Well, I've been over there a couple of times now, '99, '03, '07... but, whilst being warned by a local that "things have changed...", I don't recall such road conditions from back then...
And I'm not talking about some remote, isolated, hardly frequented single track roads far away from inhabited areas, those are astonishingly in surprising good condition (yeah, a few exceptions...), some even fully freshly paved and totally smooth to ride...
Nah, A and main roads, even motorways are very desolate, often to hazardous levels...
You ride an A road, with a summit right in a corner, and just when you come over the crest here they are: three deep potholes lingering, in the size of toilet seats, giving you a fraction of a second to figure which one would be the least damaging to hit...
Rural areas, really posh ones with golf courses, mansions, Bentleys, Porsches, Range Rovers with gold plated hood ornaments and door handles, totally unmaintained roads, cracked open holes aside sewer/manhole covers as big as my boot-prints...
Even obviously newly paved roadways, where you think you could open it up a little, are rippled, uneven washboards with unexpected gaps, steps, bulges and potholes every 1/2 mile... new blacktop sloppily applied and damaged already?!
You see a lot of new cars everywhere, especially imports, but IMO even military spec vehicles won't last and get worn down there...
Food, if you find a place to get some, is generally excellent; but you hardly find actual guest rooms with seating areas for patrons, take-away or delis are the thing now...
Sure, the rolling, omnipresent motor home-infestation doesn't need much infrastructure, they bring and cook their own food, they have their own toilet on board... they park and camp just everywhere and leave their rubbish behind... sad to see so many soda bottles, cans and wrappers thrown into the nature...
GF found it not so relaxing over there, actually quite overrun...
One can easily spot the locals from the tourists in their rental cars and motor-homes... the later are many... ignoring the passing places they rather plow right into you, inattentive, won't let other pass, etc...
With oncoming locals OTOH I often played "the game" though, with left indicator on each of us pulling into his passing place... and then we sat there, staring at each other... who'll drive first?...
HGV drivers are very appreciative over giving them space and priority while giving clear signals... and they're also very courteous when it comes to letting you pass them... won't box up intersections, etc...
And I don't know what's up with the lack of public rest rooms...
Like when visiting the site of Baron and Duke (the Kelpies), a bunch of food-trucks, but no lavvi to find... weird...
Anyway, lots of scenery, landscape and landmarks to awe at... still processing...
