A57 back in black

Don't know if any of you are aware yet that the Derbyshire section of the Snake Pass A57 has been re-surfaced with the blackest, stickiest-black-black-sticky-black tarmac you could ever wish for. Now I'm a bit of a stickler for a re-surfaced road being 'flat' and this job is a pearler. Its flat its smooth its sticky and its black and you are gonna love it.

The A57 Snake Pass From Glossop through to the Ladybower Dam. A rollercoaster ride of epic proportions....well it is now!

You better go enjoy it soon before the idiots go and gravel it over for the winter!

Looks like a good road, I wonder if I could head up there for a spin from Oxford...

sound! was about time if you ask me!!

went through while it was closed for resurfacing and it looked promising. is it still full of gravel because of the resurfacing?

Just riden it .... its very nice ... had a blast!

The resurfaced area is super duper, but be aware that there are still alot of nasty cambers if your not expecting it.

Went out on the bike in a last minute 'well I might as well go for a ride' and had a lovely time. A515 bakewell road, head for chatsworth, onto carver, hathersage, snake pass, glossop back to buxton. How lucky I am to have these roads on my door step.

ps. no gravel, or I didnt notice any at least!

Seeing as I have lots of spare time on my hands I'll do that next week while everybody is at work.

For the past 2 years its been in a terrible state, downright lethal for bikers in many places. The different councils have been arguing over who is responsible for resufacing it hence the big delay. Its something to do with the highways agency boundaries and the local council boundaries overlapping and causing confusion....thats the last thing you want to do with a council official, confuse them!
Any road up its been done now and the whole section can be done in one fell swoop (indeed many swoops!).
Its got a bit of everything with tight sweeping esses which rollercoaster their way into 90° bends, it widens, it narrows sometimes when you least expect it. It bucks and weaves. Some lovely sections through the trees on a hot sunny day. Fast straights and long sweepers. I'll bet when you've done it you turn straight round and do it again....its that kinda road!

PS no gravel yet!
Plus tea vans, one in a layby alongside Ladybower Dam and the other in a layby just after 'The Snake Inn' if you are travelling west toward Glossop that is!

Thanks for the info RJ - I've been riding a shortened 'circuit' for a while, going back through Bamford and Hathersage as the Snake has been so bad, but will look forward to longer rides in the future

Hope to see you out there sometime

We are very lucky to live so close to such beauty! See you out there!

Not ridden it since the resurfacing, but I have driven over it several times since, and in fact I "do" Snake Pass every other weekend to go collect/return my kids in Sheffield and HAVE done for the past 7 years. It has recently been in such a state that driving a car over some parts has been fraught with danger, so how I managed to stay on the bike going over it a few months ago is beyond me It sooooooooo desperately needed it and it DOES look so much better now, but as someone said - be careful - there's still the odd spots about that you need to be really careful on.

Especially if you continue on the A57 after the LadyBower Inn (east-bound). There's a few tight turns (almost 90 degrees) with cambers and worn out parts of road that still look like they could do with re-filling or resurfacing, but that stretch was only resurfaced about 2 years ago!

Cheers,
Pete