]

There are many Decaturs.

Never visited the Georgia one. Maybe next time I'm back East.

Folks from Decatur, Georgia believe in the Single Decatur Theory.

Take your scooter when you visit Decatur. There's a really nice, friendly Genuine Scooter dealer, called Twist'n'Scoot, there. From Atlanta, just follow W Ponce de Leon towards downtown Decatur then look left at the bottom of the hill as you climb up to the historic old Courthouse. (Deftly bringing it home to Modern Buddy scooters here) There are great places to eat right next door and straight across the street while you wait for your scooter.

[AwesomeSauce]

The highway I take for work was recently regrooved. So annoying. It worried me at first, but after a few commutes I'm used to it. I figure the faster you go, the less jarring?

The worst part of it though is a section that goes downhill and banks hard right into a tunnel at about 40mph. Very wobbly, and sometimes slippery depending on the rain

The grated bridges never bother me though. I can take those on around 50 mph with minimal pee entering my pants.