Tarmac?

[36654]

Ok, so I had a rare event today and actually encountered BMW riders during my Sunday ride thru North Central PA. It was just shy of toasty on the thermometer, but the humidity wasn't too bad. During a rest stop at a hang glider launch point, I joking commented a young female BMW rider that her 1-Pc AeroStich wasn't the most comfortable choice for the weather. In response, she blew off my aged comment with ........ "better than me against the tarmac!"

Now, I understand the intent of her response, but I have to wonder how many miles she actually rides on airport runaways? Or, am I just miss-informed in thinking that roads are either dirt or paved with concrete, asphalt (macadam) or the generic "pavement" while that similar surface at the airport is called the "Tarmac".

Comments?

 

[akbeemer]

Tarmac

Trademark. A brand of bituminous binder, similar to tarmacadam, for surfacing roads, airport runways, parking areas, etc.

— noun

( lowercase ) a road, airport runway, parking area, etc., paved with Tarmac, tarmacadam, or a layer of tar.

( lowercase ) a layer or covering of Tarmac, tarmacadam, or tar.

 

[36654]

Trademark. A brand of bituminous binder, similar to tarmacadam, for surfacing roads, airport runways, parking areas, etc.

— noun

( lowercase ) a road, airport runway, parking area, etc., paved with Tarmac, tarmacadam, or a layer of tar.

( lowercase ) a layer or covering of Tarmac, tarmacadam, or tar.

OK, have you ever used Tarmac to refer to a paved street surface?

 

[akbeemer]

Nope.

Have never heard tar macadam either, but I have referred to a road as macadam.

 

[36654]

Nope.

Have never heard tar macadam either, but I have referred to a road as macadam.

Yes, in honor of the good Scottish Engineer MacAdam......

As a PA product, calling Tar bitumen is really confusing. There's no soft coal on the road..........

 

[35634]

Maybe she just finished pulling a float plane aloft from a trailer at the local airport? https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=-JDogTLtels

 

[franko]

Tarmac-England/europe

If you would go to a web site such as www.britbike.com the word tarmac is used for the word asphalt/road. Maybe the woman was English or she visits sites that have many European posters and their words are creeping into her vocabulary. I know some of it has crept into mine. Just a thought. BMWs are well thought of there also if you have a look about. Frank Coleman

 

[markaz]

Or maybe she's British...

 

[dbrick]

OK, have you ever used Tarmac to refer to a paved street surface?

Heard and used both.

 

[barryg]

I think she kindly put you in your place in a nice way, as I text this in a nice way, my friend.

 

[barryg]

Reminds me of when I rode to the MOA national in Missoula, MT, I think '98. I wore a one piece Arostitch Roadcrafter. July and riding across the Great Plains, then the high plains and mountains of Montana. Pretty hot. I wore shorts underneath, and a T, along with a wet cool neck. I had the vents all open. Sometimes it did feel like too much. Stopping for fuel and general rest breaks, I got some comments of the same type. Do you plan on crashing or running into a blizzard. I just usually ignored it. I didn't encounter a crash or a blizzard, but the stitch did give me a since of security and safety.

 

[36654]

Reminds me of when I rode to the MOA national in Missoula, MT, I think '98. I wore a one piece Arostitch Roadcrafter. July and riding across the Great Plains, then the high plains and mountains of Montana. Pretty hot. I wore shorts underneath, and a T, along with a wet cool neck. I had the vents all open. Sometimes it did feel like too much. Stopping for fuel and general rest breaks, I got some comments of the same type. Do you plan on crashing or running into a blizzard. I just usually ignored it. I didn't encounter a crash or a blizzard, but the stitch did give me a since of security and safety.

I think my AeroStich is from the 2nd year of the production of the 2-piece suit. Great quality, a heck of a lot more comfortable than my old BMW leather sport suit but definitely from the days before vented riding gear. I respect the AeroStich product, but the new vented stuff is fantastic for the middle of summer.


BTW - I was wearing my Missoula Rally tee-shirt when I found out about tarmac

 

[36654]

Maybe she just finished pulling a float plane aloft from a trailer at the local airport? https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=-JDogTLtels

Speaking of float planes, at the same stop I spoke with some nice folks wearing Curtiss museum Tee-shirts, which is about 60-miles straight north. For anyone coming to the Hamburg, NY rally in 2016, the Curtiss museum in Hammondsport, NY is a recommended stop.

 

[AKsuited]

"Tarmac" is a term that derives from an earlier road building term: Macadam. This was a system used a long time ago. It consisted of a bottom layer of coarse rock, preferably crushed, all approximately one size. This was followed by another layer of smaller size rock, then another layer of progressively smaller crushed rock, and so on. "Tarmac" originally was the same system of different courses of crushed stone, but with the addition of tar on each course of rock. It was also known as "penetration macadam." Eventually instead of spraying tar (asphalt cement) onto each course, this was done at a blacktop plant, in a pugmill, mixing hot aggregate with the asphalt cement to produce asphalt concrete, or hot mix asphalt, a term more in use today.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macadam

The term "Tarmac" has nothing to do with where the pavement is placed.

Harry

 

[36654]

"Tarmac" is a term that derives from an earlier road building term: Macadam. This was a system used a long time ago. It consisted of a bottom layer of coarse rock, preferably crushed, all approximately one size. This was followed by another layer of smaller size rock, then another layer of progressively smaller crushed rock, and so on. "Tarmac" originally was the same system of different courses of crushed stone, but with the addition of tar on each course of rock. It was also known as "penetration macadam." Eventually instead of spraying tar (asphalt cement) onto each course, this was done at a blacktop plant, in a pugmill, mixing hot aggregate with the asphalt cement to produce asphalt concrete, or hot mix asphalt, a term more in use today.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macadam

The term "Tarmac" has nothing to do with where the pavement is placed.

Harry

So, what do you call that area around the landing gates at the airport?

 

[kioolt]

So, what do you call that area around the landing gates at the airport?

that area around the landing gates at the airport

 

[dbrick]

So, what do you call that area around the landing gates at the airport?

The ramp.

 

[pauls1150]

Crowded.

 

[AKsuited]

Blacktop.

Harry

 

[squeaky4432]

So, what do you call that area around the landing gates at the airport?

Ramp. In all my many years of flying, I have very seldom heard it called Tarmac.

Bob Schrader