Recently I tried to capture a sense of movement of riders trying to navigate around potholes. Many road surfaces here in Southampton are terrible and I think the above almost conveys that. Modern traffic means a cyclist needs an element of speed, forward planning and often cannot avoid such crap in the way.
Some manage to jump.
Some manage to swerve.
Some get lucky and its not that deep.
Some end up with knackered bikes.
The above trench was the section of road that I think damaged my headset on the Jake. The Jake is a rugged bike, it has to be as its designed for Cyclocross. £47 down the pan for me in repairs for just that bike and Southampton City Council haven't responded to my letter asking for reimbursement. This is on Second Avenue in Millbrook. If you look at the Google Street View you discover that this route has been left in disrepair for a number of years (the Street Car last past around there about 3 years ago)
Bellemoor Road managed to knacker my rear wheel on my other bike. I cannot get this fixed as Mavic wont supply my local bike shop with a single spoke for an Aksium wheel. Aksiums are pretty bombproof wheels but when I was pinned in by traffic I had no where to go and had to thump through said pothole (GSV is now, also, a few years out of date. This road is structurally falling to pieces at all depths and in serious need of a full relaying), said driver had to overtake through a pinch point.
The way our roads are designed seem to lead to conflict. I know Southampton City Council are working on things but as a cyclist you feel its just taking too long, and cost me personally rather a lot of money.
These issues aside - I hope you enjoy these photographs and don't have to suffer the same risks or financial concerns whether you ride on two wheels or drive in four.
3 comments:
A few years ago my bike survived a large pothole OK but I didn't..broken collar bone and five ribs being the price I paid... The state of our roads is certainly a concern and does present a major hazard for bike riders everywhere I think...
-Trevor
Completely agree, Trevor. 2011 I got my front wheel pinched by one and ended up with a broken nose, broken finger etc.
To me it feels like excuses are starting to be made on these issues whilst politicians continue to rake in their massive expenses and pay salaries.
The highway maintenance backlog is running at about £800 million a year in England and Wales - this is just to stand still. Yet the government is spending a billion on road widening and hard shoulder running (which is bugger all help to cycle users)...
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