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Chip Seal

07.29.2014 by Ray Niekamp // 7 Comments

My wife and I took different routes on our Saturday bike rides, but arrived home within minutes of each other.

“They’ve chip sealed LaCrosse,” I said. “But you already knew that.”

She grimaced. “It was awful,” she said.

“Yeah,” I responded. “I had to use the sidewalk for a few hundred feet, until I got around the truck.”

“Well, my tires are wider than yours, so I could stick it out,” she said. “But it looks like I’ll have to take a different route for awhile.”

Uh oh. Bad news for bikers. Those little things sticking up in the road mark where the road will be striped, once the surface flattens out.
Uh oh. Bad news for bikers. Those little things sticking up in the road mark where the road will be striped, once the surface flattens out.

LaCrosse is an important road for bikers in our area. It’s a main artery through our subdivision, and is several miles long. In the direction we rode, it takes us to a T intersection, where we can choose our turn for different route variations. In the opposite direction, it goes to the Austin Veloway. It gets a lot of use.

The uneven chipped surface is less of a challenge for this mountain biker's wide tires.
The uneven chipped surface is less of a challenge for this mountain biker’s wide tires.

The disappointing thing is, I fail to see the need for resurfacing. The road is smooth. It has a nice marked bike lane. No potholes or gouges in the pavement for its entire length.

I checked part of the road again today, four days after the chip seal was laid down. It looks like they still have some more to do, because it’s not complete for the entire length of the road. But in the meantime, the traffic is having the desired effect. The chip seal has been tamped down, and at least where car wheels go, the road is almost smooth already.

The dreaded chip sealed surface. Loose gravel will cover the road for some time to come.
The dreaded chip sealed surface. Loose gravel will cover the road for some time to come.

But I can’t say the same for the bike lane area. Bikes just don’t have enough weight to flatten the chip seal. In spots, chips pile up in the bike lane, thrown out from under passing tires. It looks like cars will have a decent road to ride on again soon, but bikes will be shuddering over a rough lane for some time to come.

The same thing happened several years ago, when the city chip sealed Escarpment, which intersects LaCrosse. Escarpment has never returned to the same level of smoothness it had before it was treated. Other arterials in the area have had the same treatment since, and they’re not pleasant to ride on.

I can see the economic argument for chip seal. It must be less costly than putting down another layer of smooth asphalt. It’s just that in a part of town where cycling is a popular pastime, one would hope another way would be found to resurface the streets.

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Bad vibrations

03.07.2009 by Ray Niekamp // Leave a Comment

Thought I’d get some hills into my ride today, so I took the Southwest Parkway route.  It’s got several long climbs, and would be a challenge to me, since I’ve been riding too many flat routes lately.

The first two miles from my house is on a bike lane that is still bumpy from being chip sealed last summer.  However, it’s getting better.  There’s lots of traffic on this stretch, so the chips are gradually being ground into the road surface.

The ride was mostly uneventful.  Lots of folks out today, and many of them were in triathlete groups, both on their bikes and running.  With temperatures in the mid 70s(F), it was a nice morning to be out there.

But at about 14 miles into the ride, the bike lane along Southwest Parkway also shows the signs of being chip sealed last summer.  I remember how rough the surface was then, and I’ve mostly avoided this section of the route, coming up with some alternate routes.  Today though, I’d planned on riding SW Pkwy for another mile and a half, before turning around and riding back the way I’d come.

It was not a pleasant biking experience.  Besides battling a 16 mph wind that gusted to 34, I had to contend with a chip seal surface that felt washboard-like.  Vibrations from the road coursed up through the bike’s fork, head tube, and handlebars.  My hands on the hoods started shaking.  The vibrations were so intense, they made my hands go numb.  I shifted my hand position to the top of the bar, but that made me feel as though I had less control over the bike as it jarred its way over the road.

Finally, I hit the turnaround point.  The road on this side had the same rough chip seal surface, and now I was headed directly into the wind, and heading up the longest climb of the route.  I was in my small chainring, in the largest cog, and just when it seemed that I couldn’t finish the climb … the chip seal surface ended!

What a difference!  The bike surged forward up the rest of the hill.  I shook out my hands, to get rid of the tingling sensation caused by the chip seal.  A few riders were ahead in the distance, and I stomped on the pedals to see if I could catch them.  I couldn’t, but it felt good to be riding reasonably fast again, on a smooth road.

I suspect I’ll let that part of Southwest Parkway stay off my biking radar for the rest of the year.  If I hear reports from other cyclists that it’s getting better, I’ll give it another try.  But for now, I’ll stick to the smooth stuff.

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Road repairs

06.08.2008 by Ray Niekamp // 1 Comment

It turned out that I did get out and take a ride Sunday, although it was in the heat of the afternoon, and I had to cut the distance to 18 miles. Still, it was good to be back on the bike, and with any luck, I can resume riding more or less regularly. Until the next disruption to my schedule three weeks from now.

I had to change my planned route today, because it turns out that the city has decided to resurface the streets in this part of town. They’re laying down new chip seal, and are in the first stages of that. Right now, the road I would have used today has been covered with crushed stone that will be rolled into the road surface. I’m concerned that my bike’s tires won’t survive a trip through the new stuff until after the chips are sealed. I assume they’ll paint new lines to mark the bike lane along the road as well.

The odd thing about the resurfacing is that the streets around here don’t really need it. They’re in good shape, with no potholes to speak of, and only a few cracks. The biggest problem is the debris that accumulates in the bike lane, and most of the time that’s easily avoidable.

I ride my bike in other parts of town, and out on country roads, and they’re crying for a new surface. I guess City Hall has to keep its more important constituents happy.

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Categories // Uncategorized Tags // chip seal, road repair

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