Paving the way

Road cyclists like a smooth road. There is nothing better than cruising at 17 mph, the hum of tires on the tarmac and the sights and smells of the countryside. Some rides are planned to utilize smooth pavement and avoid very bumpy roads (I'm talking to you, Callison). With that in mind, I read with interest Richard Pearl's "City Streets Explained" in his informative City Hall Beat column on page 5 in last week's Messenger. (There's lots of good stuff in this paper. You should read it.) I learned that 70 percent of the streets in Lincoln fall in the 'very good" category and I'm comfortable with that evaluation. But get out of the city limits, where we do most of our riding . . . There are basically two kinds of repaving (maybe more). Slurry, that's the cheap stuff, costs $125,000 per mile to put down. An asphalt overlay is $700,000 per mile. Yikes. Slurry is a mixture of cornstarch, coal and manure suspended in water. Now that I read that, I see that may not be the same slurry they put on roads. Google says, "A slurry seal is the application of a mixture of water, asphalt emulsion, aggregate and additives to an existing asphalt pavement surface." Mr. Google left out the part where "aggregate" apparently means "cobblestones." Some years ago, Crosby Herald was slurried. A "Rough Road" sign was erected after it was slurried. While I think most riders would agree a rough slurry is better than a series of potholes strung together, it still can shake the body like a James Bond vodka martini. I'm not sure how the decision is made to use slurry versus asphalt overlay. Virginiatown and Fruitvale have an asphalt overlay, and boy, are they nice. Inside the city limits, all the new home construction will lead to some very good paving. East Avenue must be on the list. I'm sure there is a committee at the city and county level to assess the need for repaving based on traffic and how bad the surface is. Not surprisingly, there is never enough money to get all the projects done. There are a few roads I, as a cyclist, would like to see repaved, and I mean the smooth way. I'm not asking for something special here. I am also a driver, paying my share of gas taxes and other fees. Every time I head down Ridge Road, which runs from Newcastle to Gold Hill Road, I comment on how great a descent it would be if it was smoother. The downhill is a nice combination of twists, drops and flatter areas, making it very interesting. The easy climb from the east is nice, but once over the summit, it's just rough enough to be a potential problem for those of us on one-inch tires. Moore Road, from Dowd to Sorrento is terrible. Coming from the west, the surface is wavy from the heat, then a section of potholes followed by more than a mile of cobblestones. One of my favorite routes is down Millertown between Mt. Vernon and Wise. It's absolutely beautiful as it follows a creek, there is virtually no traffic and it's not much wider than a bike path in places. But it is mostly jarring with some significant holes. When one comes upon that 18-percent drop, extra caution must be observed. A smooth surface would be cycling heaven. Finally, McCourtney. The route to Camp Far West Lake is a favorite of most cyclists in the area. Much of it has deteriorated greatly in the years I have lived here and is due, I hope, for a smooth overlay. I think we cyclists are worth $700,000 per mile. Tom Frady is a Lincoln resident and avid cyclist and driver.