Riding the bike really does open your eyes.

[paul04]

New to cyling on the road, having done a 17 mile bike ride today around the outskirts of manchester, I am surprised just how bad the roads are, you don't really notice (as much) while driving in the car, from pot holes and grids in bad need of repair. It was quite hard to try and ride in a straight line

I also noticed just how close some cars/vans do get to you, one car overtook me today and his door mirror was no less than a couple of inches away from my leg, luckily this was the only bad driver I seen this morning.

 

[Dayvo]

Try riding as long as you dare with your eyes shut. That'll certainly get the adrenalin going and make for a more interesting ride.

 

[Darren Jeffrey]

Have to agree the roads in the uk are pretty bad

 

[TonyEnjoyD]

Try riding as long as you dare with your eyes shut. That'll certainly get the adrenalin going and make for a more interesting ride.

I thought I was the only nutcase to ever do that!

 

[potsy]

Well, this was the response in Stockport last year

Staff at a cash-strapped council have been telling motorists to measure their own potholes – to prove they are big enough to fix.
Under a new policy, Stockport town hall will only repair holes that are more than a foot wide or 1.5 inches deep

 

[MrJamie]

Try riding as long as you dare with your eyes shut. That'll certainly get the adrenalin going and make for a more interesting ride.

I like to ride up the middle of a dead straight road through the woods at night in total darkness, about 18mph and turn off the magicshine and see how long I can go in without turning it on or slowing down, my record must be about 3 seconds

 

[numbnuts]

The Beatles said there were four thousand holes in Blackburn Lancashire .......

 

[Dayvo]

I thought I was the only nutcase to ever do that!

I've driven like that, too, a LOOONG time ago, but ONLY when there was no traffic around and the road was straight! Still nervy, though.

 

[mcshroom]

Well, this was the response in Stockport last year

Make sure you report any pothole even below that threshold on FillThatHole. If there is a record of a road defect and they have decided not to fix it then they are liable for any injuries caused by the defect as I understand it. Registering it on the CTC's site rather than on the council one means that there is 3rd party proof of the report in the event of a dispute.

 

[Methuselah]

Pot holes are good for you, they keep you on your nose!

 

[SatNavSaysStraightOn]

Have to agree the roads in the uk are pretty bad

I have to say that after 12 months cycling abroad I am rather enjoying the condition of the UK roads - they are fantastic on the whole (excuse the pun). Trust me, I can name plenty of countries the road here are better than. Start with Ireland - that bad my OH broke 3 spokes there and if we did not have to stop at least twice a day to put panniers back onto racks, it was a seriously good day. Road mending Irish style is an art form. Regretfully it never appealed to me enough to photo - I was usually hanging on for dear life thanking my padded cycling shorts for being so good. At least the grids are usually lain the correct way in the UK...

As for the reporting of holes, it is worthwhile but include photo of said hole as well. Only the ones I photo'ed were ever repaired. One or two in seriously danagerous spots were repaired within 2 weeks, but luckily someone intervened on the missing grid cover by inserting an inverted cone into the hole. Not the best turn around speed but they did get repaired.

Otherwise enjoy the fantastic condition of the UK roads. Don't beleive me? Try cycling elsewhere...

 

[benstewe]

haha i lived in India for a few years & our roads are heaven as is our traffic we dont no how good we have it when it comes to roads