Posted on 09/28/2015 10:13:51 PM PDT by nickcarraway
The California Highway Patrol is trying to find the person who dumped hundreds of nails and tacks on a road near Woodside that’s popular among cyclists.
Officers said Monday that there were so many nails left on Kings Mountain Road that clean-up crews were forced to sweep the lanes to get them out of the way.
Cyclists are usually drawn to the road for its views and 1,500-foot climb to Skyline Boulevard. "This is one of my favorite hill climbs," Michael Shorts said.
But riders, who are now being warned to pay close attention to the sidewalks, are afraid they are being targeted. "It’s really frightening to be honest," Grace Chuchla said.
Chuchla and her teammates on the Stanford cycling team have seen pictures on Facebook that show dozens of nails that were scattered near the summit on Kings Mountain Road and Skyline Boulevard.
"You’re on a 20 lb. bike with a 23-millimeter wide tire," she said. "If it hits a tack, and your tire blows, you’re going to hit the pavement and it’s going to hurt."
CHP officers said that two weeks ago about 20 riders had to replace their tires after rolling over nails. No one was injured and investigators are asking for help to find the person responsible.
"Think about your own kids riding a cycle ... and getting a concussion or worse," Ken Doub said.
Many cyclists and drivers suspect that whoever is behind these incidents doesn’t want to share the country road.
"I’m sure some of the neighbors don’t like all the traffic," Maoz Friedman said. "It sucks they would go that far to discourage people from coming up." A cyclist team is raising money to offer a reward for information that could lead to an arrest. So far, they’ve raised about $5,000 for their cause.
I don’t understand the strapping into the peddles. Can a person note ride a bike just as well without doing so and causing them to not be able to make a quick exit from the bike in an emergency?
I do most of my riding separate from traffic. I am lucky to have two river trails I can ride to the beach. On the occasion I ride on the street, this sort of thing happens about every third ride. On this particular incident, I did slow, but she came to a stop. I made eye contact and assumed she was letting me pass. She wasn’t.
If you are near thss area please note that the Purisma Creek trail is IMO one the best trails EVAH.
Well, the downhill portion ayway.
The uphill sucks.
A lot.
Unfortunately, assumptions can be dangerous if you are counting on the other person to do the right thing.
While walking, I'll have cycletards pass routinely by my left shoulder within inches, unannounced and at speeds in the double digits. I've taken to hurling loud insults about the sexual proclivities of their mothers but they seem to be a gutless bunch of anorexic pussies.
Why would anyone let a bike pass, only to have it hog the road and create another dangerous situation all over again?
If I have to choose between wiping out a schwinnster or a minivan with a family in it, you can bet your bottom dollar I’ll take out the spandex clad schwinnster. A lot less total damage, and I’m much more likely to drive away without much more than some broken plastic parts.
You guys really need either some introspection, or anger-management counseling. Your arguments are no more sane or relevant than the gun-grabbers trying to deny citizens their 2nd Amendment rights. You don’t bike, so you want to deny others their LEGAL RIGHT to do so. Why is that different than denying someone their gun rights, because you don’t hunt or shoot?
Cyclists have a LEGAL RIGHT to ride on all but limited access roads. They also have a legal right to the entire lane. They are NOT required to maintain a minimum speed, as those rules only apply on limited access roads where cyclists are prohibited.
Insurance: the only reason cars/trucks are required to carry insurance is for collision liability reasons - damage you can cause to others. There’s no such law for cyclists. If you think there should be, then lobby your elected representatives for it. In the meantime, your opinion counts for exactly squat.
Taxes: most roads are funded through general taxation, not road-specific taxation. Yes, there are fuel-taxes and embedded vehicle registration taxes, a portion of which goes to road construction or repair. But again, there is no cyclist tax. You want one? Lobby for this too. In the mean time, your opinion (and ranting) is irrelevant.
Congestion: Too bad. You have to slow for tractors, horse-and-buggy in Amish country, slower vehicles, whatever. Cyclists are just another vehicle - deal with it. Pass when it is safe to do so - and ONLY when it is safe to do so.
“Time thieves”: see “Congestion”, above. You don’t own the roads. The cyclists have the same rights to them as you. The cyclist is no more liable to you for time losses than the farmer on a tractor, the slow 18-wheeler in the mountain passes, or granny in her Studebaker.
Sidewalks: most states PROHIBIT riding bicycles on sidewalks.
To the a—hole cyclists (and there are plenty): courtesy is a 2-way street, and you are REQUIRED to obey the same traffic laws as motorized vehicles. In most states, that means no impeding, yield to faster traffic as soon as it is safe, keep to the right to allow overtaking vehicles, stop for lights & stop-signs, etc. PLUS, just because your within your rights doesn’t mean you should be stupid. For me, I’d rather be right and alive, then assert my rights and become a grease spot because a road-rager in a car can’t share.
Just because someone doesn’t like it, doesn’t mean they can come grab my gun(s). Likewise, just ‘cause someone doesn’t like it doesn’t mean they can take me and my bike off the roads.
Comparing the “right” to snarl traffic with a bicycle to the right to keep and bear arms is absurd.
The RTKBA is a Constitutional right. To the extent that some jurisdictions give people to ride their two wheeled toys in the middle of roads meant for automobiles, that “right” could be revoked overnight by passing a law, which is starting to seem like a good idea.
It is an incongruent comparison and probably somewhere between the right to own and privilege to operate any other moving vehicle. However, the 2nd Amendment rights are lawfully denied to certain people, and justifiably so.
Clip-in pedals help with efficient pedaling (allowing torque to be applied on the up/down/fore/aft... Circle pedaling)... That is why most use them. As far as safety? Unclipping is very quick once you get the hang of it... If you can’t do it quickly and largely without thought, probably should not be on city streets with them. I likely owe my life to them when I hopped the curb instinctively as a city garbage truck brushed my elbow as it passed me on a narrowing part of the road (I was in the bike lane, he was likely distracted), basically jumped to my right pulling up with both feet and hopped onto the grass strip above the 90 degree curb... standard pedals and I’ve have probably gone down and under the rear wheels. I no longer bike that road.
Agree.
Can’t forgot about riding line abreast blocking the lane as they cycle down the road, daring people to pass.
Can’t forgot about riding line abreast blocking the lane as they cycle down the road, daring people to pass.
I’m only 10,000 miles and the pacific ocean away, in Thailand.
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