[adouglas]

I would point out that the 3-year-old in the above posts is not traveling at highway speeds. If the little blighter goes down the consequences are likely to be a skinned knee and crying. If we go down it's more like a visit to the ER.

I hate chip seal. If it were me I'd leave the bike home, or go far out of my way to avoid it for awhile.

A few reasons:

1) The 3-year-old's expertise notwithstanding, loose surfaces are a road hazard. Riders can and do go down when they hit sand or gravel while riding. If it were as safe as riding on solid dry pavement then this would not happen. Yes you can ride in gravel successfully… it's not a guaranteed crash. Doesn't mean it's particularly fun or preferable.

2) The biggest hazard with loose sand and gravel is when you hit it unexpectedly. With chip seal this is bound to happen at some point, because during the process of it bedding in it often rains. What then occurs is that whatever gravel hasn't gotten mashed into the tar has a habit of collecting in low spots (apexes of corners, center of T intersections). The mechanism is exactly the same one that makes riding in early spring dangerous… the previous winter's sand has yet to clear.

So you'll be whistling along a nice fresh smooth surface and then BAM-- you hit a nice-sized patch of gravel that acts just like ball bearings. I did exactly this on a bicycle some years back going about 30 mph and I was down before I had any time to react. The road rash was not fun.

3) During the bedding-in process the gravel is still loose and apt to be kicked up by car tires. So you'll be subjecting your bike (and you) to occasional showers of sticky, filthy, tar-coated pebbles. For that matter, your own tire will kick it up and if you've removed your rear fender it's going to wind up on your back.* Sounds like fun, doesn't it?

*The street near my house is crumbling and in need of repair, so there are tiny bits of asphalt/rocks etc on the surface. I pass over it at about 35-40 mph immediately before pulling into my driveway. Every day I find a few bits of this stuff sitting on my pillion seat.