Re: 1972 Legnano in the news

On 11/14/2024 6:35 AM, Roger Merriman wrote:

Frank Krygowski <frkrygow@sbcglobal.net> wrote:

 Those things are all hazards that almost never occur on a normal road.
Car tires tend to remove debris, and road maintenance people don't allow
things like sharp ridges to remain in the pavement. Motorists would not
put up with those.
>

They very much do, aka potholes are very much a motor traffic thing, ie
caused by the weight of traffic, weather doesn’t by its self seem to do
this even over decades.

Re-read, Roger. Yes, potholes are more common on roads than on bike trails. But the crashes I described were not caused by potholes, in part because potholes are a well known hazard that road cyclists watch for.
Separate bike paths are touted as so, so safe that riders tend to zone out. That's a bad situation if (and when) the rider is surprised by large debris, sharp ridges caused by tree roots, thick coatings of mud and other hazards that are vanishingly rare where cars' tires roll.
Also, potholes generate motorist complaints, and so get filled by repair crews. Surface problems on bike trails can go for years without repair, despite complaints. I have examples.

And roads very much do need cleaning or just get tire tracks in the lane
with debris to the sides and down the center of the lane, and debris is
again motor vehicle derived.

Autumn leaves and stout fallen branches are definitely _not_ motor vehicle derived. Instead, they are kicked or blown aside by passing cars. They may possibly, occasionally, lie in the dead center of the lane for a short while if the road has near zero car traffic, but that's no a problem for a cyclist smart enough to ride in the tire track zone.
If you don't believe surface debris and surface maintenance problems contribute to the higher per-km crash rates found for bike paths, please do give your alternate explanation.
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- Frank Krygowski