Thump Tacks and Red Necks

I can't imagine going through what you did (attempted murder). Talk about sick and twisted. Did the gun actually misfire, or do you know if it was just a terrible prank with an unloaded gun? Either way a terrible experience. Looks like the man upstairs was looking out for ya if the gun was loaded....hope they caught the low-lifes.

As far as the tacks go, I can't think of anything to prevent it short of the ocassional street sweeper or rigging a strong magnet on the front of your bike that sits a couple inches off the ground. Kind of like a vacuum used in commercial offices does to pick up staples and paperclips before sucking them up and rattling like mad inside. 🙂

There probably isn't much you can do to prevent this from happening. The same thing happens occcasionally on an organized ride that I do every year. Some of the local bozos know when the ride is scheduled, and dump tacks on the road. About the only thing that can be done is to know where and when to look for the tacks, and, when you encounter some, stop and pick them up. That is what I did when I found some. In your case, you may want to come back in a car to do this. If the area where you are finding tacks is not near any homes, then there will probably be no one observing you removing the tacks. If it is near homes, you may want to report the incident to police, since the perpetrators may be watching to see if there any victims. Carrying a cell phone might not be a bad idea also.

Jesus! You are one brave woman - still riding! I know this happens here in Colorado. Out in one area some [censored] spray painted "No f****g cyclists" at the stop signs. This particular area houses big fat rich folks who believe they OWN their roads and don't want us two wheelers encrouching on their territory and can be obnoxious (in their cars) - hopefully NOT weilding shot-guns!

Not sure of a cure .. is biking a disease to some? Maybe if more of the U.S. would bike there would not be so many health problems (another thread!)

Quoted post said:

two men pulled up to me put a gun to my face and pulled the trigger.

Oh. My. Gawd!!!! That is crazy! Kudos to you for continuing to ride.

Note to self: Don't ride bike in Oregon.

Yep, those were definately redneck tacks. You can tell because they're stamped with a big 'W' on them. Every good Oregonian knows that.
No doubt about it. You're a victim.
Buy a gun sweetheart.

Azulene said:

Last week ridding along my favorite route in Portland Oregon (Sandy River Viva Corbet route). I had 3 flats caused by thumb tacks. Ever spring as the bicycle traffic increases along this route some Red Neck tacks the route. I was woundering if other parts of the country have ran into the same problem and what can we do to prevent this problem.
As a solo female I hate to repair a flat along a rual road.
15 years ago while repairing a flat I was the victim of an attempted murder. I was repairing a flat along a rual road when two men pulled up to me put a gun to my face and pulled the trigger. Thank God the gun missed fired and I'm alive today. I did not know the men and they did not know me just wrong time and place. But every time I have to repair a flat along a rual road alone I have flash backs.of that time. I love to ride and will never stop ridding. But it does take the fun out of it.

Susan Repp said:

Jesus! You are one brave woman - still riding! I know this happens here in Colorado. Out in one area some [censored] spray painted "No f****g cyclists" at the stop signs. This particular area houses big fat rich folks who believe they OWN their roads and don't want us two wheelers encrouching on their territory and can be obnoxious (in their cars) - hopefully NOT weilding shot-guns!

Not sure of a cure .. is biking a disease to some? Maybe if more of the U.S. would bike there would not be so many health problems (another thread!)

A good ride would probabbly do wonders for their grouchiness too.

Whoa! That is one reason I started packing a 9mm semi-auto thirteen round clip and the first three are hollow points! The only place I have encounterd thumb tacks is school bus stops, but that don't mean they aren't elsewhere. I did stop and picked them up but the big 'w' that was stamped on them were scrached out and the initials jk scribbled on. Makes you wonder... :eek:

What kind of 9? Why only the first three hollowpoints? I'd suggest making the first two or three glasers perhaps and the rest hydrashocks.

