Oil and Gravel roadsigns mean OIL and GRAVEL

So I head out on a ride yesterday. 50 mi. roundtrip. I do this ride several times per week - usually on each of my days off (Tues - Fri) unless something else is going on. So needless to say I know the roads really well. Kinda uneven and rutty at times, but nice twisties and generally ok unless your trying to set a new land speed record. So I exit the highway and turn onto the backroad. It's level for about 1/8th mile and then starts uphill through the twists for about 2 miles.

Just before it starts heading uphill I see an orange caution sign that says "OIL". I pass by cautiously looking ahead but don't see anything out of the ordinary. I'm thinking, "huh, they must have cleaned it up already." I've just started heading uphill. There is a gentle bend to the right and then the road continues straight climbing gently uphill for about 1/8th mile and then makes a nasty steep uphill hairpin right-hander. Usually this is about a 15 or 20mph MAX turn. So I'm heading up the hill getting close to this turn when I see another orange caution that says "Gravel". I look ahead and start to slow down a little because I'm coming up on the turn anyway, but I don't see anything and am thinking "hmm...maybe they cleaned that up already too." So I get to, and come around the first part of the turn and start a slight lean to the right when all of a sudden the front tire feels like I'm slushin through snow and whole bike feels like it's floating.

I was going pretty slow anyway so I just straightened up and eased on the brakes a little, noticing that the entire road has apprently been covered with 1/2 - 1 inch of small pebble-size gravel <img src=icon_smile_shock.gif border=0 align=middle>!!. I move, err...slush the bike over a little, trying to get into one of the car tire grooves, although there really aren't any. I figure that it can't be like this forever so I keep going at about 5 - 10mph around the next 1 or 2 turns. Then the road straightens out and heads up a kinda steep incline for another 1/8th mile before hitting some more twists. Up that entire stretch of road all I can see is gravel everywhere. I head for the first shoulder on the left and slowly crawl back down the hill and back to the highway. Before getting on I pulled over and check the tires and they're covered with gravel and small dabs of oil all over the place.

So I did a burnout and a wheelie to clean the tires up flew back home at 140mph!

heheheh j/k <img src=icon_smile_tongue.gif border=0 align=middle>

Really though things could have been a lot worse, so heads up out there and keep an eye out for those signs...even if it looks like the hazard has been removed. It could be, or there might just be an inch of gravel COVERING the road around that blind corner just ahead.

Ride safe...I'm leaving work now so you won't have to read any more excessively long posts from me. At least for a while <img src=icon_smile_wink.gif border=0 align=middle><img src=icon_smile_big.gif border=0 align=middle>

'01 yellow zx-6r
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