Mud on the Road

Kingsmill1

Now our good friend the winter has arrived not getting out much, doing a bit on the turbo and try getting out 1-2 times per week. However recently had two near off's thanks to mud on the lanes where I ride thanks to our farming friends. Today same again and wondering if I should leave it till the spring when I heard my mate had come off thanks to mud on the road and ended up in A&E with broken collar bone and ribs. Whilst you can see some of the mud and stay away form it I'm still finding the back wheel coming out even when being careful (tyres GP4000s).
Just wondering who is responsible for clearing this off the road ? Local authority or the farmer most of the times there are no signs warning you about it coming off a bend and wondering if the council is liable if there are no signs and you come off. Even a post van today ended up in a side ways skid in front of me today breaking for another vehicle.
Whilst I admire our farming friends producing the food that we eat just wish they would clear up their own mess for other road users.

ugo.santalucia

There are a number of threads open on the same topic in the general section.

This is my view: are you sure it's not down to the individual to ride a bicycle which is appropriate to the roads you ride on? Lots of people on 100-120 PSI tyres... I know this is considered normal, but I can tell you it's not. That kind of pressure applies to race type tyres, which should not be used this time of the year. Think in terms of a cross bike, a Mountain bike or a touring bike. You can't expect your local council to sweep the roads for you, so that you can have a good time with your friends on racing bikes. If you want to ride a race bike in winter, you do it at your own risk...

Kingsmill1

The roads I'm talking about not only affect bikes tyres but cars as well hence why I saw a postal van do a sideways skid this morning, I thought the council were supposed to maintain any road repairable at public expense and all the roads I ride on I would assume fit this bracket. I take your point about a different type of bike but my shed cant take any more bikes................

ugo.santalucia

Kingsmill1 wrote:

The roads I'm talking about not only affect bikes tyres but cars as well hence why I saw a postal van do a sideways skid this morning, I thought the council were supposed to maintain any road repairable at public expense and all the roads I ride on I would assume fit this bracket. I take your point about a different type of bike but my shed cant take any more bikes................

I disagree... basically you are saying roads should be maintained to a level so that we can ride and drive as if it was always summer. That is not possible... everybody need to slow down and maybe fit tyres appropriate to the season, including the postal van!

slowbike

I partially agree with the OP ...

Mud on the road is a menace - even with my 32mm flackjacket tyres at 70psi I managed to slip off the road last week - only just avoided an off and its made me more careful.
Fortunately we don't have much in the way of mud on the main roads as in this drier weather the cars tend to break it up quickly - but on the lanes (where I had my near-miss) don't get that through traffic - which is why I usually ride them - so the mud doesn't get cleared away .. and that's where it is dangerous.

I'm not sure that expecting the council to routinely sweep our hundreds/thousands of miles of lanes would be a good use of resource - but equally, the drivers creating the mess should take a bit more responsibility for it and clean the worst affected areas ...
and if anyone says "farmers are poor" - take a look at their vehicles - they're not poor ...

cougie

I think its a bit impractical to expect the farmer to have a roadsweeper clean the lane immediately behind him as he exits a muddy field.

Farmers vehicles might be expensive - farming is big business and a costly investment. I'm not sure how you can tell if anyone is poor or not - just from looking at their vehicle. You can get flash stuff all on credit if you are that way inclined...

If you're crashing a lot - then I think you need to look at how you're riding.

I can't say I've ever had problems with mud on the road - and part of my regular ride is through a farmyard which is a delight in wet weather with the cows making it extra slippy.

GP4000s seem to work for me in all conditions.

smidsy

Kingsmill1 wrote:

Even a post van today ended up in a side ways skid in front of me today breaking for another vehicle.

In which case he was too close and too fast for the conditions. You can not blame the road surface.

cougie

That reminds me - I had my closest shave the other weekend with a post van turning into the singletrack lane I was coming out of. You'd think he'd have looked before he turned but he didn't. Came to a stop with his bumper less than a foot away from my leg. They razz those vans round.

