General Cycling Discussion - What do you guys do if you see one road full of rocks?

I usually ride on Fremont, there is part of a road (bike lane i guess) that is full of rocks that is as big as the width of my tire 23cc. I've already replaced the inner loop twice within my last 200miles. What do you guys do in that scenario besides finding a new route?

Can we report to the city for a cleaning?

If it's in the bike lane, I don't see why not. It certainly won't hurt to do so. At this point it's a hazard because it forces you into the road.

"Inner loop"?

I'm guessing it's "inner tube" and that cheungupdt's native language is not English. Not a bad attempt, actually.

...
Can we report to the city for a cleaning?

You can try. How responsive they'll be depends on the city, and maybe what else they have going on this time of year. Whose road is it? It might be maintained by the highway department of whatever jurisdiction maintains that road (state? county? city?). Or if the road goes through a park, it might be maintained by whatever parks department maintains that park.

I guess I'd call city hall first.

I usually ride on Fremont, there is part of a road (bike lane i guess) that is full of rocks that is as big as the width of my tire 23cc.

You mean a gravel road or shoulder?



Can we report to the city for a cleaning?

Good luck with that.

Bring a broom and sweep it yourself?

http://i64.photobucket.com/albums/h170/HandsomeRyan/IMG_0147.jpg

Complain to the city. Get others to complain to the city. If you fall and are injured as a result of the city not keeping the street clear, you may be able to hold the city legally responsible. That might take a lawsuit though.

Ride fatter tires.

Take detailed photos and present them to the next city council meeting. That is, you have to make a presentation at the podium with pictures and all. Hopefully, your local cable television channel will air it and it will get the attention of other residents and activists.

What I did, in a similar situation, was I went back... in my mini-van... and scraped up the stones with a snow shovel. I wore a reflective vest, I put out a road cone... I stood on the kerb and used a plow-type snow shovel, upside down, to pull the rocks toward the edge of the road. I stepped aside to lets cars and buses pass. The result was a pile along the kerb-as high as the top of the kerb, ( a berm)which I left behind... and it was picked up the next day. There was a lot of sand mixed in , in this case. If it was just rocks, I might put the in a bucket, and use them somewhere else.

I might also use a utility bike to carry the shovel, but I'm not above using a mini-van.

Yes, do-it-yourself is the most reliable means.

Just ride your bike and don't let a few rocks bother you. Figure out why you are flatting? Punctures from the rocks? Pinch flats? Cheap tires. We regurarly hammer on gravel roads and chip and seall with 23's

Bring a broom and sweep it yourself?

http://i64.photobucket.com/albums/h170/HandsomeRyan/IMG_0147.jpg

Man, that's just begging for a pair of chromed exhaust tips!

cheungupdt, Make sure you're not riding under inflated tires. A minimum pressure should be about 85% of the max pressure on the tire's sidewall.

Brad

Just ride your bike and don't let a few rocks bother you. Figure out why you are flatting? Punctures from the rocks? Pinch flats? Cheap tires. We regurarly hammer on gravel roads and chip and seall with 23's

Continental Grand Prix 4000 were the tires, i don't think it is the best, but i don't think it is considered cheap neither. Please don't make that assumption.

Man, that's just begging for a pair of chromed exhaust tips!

cheungupdt, Make sure you're not riding under inflated tires. A minimum pressure should be about 85% of the max pressure on the tire's sidewall.

Brad

That's true, i'll pay more attention to the tire pressure. Usually i'm too lazy to pump the tire everytime and so every other time i'll be riding at about 60psi.... It's hard to keep the tire inflated, it takes only a few days for the pressure to drop from 120psi to 60psi.

You mean a gravel road or shoulder?
Good luck with that.

It is a paved road. Two lanes for vehicles. And a extra mark off lane about 3 ft wide, i'll assume that is the bike lane, ain't it?

Man, that's just begging for a pair of chromed exhaust tips!

