Like buttah!

There are many things that are good with lumps in them such as: Chunky peanut butter, gravy, tea (with sugar), ice cream. There are other things that aren't good lumpy including: mattresses, carpets, milk (unless you want to make cheese), and roads. Yes, no one likes a lumpy and bumpy road.

On my recent trip north, I found a back road in rural New Jersey that was so full of potholes I thought the Swiss had been by for a visit. In south-western Massachusetts, route 57 through Granville was so torn up for road work, it made me question whether World War III had started in the Berkshires. Then there's Lemon street here in little old East Pete.

Bumpity bump bump bump

About two years ago, there was a water main break on Lemon Street. Understandably, this kind of thing happens with older infrastructure; however, the road has since been torn up multiple times and the road surface is so bad, those times I can't avoid going north on Lemon Street, I ride in the opposite lane when I can, just to save my suspension. 

Things changed for the worse last week. There was more digging on Lemon Street, and they didn't patch it, just filled it in and topped it with gravel. There are no signs, no warning, not even a bit of orange paint to mark the spot. Late last week, I didn't realize this and nearly wiped out. Thankfully the patch is short enough that I was able to recover. Then today, I tried to go around the gravel and instead hit the northward edge of the poorly patched tunnel to China. The jolt of hitting the front wheel on the edge of the abyss nearly took me off my scooter and sent everything in my crate flying, including a $10 can of waterproofing spray for my rain gear, which quickly got squashed by an oncoming car (thankfully it was the can, not me). There was no obvious damage to the scoot, but I was doing less than the speed limit, which probably prevented such a thing.

The abyss by the light of day

I went to the borough office and explained the situation to the young lady behind the counter. She took my info and my number, and said she'd give it to whomever is responsible for the roads. This was around 10 am this morning. As of 8:00 pm this evening, there is still no warning, no sign, and the road is still unsafe for those of us on two wheels.

After visiting the borough office, I returned home, took a nap, then went to work to discover a delightful surprise: Fresh asphalt on route 897 just south of Lebanon. Oh, it was beautiful. Yes, I had to wait to be allowed through on the single open lane, but it was a smooth slice of road-heaven.

Upon arrival at work, there was another surprise. Yes, more fresh asphalt. At the time, it was still being laid down and smooshed into place by rollers, but oh, the finished product is smooth like buttah! So, despite a migraine and having to go home from work a bit early, at least the road home was pleasant to ride on.

Even more, when I got home, a lovely sunset was bidding farewell to the day. So, even with nearly wrecking my scoot, the roads improved and the ride goes on...tomorrow, after the migraine passes.