GYPSY M/C HOUSTON
Tar Snakes
Tar Snakes
| So,
you're jammin' down the road without a care in the world - enjoying
the smells of nature, basking in the sun, and listening to the sweet
music of your V-twin rumbling beneath you … As you relax, you scan the pavement ahead for possible problems. There aren't any cross-roads or entrances, a few cows behind a fence with a couple of horses, The pavement appears dry, and there are no kids or critters running about. The temperature is 90 degrees with 75% humidity. There's no sand, gravel, corn or road apples on the hot-mix pavement. But there are lots of black crooked lines on the road - some are short, some are long, some go across the road, others run lengthwise. We've all seen them. Smirnoff call's them "Tar Snakes" You enter a curve, and halfway through it, your rear tire hits some of that black stuff and slips a little. Before you can compensate for that, the rear tire hits the road's center line. Next thing you know, you're counting the birdies in the sky and wondering . . . what happened?! Well, that black stuff is known as crack sealer; it's an asphalt-based goop that the Department of Transportation uses to fill the cracks in the pavement. In hot weather, the sealer warms up, and as the pavement expands and cracks close, the sealer is forced out. It isn't a liquid, but it will move a bit - so be careful! .  |