A- all I had in the workshop were elbows and tees when I built that (no endcaps)

B- keeps water/dirt from collecting in the bottom of the tubes.

A- all I had in the workshop were elbows and tees when I built that (no endcaps)

B- keeps water/dirt from collecting in the bottom of the tubes.

That just Awesome!=)

do you ride in that configuration often?

It is a paved road. Two lanes for vehicles. And a extra mark off lane about 3 ft wide, i'll assume that is the bike lane, ain't it?

Might be a bike lane, especially if it is in a city. Otherwise it might just be a shoulder. If it is a shoulder and you call someone about it, you may get something done about it ... but probably not.

It is a paved road. Two lanes for vehicles. And a extra mark off lane about 3 ft wide, i'll assume that is the bike lane, ain't it?

Never assume. If there are signs and/or road markings that say "Bike Lane", then it's not a bike lane. Since it's nice and wide, it's good for riding, but you're not required to ride there. It might be safe and prudent to ride there, but not required.

Shoulders on the side of the road tend to accumulate dirt, rocks, litter, and so on because automobile traffic sweep the regular travel lanes clear. Rocks as big as a 23mm tire are pretty hefty, though- perhaps there's a construction site nearby? Trucks tend to spill stuff as they drive along.

Also, I tend to agree with the others- 23mm tires are very narrow for most normal roads. 25mm or 28mm tires can usually be pumped up to the same pressure as the narrower tires, and they'll give you a more comfortable and more durable ride.

i'll assume that is the bike lane, ain't it?

Cars do .. out side of the City the white line is a Fog Line ..

here the ODOT moved the Fog Line in towards the centerline , so there is now 24" to the curb
as the road crosses the Bridge, rather than a foot.

Because the pinheads in pickup trucks thought that the gravel and rubbish shoulder
was the bike lane though too narrow to be safe.

cheungupdt, Are you using latex tubes? While light and suitable for racing, because of their porosity they need attention every day.

Brad

cheungupdt, Are you using latex tubes? While light and suitable for racing, because of their porosity they need attention every day.

Brad
No, i'm using the normal inner tube.

If the rocks are too big to be swept as in my example above...

http://i64.photobucket.com/albums/h170/HandsomeRyan/IMG_0098.jpg

A bit of scrap wood and some u-bolts with wing nuts can secure a shovel pretty well.

I'm going to hazard a guess that we're talking Freemont, California. Good luck getting any municipality in CA to do anything. I live in San Benito county and the roads are falling apart. These recent rains coupled with truck traffic are going to really cause major deterioration, not that anyone outside of CA would care.

I'll ride on the shoulder if it's wide enough, the white line if the should is narrow or debris filled. "Taking the lane" is a last and extremely dangerous resort since the average speed is at least 65 mph on these country roads.

Continental Grand Prix 4000 were the tires, i don't think it is the best, but i don't think it is considered cheap neither. Please don't make that assumption.

When I said cheap tires you had not stated what you were running. I threw out cheap tires as a possiability of flats. Personally I dont like the 4000,s because I have had flat problems with them in the past.

Rocks are not too much trouble on my commutes, since the rocks are usually small size. It's been an unusual commutes these last few days though, with my finding things like a broken plastic garbage can lid and a old hammer, dead center in one of our local bike lanes.

Rocks are not too much trouble on my commutes, since the rocks are usually small size. It's been an unusual commutes these last few days though, with my finding things like a broken plastic garbage can lid and a old hammer, dead center in one of our local bike lanes.

One supposes that one of the local racer-types "put the hammer down".

Rocks are not too much trouble on my commutes, since the rocks are usually small size. It's been an unusual commutes these last few days though, with my finding things like a broken plastic garbage can lid and a old hammer, dead center in one of our local bike lanes.

Now that's horrible! When things are not small enough, even if it is not extremely sharp, it'll cause flat tire. I haven't see such an object in my bike lane yet, thanks God. I could totally imagine i could easily get out of control with my bike when such a thing is in the road and yet i spot it too late.