Eugene has bike lanes on most city streets. That's the good news. The bad news is the amount of debris that clutters those bike lanes making a bike commute an obstacle course. Enter the city streetsweepers. As a bike commuter, I'm well aware when a streetsweeper has worked on my route. One day it is rocks, branches, glass, dead animals and the occasional soda can. The next morning it is smooth sailing. I called the supervisor of streetsweepers to compliment the great work they do.
The other day there was a large ceramic vase smashed to pieces right in the middle of the bike lane. Over a few days the pieces of pottery as well as the wiring got ground into smaller and smaller pieces. Still it was something I had to ride around by going into the traffic lane. And therein lies the problem. You can just plow through all the debris, but you risk both flat tires and losing your balance. More realistically you keep one eye on the bike lane ahead and the other in your rearview mirrow to be alert to following traffic in case you need to move into the traffic lane.
And what's the worst things to have in your path? Well, it isn't glass. Beside objects the size of a small safe, the worst things are blackberry vines. Those thorns can give you a flat almost instantly. And Oregon is the home for wild blackberries growing in every vacant lot and unmaintained roadside.
I wonder what the streetsweepers' schedules look like? Do they take requests? It would almost be worth knowing their schedule and then adjusting my commute to follow the cleanest lanes.
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