Sand Spurs (we have sand burrs here) are grass seeds and are totally different. Our sand burrs are incredibly painful when you get one in your skin but they wouldn't puncture a tire at all. Goatheads are a very low vine that are annual. They seldom reach heights of more than an inch but can spread to around 8 feet in diameter. The only thing good about them is that they don't compete well with other plants and will die out of an area as soon as grasses start filling in.

On the ride that I was doing there is no 'Mommy'. It's an 18 mile round trip into an area where cars aren't allowed except on Saturdays for about 6 months of the year and even then it's a guided trip limited to ten 4 wheel drives vehicles that come in from an entirely different direction than bicycle/hiker traffic. And the car folks miss all the really good archaeological stuff like this




The whole point point of the trip is to go down to see the dinosaur trackway





I'd not use anything containing glycerin on the tube. You are just leaving behind one substance after you just remove another. Acetone would work or even straight isopropyl alcohol (the alcohol in 'rubbing' alcohol). On the other hand, I've never used anything and don't have problems. I just sand the area and apply the vulcanizing fluid.