The note Carol Delahunty recently posted in the club e-mail seemed to hit a subject that's close to any cyclist out on the roads in Gainesville, or at least their tires — glass.
In her note Delahunty said, "The amount of glass on my commute route (51st to 43rd to University in particular) has reached an all-time high. I recall someone telling me there is a city number to call. Do you know it?"
Neil Crandal, electric utility engineer with Gainesville Regional Utilities, and a GCC member, supplied the answer — kind of:
I say "kind of" because the city, state and county could each have a full-time glass patrol and still not keep up with the problem which seems to come from two main sources.
Litter is the No. 1 problem. Some folks in town see the "Bike Lane" signs as a message that reads "ditch your bottles here." What they don't throw in that direction ends up being washed there with the storm runoff making riding something more like an obstacle course. More than once I've gone to dodge the certain death to my tires, and have almost paid the price of death to myself by swerving in front of a car.
And the No. 2 source is car crash remains. Whenever two or more vehicles come together on the street, headlight and taillight shards are typically left on the pavement for the rest of us to enjoy. While the wrecker services collect their checks for moving the crinkled heaps, a $5 investment to put a broom and dust pan on the trucks would make things nicer for everyone.
Car tires seems to be heavy enough and thick enough to take the abuse, but most of us aren't riding on steel-belted Kevlar-reinforced bullet-proof bike tires. Liners can help a little, but even a tiny sharp sliver can find a way through our best efforts.
Maybe since we, the bike riders, are the most affected, we could be part of the solution. I've often thought of tucking a little whisk broom and dust pan into my bike bag and when I see the problem, stop and solve it rather than grumble and then try to remember the places to avoid. Setting a bag limit of two stops per ride would keep it from eating up the entire ride time. Maybe Carol has inspired me to finally make that step. It' s not like I'm traveling extra light anyway, a few more ounces aren't going to kill me. I could bag the mess until I find a place to dispose of it. The tire I save could be my own.