Road Woes and Worries

Southeast Michigan has the dubious distinction of having some of the most heartbreakingly (and wheelbreakingly) bad roads for cyclists that I have experienced.  This is especially true following any hard winter months such as these.  After a good fifteen miles or so this morning, I couldn’t help but feel a renewed sense of antipathy toward the Pothole, Universal Symbol of Pinch Flats and Broken Spokes and Sore Bottoms.

Beware the shmergus.

Wikipedia – the Holy Grail of public ‘knowledge’ – has the following to say about potholes, or shmerguses (really, Wikipedia?):

“The formation of potholes is exacerbated by cold temperatures, as water expands when it freezes and puts more stress on cracked pavement. Once a pothole forms, it grows through continued removal of broken chunks of pavement. If a pothole fills with water the growth may be accelerated, as the water ‘washes away’ loose particles of road surface as vehicles pass. In temperate climates, potholes tend to form most often during spring months when the subgrade is weak due to high moisture content.” (More after the link.)

We have cars.  We have cold weather.  And we have moist weather.  Thus, we have potholes, and potholes aplenty.  But, armed with our new knowledge and a few handy tips, we can be prepared and get ourselves through these trying times.  This from the Two Wheel Tango staff:

(-) Get involved with city government!  Advocacy goes a long way, and with a pro-cycling mayor at the helm, cyclist-sympathy is more powerful than ever.  City Council meetings are the first and third Monday of every month at 7:00 pm.

(-) Always be prepared!  A patch kit, spare tube, and frame pump or CO2 pump will save your ride nine times out of ten.

(-) Tire care is a must!  Keeping your tires at a slightly higher pressure will help prevent pinch flats.  Also, you’ll want to make sure to pump up your tires  as frequently as you ride, to guarantee that high pressure.

(-) Invest in some wider tires!  Force is disbursed over a greater area when you hit bumps and stones, and wider tires are designed with that in mind.  Isn’t physics grand?

Hope this helps, at least until all shoulders across America are six feet wide and paved with chocolate.  Smooth, pothole-free chocolate.  No peanuts.  No salmonella.  Just chocolate.

Ride safely and ride often!

– Sam

Huron Parkway Commuting– Not So Good Today

First off, let me just say how BEAUTIFUL it is today! If I didn’t get to ride into work day (first time commuting since the new year!) I would be kicking myself…  I rode my Specialized Globe which I have a new found love for- GOD that bike is sweet!  (Fenders, generator hub lights for tonight’s ride home, rack, oh yeah.)  I’m amazed every time by how much crap I can load onto it.  I’ve got a change of clothes, shoes, yoga outfit, towel, 32oz glass jar for H2O, lunch AND dinner, and a huge pink yoga mat situated on the rack, with Arkel panniers.  If I didn’t have to go home for the dog, I’d be tempted to go on a 3 day adventure…

But I digress! My point of writing this was to discuss the HORROR I felt in one section of the commuter so-called “bike path” on Huron Parkway.  Usually this path is clear, salted (sorry Earth), and a great way to get to work (Packard and Platt) from the northside of Ann Arbor.  But today, however, in the downhill section of the paved path that has a guard rail heading south, on the west side of the street I got a free thrill of compromised front wheel stability on my loaded commuter.   The maintenance in that section is apparently lacking to say the least– it’s downright DANGEROUS! Unless you are on a mountain bike, but even then I’d say it’d be safer to walk through that messy snow and ice crammed  section, or take it to the streets before you get to the hills on the path.   Definitely not something you want to ride through as you’re flying down that hill… made me thankful for health insurance.

Who’s in charge of bike path maintenance?

I checked out the city’s Community Standards page, which seems to place the city’s department of snow and ice removal at fault.

(Five minutes later.)  I just called the 24-hour “hotline”  and left a message about the hazardous situation of the path.  If you too encounter such snow/ice within the city on designated bike paths, you can register an official complaint by calling the Ann Arbor Community Standards department at 734. 994.1788.

– Jess

Two Wheel Tango Enters the Blogosphere!

Hello, everyone!

With great fanfare, we at Two Wheel Tango are excited to introduce our new weblog!

This is the Internet!

The staff here seems to have a lot to say and not enough time to share it with those who are interested:  “Whoa, check out this awesome new brass bell that we just began carrying!”  “Watch out on Huron River Drive, there’s a massive new pothole forming about three miles down the road…”  “Baskets upon baskets of organic tomatos for super-duper cheap this morning at the farmer’s market — hop on that bike and hurry down there ASAP!”  Things like that.

In this vein, we’ll be using this space to try and keep you up to date on cool events around town, upcoming or past rides and trails, neat new products, advocacy ideas or safety warnings, and anything else that we feel compelled to share.  We hope that you are intrigued, delighted, informed, and entertained by this forum.

Stay tuned, stay warm, and enjoy the ride!

– Dennis and the rest of the TWT Staff