Them Dang Tar Snakes!

[jd01]

Rode on some roads today that had a lot of those tar snakes, you know, the squiggly, swirly tar lines that look like some drunk got loose with a bucket of it and just went to town puttin' it down everywhere!
I usually try to stay off them as much as I can, but managed to hit a few of them in some curves and almost got a little squirrely. This time of year when the weather heats up, they are soft and move some if you hit them in a curve.
Just wanted to throw this out there to everyone to be careful if you come up on these bad boys on a hot day.

[ballast]

I was just explaining to my wife today about tar snakes as we were zipping through Montana.

[phenrichs]

Its even more fun around here where they like to cover them with pea rock after they pour them. So not only are they slippery but they chip your paint too.

[nighthawk700]

I took a group for a ride last month. We hit this one road that was COVERED with tar snakes. All of us were looking down at our tires to see if we had a flat. Was more than happy to turn off that road. Wrote to the state, but of course nothing came of it.

[unwind2]

Originally Posted by OP

Its even more fun around here where they like to cover them with pea rock after they pour them. So not only are they slippery but they chip your paint too.

Yep and don't you just cringe as your riding over them listing to the sound of ping ping...thinking oh great...wonder what the bike is gonna look like after this road. :(" title="" border="0"/>

[markusmaximus]

They're really fun when they run in the direction of the road... like during road construction, when they expand the lane.

[ringadingh]

We have them here also, although it hasn't been warm enough for them to be a nuisance yet, it won't be to much longer before they are a concern.

[goldstar225]

In my years of riding I never had an issue with tar snakes. That changed a couple of weeks ago when the wife and I were on vacation on the bike. Started feeling the tires slide out on the curves and realized what was happening. I didn't come close to losing it but it sure taught me to slow down in the curves.

[pagemastr]

Took a ride yesterday and hit them worse than I ever have. Making a left hand turn onto a road in a curve so it was banked down away from me. Had plenty of room to stay toward the inside of the lane I was turning into until I hit probably a dozen of them. Nearly ran off the other side of the road as each time it hit one it felt like the front wheel was sliding out from under me and it sounded like someone was taking a baseball bat and slugging the front tire when it grabbed asphalt again. Pretty unnerving for the next couple of miles!

[dogdoc]

I hit them every day to work and they are already fried, 100 degrees here. they really cause the bike to feel funny in the curves.

[Cajunrider]

They are no fun when it's raining also. They are a little higher than the road surface and are difficult to see when the road is wet. On the Devil's Tower ride I felt my bike squirming each time I got on one. One of the roads had more surface area covered with the snakes than without.

[bfancett]

I don't think there is a road in Michigan that isn't covered with tar snakes, what the hell is the purpose of these things anyways, covering cracks....I'd rather deal with the cracks in the road. Michigan is one of the worst states for roads!

I was on a cruise the other weekend and coming off the express way at 60MPH the off ramp was covered in tar snakes. Like most off ramps it was a bit of a turn and sure enough my back tire slipped a little. If the tar snake had been any wider I probably would have lost the bike. I had to straighten the bike, square the forks, and then apply both brakes. Never taking that exit ramp again on a hot day.

Brian

[tkd]

I've said it before. I live in Minnesota and I am certain this is the official breeding ground of Tar Snakes. I can honestly say that I can't drive in 30 miles in ANY direction on ANY road from my house without having to deal with tar snakes. That even includes the 2 year old neighborhood blacktop.

That plus "slurry coat" which is otherwise known as emulsifed asphalt. We used to call it "oil & chip" growing up. Here's the concept--liquify asphalt, spray it on the roads, then dump 2-4 inches of rock chip about 1/8" all over it and let the weight of the passing cars pound it in. Supposed to hold up better than full repairs. Almost 2 years after it was laid down, there are still piles of rock chip accumulated in the corners. To give you an idea of how bad it was, you could actually stand on the road and your feet would lose traction if you tried to run quickly from a start. Imagine stopping a bike. Oh and the best part---no warning signs. You could be on a normal road, then run into this crap at road speed. Very scary.

I hate Minnesota

[Jared]

I hate the tar snakes. They pours some new tar on a corner near my house. I used to love to take the corner hard and drag the right floorboard but can't do it any more. It's too wiggly.

[ringadingh]

They have been repaving the road here that had a lot of tar snakes and cracks the last couple weeks. At night they are grinding the asphalt and repave the following day or so. Riding on the freshly ground surface throws the bike around a bit because of all the grooves, but even worse are the rocks that get kicked up from passing cars. The last two days I received three good paint chips in the fairing from cars slinging up rocks.