Guest Article: Buddies, beers, and bikes along the Oregon Coast

Fabulous! Of course, Rogue also has a brewery in Astoria, and there’s an obscure little brewery in Newport – SKW Brewing.

Guess you’ll have to return!

Wakonda is one of my favorites, as well…

Does anyone know where I can get the route map they talked about? Looks like a great ride!

We didn’t know about SKW Brewing, but according to their website, the pub has closed because of the brewer’s illness. That’s really too bad.

Another place on the coast that we didn’t visit was McMenamins Lighthouse Brewpub in Lincoln City.

There really isn’t anything better than a good brew after a day of touring.

The highlight of my summer tour of the Oregon Cascades: discovering Brewers Union Local 180 in Oakridge at the end of long day which included an unexpected 25 miles of gravel over a mountain pass!

Here’s more information for how to report the defects in bike lanes. If anyone rides ODOT roads and wants to see them improved, sending in simple maintenance requests can be the best strategy — AskODOT@odot.state.or.us

Make each request as specific as possible. Avoid broad descriptions like “There’s crap on the shoulder all the way from Coos Bay to Bandon.” Instead be as precise as you can, with reports like: “There’s woodchip debris in the southbound shoulder of Highway 101 from milepost 121.6 to 120.3, and again from 119.8 to 117.2” Break it down into manageable work orders for ODOT staff.

The basics —

First — note that ODOT requests that bicyclists inform them of unsafe road conditions. From the Oregon Bicyclists Manual, page 4:

Road Surface Hazards
… To make riding safer for you and other bicyclists, report unsafe road conditions to local authorities as soon as possible.

http://www.oregon.gov/ODOT/HWY/BIKEPED/docs/bike_manual.pdf (as linked from http://www.oregon.gov/ODOT/HWY/BIKEPED/planproc.shtml )

Second — To report unsafe conditions, go to the “just ask ODOT” page and give them as much information as possible. Type of defect, mileposts, etc.

Fill out the form at
http://highway.odot.state.or.us/cf/comments/comments.cfm
or email them at AskODOT@odot.state.or.us

You can email them with a photo of the defect. (You can’t upload a photo to the form, but you will receive an email confirmation from each submission, and you can reply to it with a photo.)

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Here’s how the four types of problems John observed can be reported:

Problem 1) “There are also miles and miles of shoulder chock-full of debris (primarily gravel and wood chips)”
To request shoulder sweeping, cite Oregon Bike Plan

Solution — send in a maintenance request. Give them the mileposts affected, in as accurate of detail as possible. (southbound shoulder, mp 40.5 – mp 38.9). If you break it into chunks of 5 miles or less they’ll probably find it more palatable.

Send photos of the worst spots. Photos will help the dispatcher decide whether to send out the sweeper, the grader, or the shovel team.

Refer to the Oregon Bicycle and Pedestrian Plan, p. 173. Section B.1. Sweeping.
“Sweep walkways and bikeways whenever there is an accumulation of debris on the facility;”
http://www.oregon.gov/ODOT/HWY/BIKEPED/docs/or_bicycle_ped_plan.pdf
(as linked to from http://www.oregon.gov/ODOT/HWY/BIKEPED/planproc.shtml )

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Problem 2) “sections of the travel lane have been repaired or repaved but the shoulder has not.”

Solution — send in a maintenance request. Again, give them the mileposts with as much accuracy as possible. Take photos of the worst sections. Use a Contour Gauge if you have one ($20 at Woodcrafters) Trace the gauge shape on 1/4″ graph paper for best presentation. If you don’t want to bring one, bring a lightweight ruler you can use with any straightedge to report the height of the “step” between the shoulder and the travel lanes. Take photos of the ruler, straightedge, and a recognizable roadside feature in the background.

Refer to the Oregon Pavement Design Guide (2007), p. 22. Section 6.1.2.2 Shoulders.
“For new work or reconstruction where shoulders are built at the same time as travel lanes, shoulders will be designed to the same asphalt thickness and materials as the travel lane.”
http://www.oregon.gov/ODOT/HWY/CONSTRUCTION/docs/pavement/odot_pavement_design_guide_2007.pdf (as linked to from
http://www.oregon.gov/ODOT/HWY/CONSTRUCTION/publications2.shtml)

Contour gauges are available for $21 at Woodcrafters at NE 8th and Davis in Portland. http://www.generaltools.com/Products/10-Contour-Gage__833.aspx

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Problem 3) “Some places have dangerously narrow shoulders that require sharing the road with massive RVs and log trucks.”

Solution — bring a measuring tape or measuring wheel. In these “zero shoulder” spots, measure the width of the driving lanes. If they are more than 12′ wide, they are out of compliance and should be narrowed by moving the white stripe towards the center lines until they’re only 12′ wide.

Send in your maintenance requests. Anywhere where the bike lane/shoulder is less than 5′ wide and the car lane is more than 12′ wide is a candidate for stripe-moving. Take photos of your tape measure or measuring wheel, ideally with a recognizable roadside feature in the photo.

(This one will take them about a year to complete, but it certainly isn’t going to happen unless you send it in. I sent in a request for this on NE MLK (Schmeer – Marine) and N Denver (Argyle – Schmeer) in 2008. It took 2 years, but it’s a big improvement now that it’s done).

Refer to the Oregon Highway Design Manual (2003), p. 7-10, Rural Highway Travel Lane Widths.
“Highways identified as freight routes by the Oregon Highway Plan should utilize a 12 foot lane, regardless of volume.”
ftp://ftp.odot.state.or.us/techserv/roadway/web_drawings/HDM/Rev_E_2003Chp07.pdf
(as linked to from http://www.oregon.gov/ODOT/HWY/ENGSERVICES/hwy_manuals.shtml )

Buy a measuring wheel at Harbor Freight for $10 — you can use it as fast as you can walk across the street.
http://www.harborfreight.com/1000-ft-measuring-wheel-95701.html Alternatively, you can use a measuring tape — wait for a gap, and be careful not to get run over. Have a friend hold one end for you.

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Problem 4) “Bridges are often pinch-points requiring taking the lane or walking.”

Solution — each of these bridges should have a “[Bicycles] ON BRIDGE ROADWAY” sign at the entrance to the bridge. This is a diamond yellow “bicycle symbol” sign (W11-1) and a rectangular yellow “ON BRIDGE ROADWAY” sign (OBW1-7) below it.

Send in your maintenance request for each of these. Look at both ends of the bridge to see if a sign is necessary for both directions.

Refer to the Oregon “Sign Policy and Guidelines for the State Highway System” (rev 3-23-2007) p. 8-32 for the “ON BRIDGE ROADWAY” sign
http://www.oregon.gov/ODOT/HWY/TRAFFIC-ROADWAY/docs/pdf/english_chapter_8.pdf
(as linked to from http://www.oregon.gov/ODOT/HWY/TRAFFIC-ROADWAY/sign_policy.shtml )
and the “Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices” (2009) p. 129, sec 2C.49 for the diamond bicycle sign. http://mutcd.fhwa.dot.gov/pdfs/2009/pdf_index.htm
(as linked to from http://mutcd.fhwa.dot.gov/kno_2009.htm )

If you want to browse additional ODOT manuals, they’re all at http://www.oregon.gov/ODOT/HWY/TECHSERV/alphamanuals.shtml

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To wrap-up, remember ODOT’s request to us bicyclists in the Oregon Bicyclist Manual —
“To make riding safer for you and other bicyclists, report unsafe road conditions to local authorities as soon as possible.”

Go out and ride, shoot pics with your cell phone, make notes at stops, and send in those maintenance requests.

Ted Buehler