BIKEPGH MESSAGE BOARD ARCHIVE

I don't know how long ago, six months, a year? but at some point they were doing a lot of work on those condos over there, replacing fascias and stuff. Wouldn't surprise me if the contractors just tossed nails as they worked.

The day I biked back from Connellsville, October 2013, I found a short piece of wood with two nails sticking out of it, points up, in that same area.

@pierce: that seems like the most likely explanation (i.e. careless contractor tossing junk on the ground, not malice). That would explain the variety of nail conditions and types. I'll see if a note of concern can be relayed to the managers of the Waterfront Condos, to let them know that it appears that careless contractors left nails on the trail and caused problems for trail users. I'm still very interested to hear of others that have encountered related problems in that area. I wouldn't want to be the lawn mower operator, if there are nails littered about!

I wish they would just put a bike lane in on the road parallel to that trail. I never take that trail anymore. Thanks for picking up the nails. That probably prevented some flats.

It will be interesting to see if the nails somehow return...

+1 for extending the bikeway further down the waterfront.

+1 more for a marking on the road.

We have had a lot of flat repairs this year,,,more than ever,,,thorns / nails ,,,,

I got a flat this morning on the Allegheny River Trail, right by the pedestrian ramp to Herr's Island. I felt something tangle in my rear wheel and heard the air coming out of the tire. My first thought was a piece of barbed wire or something - it was so fast that I heard the hissing of the air while still riding. I walked back and found a woody vine with no obvious thorns. Go figure... Tossed it back in the shrubbery. @bicycle heaven - I'll be stopping tonight for a pair of new tires, mine are pretty sorry looking.

I wonder if you could attach some of those really strong magnets that contractors use to pickup loose nails and screws to the bottom of a pull behind bike trailer to sweep the trails for metal debris.

http://www.e-aircraftsupply.com/aircraft_products/file/fod-supplies-sweeper.aspx

@Rainbow Dog - Do yo suppose that vine might have tangled with your valve stem?

@Mick - It may have, but there also was a readily identifiable hole away from the stem which I ended up patching.

+1 for incorporating a bike lane on waterfront drive. I took that stupid path around the apartments once and thought it was kind of dumb. I guess it would be nice if you LIVED in those apartments and wanted to walk out the back door, or go for a walk along the river. Waterfront Drive never has enough traffic in my opinion to worry about taking the road through it.