Rocky Road
 

I inadvertantly thread jacked with this post on another thread. It belongs here. Anybody else deal with this?

**I rode on this twistie today that I have been itching to take my hawk on since I got it. Perfect weather today here in Oregon (one of the 3.275 days suitable for riding). This road (Germantown Rd.) Locals are aware of it, is a widow maker! I don't know how people ride down the TV side of this road without haveing to slow to 15 mph around on the corners. The first part on the portland side went great. So I was all jazzed stoked up and wearing those strips out.... Then the other side every stinking corner had rocks all over it from gravel drives all the way down. Guys are always talking about taking those curves and good place for tire management. I'd like to see the condition of their frame sliders... I went 25 around just one corner and hit a couple of tiny gravel pieces and drifted about 2 feet. Shit my pants!
Anyhow, reading about the sliding tire just made me think about that. I hope those other bikers were just lying about those curves, or i'm just a pansy! Ha ha.... I did manage to get the last of my strips worn in on my pilot. Great tires! **

Lolz, we are all affected by gravel the same way, when the shoulder is not paved, you can be sure there's gravel on the road, tractor trailer, sunday drivers will hit the shoulder and drag gravel on the road, so let go the throttle for a bit.
The most suitable roads are one to five years old roads with a wide shoulder, let some time past winter to get rid of the abrasives still littering the roads, the best roads to lean the bike are the ones you know, to get 100 % of the bike traction and live to tell the only spot I can think of is a track or the bumps and crap will get you.

Here, the roads are trashed by winter with big piles of gravel on every corner, to get trough a curve I have to lean and straighten the bike many times on slippery spots, swerving between bumps.

Yeah a Canadian you can relate..... We grab the bikey out on the first day of dry(ish) pavement and oh yeah lots of loose debris. Sand rock still damp sand or rock....

Good advice on the newer roads your right there I can recall that to be the case. I ride like a sissy all winter long treating it more like transportation for safety, then when the gold ball shows it self I am all too itching to go try and do some tire management.
Be safe!

The best is riding on the left over salt debris. Very slick....

If you like Germantown, take Skyline from Portland to St Helens - preferably during midday in the week. Nobody's on that road that time of day and it's a pretty ride. As well as being a great "tire management" ride. ;)

Right, just passed the Store. Rode it on my bicycle but never my motor bicycle. Good call i'll check it out. No gravel ya say??

I'll be going on it in about an hour, I"ll let you know the results ;)

THX

When I lived beachside in daytona there was sand on various corners. I freaked myself out many times by going into a corner hard and finding loose sand in the middle of it. I learned how to cope with it.

Now riding up in Minnesota in the winter there is salt up here in the corners. It doesn't feel any difffernet than sand