How to ruin perfectly good curvy roads

[Inhouse Bob]

At least the trucks and vans are a temporary nuisance. Out here, the highway department isn’t ashamed to apply liberal amounts of crack sealer to the road surfaces, almost always on curvy sections and rarely on the straights. These “tar snakes,” once warmed by the sun, are as slippery as ice. Cross a few of them while heeled over and you’ll get a pucker!

True. I've also had a pucker moment from one on a wet day on a straight road.

We have one really decent road for riding the curves around here, Rt. 211...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HrqDHjGPTDY
I was coming down 211 from Skyline Parkway and got behind a truckload of chicken poop going 15MPH. I just couldn't get around.
I could smell that stuff for a month
I probably smelled like that stuff for a month!

Was that before you came down under?

I had a similar experience in 2014.

Day2: Dorrigo-Denman

536 kms



It was foggy, drizzly and much, much cooler than the day before when I woke. I breakfasted, put the thermal liner in my jacket, donned the waterproofs and set off up the range. In spite of mist and the cool, it was a lovely ride to Ebor, where I’d had breakfast with Pterodactyl on an earlier ride, I got fuel and then pushed on. The top end of the Waterfall Way is lovely, and would have been lovelier in better weather. I must ride it again from the bottom to the top.

At Armidale I took to the New England Highway until Uralla where I turned left, heading along Thunderbolt's Way to Walcha. Most of the countryside on this road is alpine plain cleared for farming. It was much greener and prettier than last time I was here with Pterodactyl. It stays like that for a good distance past Walcha, but it's good riding and fast as there is little traffic.

The CB1100 in Walcha—first time it was warm enough to fish out the camera

It's all worth it for the descent into Gloucester, where one rides alongside twisting streams, up hills and eventually down a very steep mountain. It's a great road and heaps of fun. I felt I'd earned my late lunch. I was also more cheerful as I'd shed the wet weather kit at Walcha and the temperature was now decidedly warmer.

A view to the west from the mountains leading into Gloucester






This safety device may be common in other countries, but I’ve seen it only in NSW in Australia. The final picture shows a sandy ramp running up the hill into which you can steer if your brakes fail. Occasionally they’re on the opposite side of the road, so I’m not sure what happens to anything in your way as you try to cross.

There is a very steep descent into Gloucester





The pretty river at the bottom of the very steep descent. Of course a bit of a climb follows.

I was looking forward to the road from Gloucester to Singleton. It's got plenty of twists and turns and a few hills—I love hills on the CB as I've yet to find one I can't accelerate up. The surface is occasionally ratty, but it's a great ride. My first post-Gloucester stop would be Dungog. As I climbed the first hill, I realised the odd mark on the road was cow sh*t. It quickly dawned on me that it was very, very fresh. It seemed to be worse on left-hand corners. I quickly realised why as I came around a corner and came upon a cattle truck. As it climbed the hills, the contents of the cows' bowels, deposited on the floor, all surged to the back of the truck; as it rolled on the left handers, said contents found a natural escape from the truck and flowed out onto the road. I figured it would be really slippery which reduced my pace and limited my enjoyment of the corners. I did not want to fall off and end up in the sh*t.

A straight appeared and I shot past the truck. Phew.

Cows smell earthy. Chickens smell like... nothing you ever want to smell like . But cow poop is pretty slick, so you did well to back off. I can't imagine trying to explain that low-side here on the forum

We have one really decent road for riding the curves around here, Rt. 211...
[url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HrqDHjGPTDY]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HrqDHjGPTDY
I was coming down 211 from Skyline Parkway and got behind a truckload of chicken poop going 15MPH. I just couldn't get around.
I could smell that stuff for a month
I probably smelled like that stuff for a month!

On one of the Men's Fall Trip we were in Va and got stuck behind a truck just stuffed with turkeys. We could smell them first, then we were getting hit by little white feathers, then we caught the truck and had to follow him for a few miles. It is a distinctive smell.

Dis-STINK-tive