Infrastructure
I ride mostly in a semi-rural/ rural area. The roads in the beautiful famlands are terribly deteriorated. Road maintenence is non-existent. The freeze/thaw cycle is wreaking havoc, as you would expect. Many of these roads have a narrow but rideable shoulder, however, they are in especially bad shape. Even the actual driving lanes have many potholes. I have to ride in the driving lane, and even then, I'm all over the road. If you're in a farm vehicle or a pick up truck, it's probably not so bad. But eventually, due to lack of maintenence, these roads will become unusable to even motor vehicles. I think this is common throughout the country. How do you think it will be resolved? I heard that in some western states, they are reverting paved roads to dirt roads. We're going backwards now. There are hundreds of miles of road in my county alone that are substandard, not to mention the bridges. You know there will be a tragic loss of life due to a bridge collapse. It's just a matter of time. Where will the motivation and resources come from?
Oh, they use oil and stone in my area, which is a toltal waste of money and time.