Bicycling: Locals help riders with flat problems
Friday, July 22, 2005
By Larry Walsh, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Bicyclists carry a variety of things on a road trip in case of a breakdown.
But a 3-pound roofers' magnet isn't among them.
The magnet, used to clear driveways and lawns of nails, pieces of flashing
and other sharp objects, would have come in handy Monday along an old railroad
right-of-way between State Route 89 and Gynden Road in Sparta Township, Crawford
County.
State trooper Daniel Rexford's report explains what happened: "Actor[s]
arrived at the above location and deposited small tacks in an attempt to
sabotage a bicycle ride. There were numerous bicyclists that rode over the tacks
and sustained damage to their tires."
How many of the more than 300 bicyclists participating in the Fourth Annual
Pennsylvania Greenway Sojourn got flat tires?
About 150, said Katie Magers of the Rails-to-Trails Conservancy in
Washington, D. C., which is sponsoring the six-day ride. The riders were en
route to Titusville when their tires were flattened by an unknown number of
carpet tacks. Fortunately, everyone was able to keep their bikes under control
when the punctures occurred. No one was injured.
Tom Sexton, director of the Northeast Regional Office of the RTC, said
local residents went out of their way to help the stranded sojourners. They
transported the riders and their bikes. "They were really great," Sexton said.
That's also an apt adjective for the local and regional bicycle shops who
sent bike mechanics to Titusville to repair the flats.
The organizers of the 200-mile trail and road trip, which I wrote about last
Friday, hope the rest of the trip will be flat free. The riders are scheduled to
arrive today in Cabot in Butler County.
For more information about the RTC and the Greenway Sojourn, visit
www.railtrails.org or call 717-238-1717.
Anyone with information about the trail sabotage is asked to call the state
police toll free at 800-922-1975. That includes anyone who sold a large number
of carpet tacks in recent weeks.
If the jerk(s) who did this are arrested, tried and convicted, I have a
suggestion for a suitable punishment. Give them a roofers magnet and make them
walk the length of the affected trail.
In their bare feet.