Kingsmill1

whilst I agree the postie had poor planning in his driving it was very interesting seeing the van slide in what otherwise a clean bit of road if a little damp. What worried me more was what would happen to my bike and me should an idiot appear from a side road without looking and I had to brake hard to avoid a collision. Now before I get " your riding to fast for the conditions" i am an experienced motorcyclist, driver and plan ahead when riding using skills I learnt on many a driving course which I have been fortunate to complete over the last few years. Would have been very interesting seeing how well cycle tyres hold up in these conditions.
I agree we should'nt expect the council to road sweep millions of miles of road but what is the answer ? surely the responsibility rests with those making the mess but the farmers have to do their work so it catch 22. However this doesnt really help if you've been unfortunate and had an off and been injured and you were being careful where you ride. Certainly has made me think about staying on the main roads but that brings another problem which is a whole new topic.

cougie

I think I'd worry about the idiot appearing from the sideroad when (or indeed if) it happens. Any resulting incident would surely have been their fault ? You can't predict what the road surface will be at the time it happens. If it happens.

If you watch some old youtube clips from Paris Roubaix - you might pick up some tips there. Or scare yourself back to the turbo....

For me though - just back it off on the bends - straight muddy roads aren't normally an issue unless you ride funny.

Beave

We get this a lot where I live (Norfolk) and frankly this time of year some of the roads are atrocious , as it happens farmers are liable if they put mud all over the roads as it causes hazards on the roads for other users .
Not really sure how to do links but this will give you some idea .

http://www.norfolk.gov.uk/Travel_and_tr ... /NCC030038

stueys

As a semi relevant aside, I went out on my good bike a couple of weeks ago (sun shining but freezing) I was really surprised at the difference in gp4000s on 23's and Conti 4s on 25's (winter bike). Conti 4s have a lot more grip when cold and/or damp.

Biscuiteer

It's the farmers' responsibility to clear mud but often there's no point to them trying to do it until they've finished harvesting the field or fields they're working in becuase in 10 minutes time, yet another tractor will be exiting the field.

It was really, really bad round here (Herefordshire) last year

http://www.herefordtimes.com/news/10021153.Police_say_they_will_take_action_against_farmers_after_mud_left_on_roads_causes_collisions/

but fortunately it hasn't been quite so bad this year. And if you're wondering what "not quite so bad" looks like after a ride...

upperoilcan

If the roads are that muddy why dont you just take a different route ?

Or am i making things too simple ?

slowbike

cougie wrote:

I think its a bit impractical to expect the farmer to have a roadsweeper clean the lane immediately behind him as he exits a muddy field.

True - but sometime soon after would be sensible.
I live in a rural location and expect a level of farming debris on the road - just recently that level has increased a lot. They're not working those fields every day - so a once per week clean would seem reasonable - at the moment they're just left.

cougie wrote:

Farmers vehicles might be expensive - farming is big business and a costly investment. I'm not sure how you can tell if anyone is poor or not - just from looking at their vehicle. You can get flash stuff all on credit if you are that way inclined...

You don't get credit when you've got nothing - I accept that not all farmers are flush - it just seems to me that a lot are driving around in the top end 4x4's - which is absolutely fine, I have no problem with that - just don't tell me they can't afford a tractor & brush for an hour or so of cleaning up behind them...

cougie wrote:

If you're crashing a lot - then I think you need to look at how you're riding.

Fortunately not - not even the once - it was a near miss ... and yes I'll be more careful at the edge of the road where there is mud...

cougie wrote:

I can't say I've ever had problems with mud on the road - and part of my regular ride is through a farmyard which is a delight in wet weather with the cows making it extra slippy.

I have no problem with tracks and trails being slippy - especially where you're going through farmyards - the road that is often a disgrace is not a farm yard - it is a public highway that is turned into a farm track ...

larkim

A short local cut through road which I use (in my car) on the way home from work regularly was caked in mud a couple of days ago, and was nearly as treacherous as ice to drive on (of course, I modified my speed and driving approach accordingly). Next day the road was closed by the Council for an emergency clean. They clearly thought that it was unacceptable as a road surface, and unlike rain / snow it isn't as predictable in that you could be driving down a damp but "normal" road, turn onto this other road and be instantly caught out by the lack of grip without any prior warning - at least if it is icy / snowy you know full well that you might be turning onto a treacherous stretch of road.