So there's this remote entrance to the park in which I work and I've been entering through it ever since I started commuting by bike. From the time I was a kid, this entrance - and the path leading up to it - have been hard-packed dirt and gravel and have been easy enough to ride on with my slicks.

This past week, someone got the brilliant idea to dump a truckload of crushed granite -- not finely crushed or even pebble-sized, but the size of sharp golf balls -- on it, rendering the last 50 feet of my commute un-rideable. Mind you, this sized stone will not be settling into the dirt and forming a nice, smooth, solid bed anytime soon.

So today (a very slow work day), I grabbed a big-ass shovel from our garage and spent more than an hour shoveling load-after-load of stone to create a smooth surface about 50 feet long and just wide enough for my bike to pass through without throwing me violently to the ground. It felt "dirty," but it sure felt good. Knowing this section of the park, no one will go back there for another ten years to see what I did, so it looks like I've solved a big problem for now.

Any chance you could get them to dump a load of dense grade on top of that? You would dang near have a concrete path when the fine settled in.

Any chance you could get them to dump a load of dense grade on top of that? You would dang near have a concrete path when the fine stuff settled in. Wouldn't take but a rain or so.
Sorry. Dbl post on phone.

Good for you! Sometimes I have felt the desire to go on my car and sweep some of the broken glass bottles from the weekend partying that some people brake right along the bike path. I'll probably follow your inspiration to do something about it!


Double O

I have involved myself in some voluntary community service cleanup. A couple of bridges were popular for throwing glass bottles from vehicles to break on the sidepath. I had a telescopic pushbroom handle and an aluminum dust pan and two big grocery panniers. My favorite moments was when motorists would drive by and yell at me "That's good for you ya drunk!" as they thought I was on litter patrol as a result of one too many DUIs.

Can I get you to plow our MUPs this winter?

Maybe if I wear a white stripe pant (which I got for Christmas) and a shirt to go with they can yell "that's good for you ya convict" LOL. I like practical jokes!

One of the city parks does that here. Not a bike path but a steep desert hill. It softens the sharp edges of the worn out trail but poses it's own dangers of pebbles rolling out from under your feet.

What I would worry about is will your local gov come back and replenish the gravel when they notice it's gone?

Ooh, Ohh! Let me answer that!!

It will take a couple of years for them to notice. Then another year to set up a work order. Then two more years to schedule the work and order the rocks. Then another year to get a crew out there.

Yep! The local gov will certainly replenish the rocks. Meanwhile, our hero has about five years to enjoy the fruits of his hard work relocating the granite bits.

I almost fell on a muddy section of our MUP. We've had lots of rain this year and this part of the path had a high spot on one side that was trapping dirt from the runoff. So I drove my car to the entrance, walked with my shovel, and cleaned off 35-40 feet of soft dirt after a light rain. Then I cut some low, wide channels on the side for the water to drain off. But I left them wide so you wouln't hit a "pothole" on the side if you ever got off.

I had 10-15 people walking and on bikes thank me and offer to by me a beer. One complained that, "The city should do something about this and someone should call them". Yeah, or we could all spend 15 minutes to 1/2 hour cleaning up the place we use everyday for exercise and enjoyment. I figured it would take me less time to fix than it would to track down who to call and leave messages. Plus, it was done the next day when I rode by again.

Now if someone would fix the pothole on the way in to work.

You may want to check with C.L.I.M.B ( The CLIMBoard - Index ). Perhaps they had a load of material dumped at the trailhead for use in a planned erosion control project? Then again, it could just as easily been some contractor illegally dumping construction waste.

I hope so. lol. They seem to replenish the gravel on my hill every couple of years. Wish they'd just redo the rough spots or forget it.

Sounds almost like railroad ballast material.

Great story. On a few occasions I've carried a pair of Felco's (cut easily and quickly and I'm on my way) with me to deal with errant branches. The suburb I live in doesn't do such a good job with glass and debris cleanup, but the surrounding ones all do great.

Can you post a picture? Like mentioned above it MIGHT have been ballast. We use it for erosion protection and to promote drainage. I'm one of the guys who does lots of digging where I work,.... I'm hoping you won't need to put it back.

BINGO! Instant gratification AND the extra gratification that comes by just doing it yourself. This way you got it done the very day you had enough of it, and YOU got to decide how to do it. I look at that stuff as a sort of "user tax" for some of my favorite spots. I can think of one right now that needs a shovel and a broom next time I go that way. REMEMBERING to bring the danged shovel/dustpan/broom is another trick altogether tho.

DOT's and railroads do tend to pile fresh gravel or ballast in odd places, that is for sure.

- Andy