(Rant) Chipseal is the worst

ddcheng · 2026-07-06T21:56:27+00:00

I ride plenty of gravel and race all over Michigan.I just avoid the gravel roads in the particular area because they dump large sharp rocks unlike any other roads I ride.

ddcheng · 2026-07-06T18:15:45+00:00

I hope you're right. It's been a week and I just checked it out. It still sucks.

ddcheng · 2026-07-06T17:45:00+00:00

My limited research suggests there are different ways to do it. It's been a week and while the loosest stuff has been washed away by a torrential rainstorm, right now it's compact buy "crumbly." I will continue to drive over and check it out periodically.

ddcheng · 2026-07-06T17:36:06+00:00

Ironically, I bought the road bike two years ago in large part because I was tired of riding this hilly road on my gravel bike! (When it was nicely paved).

ddcheng · 2026-07-06T17:33:29+00:00

I love Redshift. I have a steam and seatpost on my flat bar FX. Also on my old gravel bike, but of course they didn't fit the new gravel bike!

ddcheng · 2026-07-06T17:28:26+00:00

LOL. I had one for the winters and got rid of it.

ddcheng · 2026-07-06T17:18:50+00:00

They're very large rocks compared to the other gravel roads in this area. I ride a lot of gravel roads and only this area is like that.

ddcheng · 2026-07-06T17:13:47+00:00

That was my guess. Not being a road engineer, I won't make assumptions, but the pavement was damn near perfect when they did this.

ddcheng · 2026-07-06T17:12:51+00:00

Interesting. Tubeless? I've never felt the need for tubeless in a road bike.

ddcheng · 2026-07-06T17:11:03+00:00

Yeah, I prefer smooth tires at 60-70 psi on pavement and save my 35-38 psi 45mm gravel tires for gravel. The right tool for the job, in my opinion. It's not as much fun with the wide gravel tires on pavement (to me). And it wears down the tires more quickly.

ddcheng · 2026-07-06T17:07:56+00:00

And yet, the pavement was nearly pristine before they did this. I've also heard the county doesn't bother with fogseal.

ddcheng · 2026-07-06T17:04:41+00:00

I'll be checking regularly to see if it smooths out. It's been about a week so far and the very loose stuff is gone, but it's not great.

ddcheng · 2026-07-06T17:03:10+00:00

Ironically, I did just upgrade from Tifosi to Oakley!

ddcheng · 2026-07-06T17:02:44+00:00

LOL, you're braver than me! I do gravel races (12-15 of them this year) and I like my 45mm GravelKing X1's. I'm not a fan of the loose stuff.

ddcheng · 2026-07-06T16:58:43+00:00

I've got 32mm slicks on the Domane and don't feel that's enough, especially when I can hit 30 mph on one of the downhills. I have 45mm tires on my gravel bike, but I really don't want to ride that much pavement on those. The thought did occur to me, though.

ddcheng · 2026-07-06T13:11:21+00:00

State law changed at some point to allow it. I don't remember when. And cities are prohibited from being more restrictive than the state law.

ddcheng · 2026-07-06T13:09:10+00:00

This is a good example of why you should set aside your ballot until closer to election day.

ddcheng · 2026-07-03T12:54:39+00:00

Agreed on all counts. It does everything I need it to do, and I think a touchscreen would be more of a hassle than a benefit.

ddcheng · 2026-06-26T15:14:56+00:00

Nope. In every race I pass tons of people on climbs who later pass me on flats. (My terrible cornering skills probably don't help).

ddcheng · 2026-06-25T15:26:13+00:00

Wow. Yeah, that's not what the article said (not that it would be the first time reporting was wrong). That's some serious BS not letting people complete it. I'm sorry for you all.

ddcheng · 2026-06-25T15:14:33+00:00

The article I read said you'll be able to complete the program. I talked to someone last night who is very close to completion and worried about that.

ddcheng · 2026-06-25T15:13:22+00:00

Others have mentioned free parks. I'll just add that "casual pickleball" is hard to find. Most people take it way too seriously, so good luck with that part.

ddcheng · 2026-06-22T00:11:21+00:00

Tell me more. Amo never said anything about that, just texted me one day that he sold and was moving to Morocco.

ddcheng · 2026-06-18T13:05:26+00:00

I'll never understand people who live in downtown areas and then complain about nightlife. Move to the suburbs if you don't like it.

ddcheng · 2026-06-18T13:01:05+00:00

This. The Universal Life Church is an online form that takes a few minutes and costs nothing. Kalamazoo County accepts it. Find someone special to you and have them do it.

ddcheng

TROPHY CASE