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Round Rock Roads

There is a gravel shortage in Costa Rica. At least what you might usually think of as gravel.

To make gravel, large rocks are normally crushed into fairly uniform pieces somewhere between the size of a grape and a golf ball then filtered through a screen to eliminate any softball, bowling ball or bathtub size pieces remaining.

Gravel is not the same in Costa Rica
Round rock road – the Costa Rican version of gravel includes boulders the size of bathtubs…

Roads that are cut through clay, soil or sand are prone to being reshaped from smooth surfaces into cratered mud bogs under the influences of water and passing vehicles.  A layer of gravel helps prevent the deterioration of the road surface because the small stones interlock and are more difficult to move around than sand or mud.

Round rock roads are the result of skipping the intermediate steps of gravel production (which require expensive machinery), scoop rocks out of a riverbed and just dump them on the road. The river rocks vary from pebbles to the size of a small pig, and form a roadbed that feels like a reject from a speed bump factory. The large rocks embed in the dirt, with about 1/3 of their diameter protruding above the surface.

Gravel Crusher
Not your ordinary Costa Rica tour – Sue (in the pink dress) operating the gravel crusher at our friend’s Tajo

Bicycling Over Mount Everest

Sue on a "Round Rock Road" north of Vera Cruz
Sue on a “Round Rock Road” north of Vera Cruz

For each meter of forward progress there are two or three 6 cm (2-3 inch) bumps. You can get some idea of how much harder the riding is if you consider that climb over all those little rock bumps adds up to a 9,000 meter (29,500 foot) elevation gain (and loss) on a 50 km ride.

Costa Rica's version of a flat road
Round rock road out of Caño Negro village towards Bijagua

That’s the same as riding from sea level to the top of Mount Everest and back down to sea level! Sounds unlikely, but if you don’t believe it do the math. It’s easy to see why we preferred almost anything to a round rock road.

Ray & Sue

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Stories
  • Common Misconceptions
  • Trans Talamanca Trek – How To
  • Quebrada Gata
  • ¡Pura Vida!
  • Turtle Hatching
  • Round Rock Roads
  • Ask the Right Questions
  • History of Canopy Tours
  • Killer Cashew
  • Missed by Miles
  • Traffic Frog
  • Mountain Bike Palo Verde
  • How Costa Rica Got its Name
  • Intimate Sea Turtles
  • Heart of Palm
  • The Big Screwdriver
  • Bad Trip
  • Don’t Drink the Natilla
  • Imperial Beer in the U.S.
  • Disastrous Border Road



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