Hawthorn Clippings

[Freewheeler]

Well, it could have been worse I suppose...

I was about a minute's ride away from work this morning, riding along a pleasant little cut through, houses on one side and farmland on the other. There are a few small twigs lying around on the road, but I'm not thinking and ride over them. Next thing is the sound of something stuck on my front wheel and striking the mudguard. I look at the wheel and sure enough, there is one of the twigs. "That's funny, it should have fallen off by now." thinks I, putting my (thankfully gloved) hand down to brush it off. It doesn't want to come off and strikes my hand surprisingly hard; only then did I wake up and notice the freshly clipped hawthorn hedge along the roadside.

Anyway, I arrive at work, park the bike and inspect the front tyre. There is a large thorn sticking out of it. I try to pull it out, but it breaks off leaving the point embedded in the tyre. The tyre is still rock hard, so I decide to deflate the tube myself and remove the thorn at lunchtime in case it punctures in the meantime.

At lunch, I remove the thorn. Not an easy task, I had to dig the bugger out with a pin. Having removed it, I pump the tyre back up with my minipump. The minipump seems pretty crap, I'm wondering why because it did the job well last time I used it. Anyway, I barely reach 40 PSI and go back to my desk for the afternoon.

Finish work and head to the bike shed, it turns out there's nothing wrong with my pump, the tube is holed. I start cursing my luck, but on reflection realise I've been pretty lucky. My bike is in a stand, I can change the tube at my leisure (I have a spare) and I can clean up in the washroom afterwards. 15 minutes later I have the new one pumped up to 60PSI and the wheel refitted. Ride home avoiding bumps as much as possible and inflate fully with the floor pump once I get back. This is only my second sudden deflation on this bike since getting it in January, the first was hitting a nasty pothole with 23mm tyres. I've switched to 28mm Continentals since then and they've been great.

Now to open a beer and patch the tube, it will be the new spare.

 

[piedwagtail91]

it's a £1000 for not clearing hedge clippings up.though i've yet to hear of anyone getting done for it.

 

[Freewheeler]

Interesting, I didn't know that they could be done for leaving them there. I'll take care more tomorrow, not very many cars drive down there to sweep the road clean.

 

[piedwagtail91]

i got sick of puncturing on clippings last year so billed the council for a new inner tube as it's their responsibility to make sure the roads are fit for use. i eventually, after much arguing got the cost of it.it turned out the council Had left the clippings all over the road.
it took my mp and a local councilor to get the money back but i think they got the message .

 

[dondare]

Don't get me started on hedge clippings.

I'm not even going to make my usual claim that if you switch to SMPs then you'll be protected; not if it's a hawthorn hedge. That stuff is Mother Nature's barbed wire.

I wonder how many people can remember when hedges were cut by men with billhooks who not only kept the hedge in good order but the road tidy too. These days the hedge is "cut" with a tractor-mounted flail that ruins the hedge and broadcasts the thorns over the entire bloody road and no-one sweeps it up. Progress; pah!

 

[Riding in Circles]

Marathon plus seem to do ok against hawthorn cuttings.

 

[Otto]

A number of years ago I was cycling in the cheshire lanes with a friend of mine, we had five punctures between us in the space of about an hour, we then came acrose the reason, on of those big hedge trimmers that get driven along the side of the road, it was empty, the driver must have gone for his lunch or something,...we let one of the tyres down and wing our tattered inner tubes from the wing mirror...most satisfying

 

[biking_fox]

Very surprised. The amount of rain we've had round these parts will soften the hardest of thorns into mushy paste.

Carrying a spare tube is the best way - and replacing your tyres when they start to thin. Makes a huge difference.

 

[BentMikey]

A number of years ago I was cycling in the cheshire lanes with a friend of mine, we had five punctures between us in the space of about an hour, we then came acrose the reason, on of those big hedge trimmers that get driven along the side of the road, it was empty, the driver must have gone for his lunch or something,...we let one of the tyres down and wing our tattered inner tubes from the wing mirror...most satisfying

So wrong, yet so funny!

 

[Iceniner]

I experienced this the other day too, I had to walk home 3 miles with my bike the other day as the seat post insert on my frame tore so i couldnt ride it - just to add insult to injury when i got back i found thorn clippings from next door's hedge had given me a flat :-( wasnt my day.