But then, you were being sarcastic weren't you?😄 😄

By the way, it's not called a clip. It's a magazine. Do you understand the difference?

concord said:

Whoa! That is one reason I started packing a 9mm semi-auto thirteen round clip and the first three are hollow points! The only place I have encounterd thumb tacks is school bus stops, but that don't mean they aren't elsewhere. I did stop and picked them up but the big 'w' that was stamped on them were scrached out and the initials jk scribbled on. Makes you wonder... :eek:

I don't know about ya'll but I ALWAYS carry my .45 ACP HK USP Expert, my Benelli M1014 Limited Edition 12-ga. with the American flag engraved on the receiver or if weight is a consideration my 9mm Steyr SPP.
You never know when a terrorist is going to jump out from behind that yield sign! Plus the SPP works great on those pesky rednecks throwing "W" and/or "JK" tacks everywhere!
You may also consider packing the following on longer, more risky rides:
Atropine/2PAM-Cl Auto-Injectors
MCU-2/P Gas mask with at least two CBRN filters
Garmin Rino 130 GPS or equivalent
2 rolls of EB red tape
4 MRE's (preferably the ones made by the Wornick Co., they are superior)
-the "pasta with alfredo sauce" is pretty good
NEWCON optik GEN 2+ night vision binoculars or equivalent
~100' of 7" nylon mooring line with tell-tales and rat guards
one (1) MK 15 Phalanx CIWS mount with handlebar attachment
a three pack of RIM-7 Sea Sparrows on a pannier mount
and if you have any extra space left over:
water
spare tubes
snack bars
cell phone
multi-tool

Don't MREs require water? And besides, you wouldn't need snack bars if you had those.

Azulene said:

Ever spring as the bicycle traffic increases along this route some Red Neck tacks the route.

I hate to argue, but you live in Portland Oregon; you don't have Red Necks there. Come to my neck of the woods and I'll show you some real Red Necks confederate flags and all.

Sorry about the gun incident jeez!!

Wow, I grew up in that area (E portland near the PDX airport) and didn't think those kinda rednecks were around. Here's something I found on Sheldon Brown's website a while back, may be helpful when you know there are tacks around:

[FONT=Times New Roman]Some punctures are caused by glass slivers or thorns gradually working their way through the tire tread. What can happen is that a small sharp object may be picked up by the tire, then gradually work its way in over the course of several tire revolutions. The pointy thing is driven in like a nail into wood by repeated blows against the pavement. A formerly popular device called a "tire saver" or "flint snatcher" used a loosely spring piece of wire (generally made from a bicycle spoke) to constantly brush the tire tread in hope of dislodging glass slivers and the like before they could penetrate all the way to the inner tube.
These are of dubious value in practice, but may be of help in backward areas where throwaway beverage bottles are still legal, and glass slivers are a major problem.[/FONT]

Azulene said:

Last week ridding along my favorite route in Portland Oregon (Sandy River Viva Corbet route). I had 3 flats caused by thumb tacks. Ever spring as the bicycle traffic increases along this route some Red Neck tacks the route. I was woundering if other parts of the country have ran into the same problem and what can we do to prevent this problem.
As a solo female I hate to repair a flat along a rual road.
15 years ago while repairing a flat I was the victim of an attempted murder. I was repairing a flat along a rual road when two men pulled up to me put a gun to my face and pulled the trigger. Thank God the gun missed fired and I'm alive today. I did not know the men and they did not know me just wrong time and place. But every time I have to repair a flat along a rual road alone I have flash backs.of that time. I love to ride and will never stop ridding. But it does take the fun out of it.

I applaud your determination and courage. I have been spat at, pelted with bubble gum, most frequently yelled at by the passanger as the car comes by in an attempt to get me to fall, threatened by laughing morons at a cross street stop sign. In the last case it was a deliberate attempt to make it seem like they were about to run the stop sign and run me over. I've been hit in the chest by a large nut(as in bolts and nuts) thrown back by the passanger in a car, and most serious of all almost nailed in the back of the head by an unopened 16oz can of beer, which exploded when it hit the ground. (It really shows the mindset of these creeps that they would waste good beer just to mess with an unknown bicyclist!)

In almost every case the assailants were young white males in their late teens or early 20's, the "shaved head backward ball cap" types.

Invariably they were also cowards, as on the few occasions when I got close to catching up with them, they'd run lights, and signs, almost causing accidents to avoid a confrontation.

No one will ever have the power to make either of us give up cycling. I hope that I see you out there some time!

I like that 'tire-sweeper' idea. I ride in rural NC and have to deal with a fair amount of road debris.

I've had good luck so far, no one has done anything much more serious than almost running me off the road :p Nothing outwardly malicious on the road bike!

Of course...now that I say that I'll be attacked by a herd of drunk midgets wearing confederate flag shoes who'll berate me for wearing 'dem tight fittin trousers!'