Do they sweep TdF routes?

Raptor said:

I see a bunch of riders riding in the gutter or on the fringe. If you try that on most roads I've
seen, you'll flat for sure eventually.

Quoted message said:

So is there a road sweeper crew in the pre-race caravan or do they do something else?

Maybe the French don't chuck beer bottles out of their cars into the gutter?

Not only are French gutters cleaner that he is acustomed to, but a lot of places in the US can
actually be ridding without fear of flats.

Imagine...

"Benjamin Weiner" <[email hidden]> wrote in message "]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Raptor said:

I see a bunch of riders riding in the gutter or on the fringe. If you try that on most roads
I've seen, you'll flat for sure eventually.

Quoted message said:

So is there a road sweeper crew in the pre-race caravan or do they do something else?

Maybe the French don't chuck beer bottles out of their cars into the gutter?

You mean no bubba's in pickups thinking that you should be run of the road for having the nerve to
be on their road.

Wow Imagine that

"Nick Burns" <[email hidden]> wrote in :"]news:[email hidden]:

Quoted message said:

Not only are French gutters cleaner that he is acustomed to, but a lot of places in the US can
actually be ridding without fear of flats.

Imagine...

"Benjamin Weiner" <[email hidden]> wrote in message "]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Raptor said:

I see a bunch of riders riding in the gutter or on the fringe. If you try that on most roads
I've seen, you'll flat for sure eventually.

Quoted message said:

So is there a road sweeper crew in the pre-race caravan or do they do something else?

Maybe the French don't chuck beer bottles out of their cars into the gutter?

"Chris" <[email hidden]> wrote in message "]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

You mean no bubba's in pickups thinking that you should be run of the road for having the nerve to
be on their road.

Wow Imagine that

I know the roads in Bavaria are like hospital corridors compared to the [censored] in our gutters and on
our roads. And very few potholes..imagine that. In the spring here we sometimes get potholes that
actually damage the suspension on your car. I'm sure Michigan and other northern states are similar.
Farm roads in Bavaria are in better condition than our main roads.

Cheers,

Scott..

Nick Burns said:

Not only are French gutters cleaner that he is acustomed to, but a lot of places in the US can
actually be ridding without fear of flats.

Imagine...

The ones with returnable bottle laws.

Raptor said:

I see a bunch of riders riding in the gutter or on the fringe. If you try that on most roads I've
seen, you'll flat for sure eventually.

So is there a road sweeper crew in the pre-race caravan or do they do something else?

When it came to the UK in '94 they resurfaced practically the entire route, and the part that ran
near our house hasn't been touched since!

Gareth

"Nick Burns" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Not only are French gutters cleaner that he is acustomed to, but a lot of places in the US can
actually be ridding without fear of flats.

Imagine...

Have you been to France before? The few times I've been there, if it wasn't a strike by the garbage
men, The garbage cans were either removed or bolted shut to prevent people from setting off bombs in
them (This was in Paris, granted a few years ago). Instead of putting garbage in the cans, people
would stack it up next to them, or in the gutter. I know they try to keep the streets clean, but it
seemed to be a losing battle. Have things changed since the late '90s?

-T

"Tom Schulenburg" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

"Nick Burns" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Not only are French gutters cleaner that he is acustomed to, but a lot

of

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

places in the US can actually be ridding without fear of flats.

Imagine...

Have you been to France before?

Yes

The few times I've been there, if it wasn't

Quoted message said:

a strike by the garbage men, The garbage cans were either removed or

bolted

Quoted message said:

shut to prevent people from setting off bombs in them (This was in Paris, granted a few years
ago). Instead of putting garbage in the cans, people would stack it up next to them, or in
the gutter. I know they try to keep the streets clean, but it seemed to be a losing battle.
Have things

changed

Quoted message said:

since the late '90s?

-T

As far as filth and trash, the European cities are generally worse than American cities but outside
the big cities people tend to be a lot more careful. Paris and Milan are both a bit more filthy but
I never had problems with glass. There seems to be specifically more glass on the ground in the US.
That is the topic. I never had training based in a large city, but I did spend some time with my
bike visiting both of those. I only ever got one flat in Milan, near the Galleria (between the
Galleria and the Duomo). Cars are not allowed there any longer. Since it was night time, I did not
even look to see what caused the flat, I just changed the tube. Geneva is the cleanest city I have
ever seen. I have only been there twice but both times it looked about as clean as Disneyland.

The city in the US where I spent most of my time was San Francisco. I understand that to be the
cleanest American city? That is what they claimed anyway...and it was terrible with regard to glass
on the ground. It was terrible anywhere that you would see shoppers, tourists, the financial
district and certain ethnic neighborhoods. The parks were fairly free of glass and so was the
Presidio. I am living in Northern California right now and I will usually see glass from a freshly
broken bottle on average of about once per hour. I perceive that people do not throw the bottles
from cars because the glass is usually near an area where you could find pedestrians. I have heard
people talk about other parts of the US where bottles are thrown from cars. I don't think that
happens here. I have never seen it.

YMMV

In article <[email hidden]>, [email hidden] says...

Quoted message said:

Maybe the French don't chuck beer bottles out of their cars into the gutter?

Nope. Just wine bottles. 🙂
-----------------
Alex __O _-\<,_ (_)/ (_)

"S. Anderson" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I know the roads in Bavaria are like hospital corridors compared to

the [censored]

Quoted message said:

in our gutters and on our roads. And very few potholes..imagine

that. In

Quoted message said:

the spring here we sometimes get potholes that actually damage the suspension on your car. I'm
sure Michigan and other northern states

are

Quoted message said:

similar. Farm roads in Bavaria are in better condition than our

main roads.

Go to Wisconsin if you want to see clean roads and streets. Embarassing for a person from California
where every main street is 2 feet deep in gum.

In article <[email hidden]>, Tom Kunich

Quoted message said:

"S. Anderson" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I know the roads in Bavaria are like hospital corridors compared to

the [censored]

Quoted message said:

in our gutters and on our roads. And very few potholes..imagine

that. In

Quoted message said:

the spring here we sometimes get potholes that actually damage the suspension on your car. I'm
sure Michigan and other northern states

are

Quoted message said:

similar. Farm roads in Bavaria are in better condition than our

main roads.

Go to Wisconsin if you want to see clean roads and streets. Embarassing for a person from
California where every main street is 2 feet deep in gum.

So that must be why the tire sidewalls used to be called gumwalls.

Move to a better part of California. I get about one flat for every 300 hours of riding east of
Sacramento and into the foothills.

-WG