roadside handymen, spills, and punctures
11-12-20, 12:44 PM
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roadside handymen, spills, and punctures
Check my posting history and you will see I have had compete tire failure in some distant places because of handymen working off the back of their vehicles and spilling nails, screws, or razor blades.
I recently had a bent nail impale my rear tire all the way through the tire, both sides of the tube, and into the rim (AL). This was in a new construction zone that had closure signage that distracted me and I missed some road hazards. Lucky that it happened near home, less than 2 minutes out.
Here is my list of types of workers I've encountered or observed in the last 10 years:
1) City of Irvine contract landscapers, spilling their exacto knife/razors into the bike lane.
They have done this multiple times on Culver near Beckman High and the park on the corner there. Caused me to get stranded 32 miles from home until I hiked to the nearest shop and spend $50 for a gatorskin. Wasted almost 2 hours to walk, buy the tire, then fix it.
2) Century 21 contract sign maker/placer in Long Beach
this guy will create and install 9 or more signs on the public greenbelt on Studebaker on weekends.
Spilled nails causing a compete impaled back tire, penetrated both sidewalls of the tire.
3) Screenmobile in North OC
there are several franchisers(?) that have been seen with shards of cut metal all over the flat workspace of their truck. They are sloppy and can't bother to cleanup.
4) Can't leave out all the City Refuse pickup involving 90 gallon curbside barrels. Nobody ever cleans up when the spills occur. Staples and screws are very common after they pass through.
5) Landscapers that trim and blow around bouganvilla plants/thorns near the road.
please add your own, cheers
I recently had a bent nail impale my rear tire all the way through the tire, both sides of the tube, and into the rim (AL). This was in a new construction zone that had closure signage that distracted me and I missed some road hazards. Lucky that it happened near home, less than 2 minutes out.
Here is my list of types of workers I've encountered or observed in the last 10 years:
1) City of Irvine contract landscapers, spilling their exacto knife/razors into the bike lane.
They have done this multiple times on Culver near Beckman High and the park on the corner there. Caused me to get stranded 32 miles from home until I hiked to the nearest shop and spend $50 for a gatorskin. Wasted almost 2 hours to walk, buy the tire, then fix it.
2) Century 21 contract sign maker/placer in Long Beach
this guy will create and install 9 or more signs on the public greenbelt on Studebaker on weekends.
Spilled nails causing a compete impaled back tire, penetrated both sidewalls of the tire.
3) Screenmobile in North OC
there are several franchisers(?) that have been seen with shards of cut metal all over the flat workspace of their truck. They are sloppy and can't bother to cleanup.
4) Can't leave out all the City Refuse pickup involving 90 gallon curbside barrels. Nobody ever cleans up when the spills occur. Staples and screws are very common after they pass through.
5) Landscapers that trim and blow around bouganvilla plants/thorns near the road.
please add your own, cheers
Last edited by marquhar; 11-12-20 at 12:54 PM.
11-12-20, 03:16 PM
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Pushpins, staples, steel wire and glass shards were my last four flats.
I seem to do better in the canyons and mountain roads with flats; do not recall any except a blowout on a slightly over-inflated 29er tube. .
I seem to do better in the canyons and mountain roads with flats; do not recall any except a blowout on a slightly over-inflated 29er tube. .
11-13-20, 09:33 AM
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Every recent flat, either my own (only 2) or with others that I have been with, including my wife, have been been bad. Out of the last 7-8 flats I think only 1 was a slow leak and I was able to get a few miles in before finding a shady place I could change it in. Most of the others have been with screws. Three of them required new tires. Although we were able to get home with a tube repair, they were destroyed enough to give me pause about putting them back on the bike.
