flying debris

[Iris616]

Hi,
I'm new here, and new to cycling/commuting. This has been my first week of commuting by bike. So far it has gone smoothly. I did much research about road safety before I got on the road, and did a test run early on a Saturday morning to map out my route. So with all of that, I'm feeling pretty safe and comfortable.

Until this morning: I was riding on the busiest part of my trip,where there is quite a bit of debris on the road. A car passed me, and as it did, ran over a piece of hard plastic (like from a tail light cover). The debris flew up and hit my helmet! I was so shocked, I almost fell off my bike

Has this happened to any one else? I imagine it was a freak thing, but I'm curious if others have been hit by stuff flying off of cars.

Plus, do I need to replace my helmet? I'm inclined not to, unless others with more experience tell me I should.

Thanks

[mimitabby]

hey Iris, welcome to TE.
Inspect your helmet, but it's probably fine. A lot of us have had stuff hit us; and some of the flying stuff was THROWN. that's the worst kind.

There are some parts of my commute where I fully expect to have something fly up and hit me; I've had some close calls. I've also called the city and asked them to clean the street.

[Geonz]

It's uncommon here but I watch for it. I've sent a fair number of my own pebbles spewing out from my tire! I"ve also made that phone call once or twice about debris.

[PscyclePath]

Your helmet's probably okay... check it closely to be sure, but if the foam is intact and uncracked, it's more than likely okay.

Another thing to do is be sure that you're wearing some sort of eye protection... sunglasses, goggles, etc. to protect your eyes from debris that flies up from the road like that as well as the stray bugs, etc. that you encounter along the road or trail. A pair of glasses is the one piece of safety gear that can actually prevent an accident (by protecting your vision) in addition to just helping you survive if you do get in a crash...

Tom

[tulip]

I'm a big advocate of wearing glasses (polycarbonate) while on a bike, whether you need them to see better or not. Sunglasses or clear, be sure they are UVA/UVB protectors, too.

I have only one good eye, so obviously I'm a bit closer to the issue than alot of folks, but I hope that this will inspire someone to wear glasses while out on the bike. You never know what can fly up and hit you, and sight should never be taken for granted.

[Skierchickie]

I haven't been hit by much (have been hit by far more bees & things flying down hills), but, man, do we have the debris! In the winter they use a salt/stamp sand mix (very fine rock from the old copper mines around here) quite liberally, and they don't always do the greatest job cleaning it up in the spring. Nor do they do it very early in the spring. So the shoulders of the roads are very gritty and very dangerous in places. Of course, the cars expect you to be on the paved shoulder, not realizing how dangerous that can be. We also have lots of logging trucks, so they leave a goodly amount of bark and crud.

My commute to work is partly lightly traveled country road with no paved shoulder, but it isn't bad, partly small town (maybe 1 mile), which was very bad early in the season, and 1/2 2-lane highway. The highway is terrible. First, the stamp sand. Then, the bark and wood debris. Then, the miscellaneous man-junk (plastic and metal - the usual crud). Then, a few weeks ago they (state? county?) must have been doing some work along the gravel shoulder of the highway, and when they were done they graded it so that in places they dragged gravel onto the wide paved shoulder, making me weave toward traffic periodically to keep from crashing. Then, last week, I noticed periodic patches of fresh, loose, small gravel. Maybe they tarred some cracks in the pavement and covered it with that? I don't know, but it's loose & dangerous, and like a big truck drove along spilling a little once in a while.

Along the highway I do NOT claim my lane. Cars are going 65. The shoulder is very wide where it is 2 lane, much (and quite suddenly) narrower in the section where the passing lanes are, and it becomes 4 lanes. Some of it is clean, and some of it is terrible. I've hit things. Lots of things (mostly pebbles, but some unforeseen metal objects). So far nothing has been thrown at me, at least. I have a bunch of routes, several of which include the cruddy highway section. I'm not sure whose responsibility it would even be to clean it up. It isn't in a city. The state plows that part in the winter, so maybe them - yeah, I bet I'd have great luck complaining to the state and asking them to take a street sweeper out so my bike rides would be safer.

Just be glad you had your helmet on! While I have been seeing more people out riding lately, the increase seems to be mostly helmetless people.

[Melalvai]

I got a pair of safety glasses from Walgreens for $2. When the sun is shining I wear sunglasses. At night or on cloudy days, the safety goggles.

My city has an online form to report debris that needs cleaned up.

[Iris616]

Thanks for the tips. I called the city and they said they would "take care of it." So I thought I was getting the old brush off.

But this morning I had to ride around the street sweeper!!

The tips on the glasses were also helpful. I have regular glasses that I wear all the time, but I don't think they are sports lenses. So now I'll look into that.

Thanks to all for the welcome!

[JennyPi]

Hi Iris! Welcome!

A few weeks ago on my way home from work, a workman's truck, that was carrying garbage in the back, dropped a case full of glass bottles. They all exploded when they hit the ground and the little pieces jumped up hitting my legs and arms. I didn't get any cuts but it definitely shook me. I too will go with the GLASSES advice and start wearing them

[Skierchickie]

Yesterday I was riding along a lightly traveled road, minding my own business, when 3 cars went by in the opposite direction. This road is not in the best shape, and has lots of fine stones and potholes. Right after the 3rd one ZING, I got a small, stingy piece of gravel to the right nostril. About 1/8 of an inch over, and it would have been up my nose. Fortunately, I was wearing my sunglasses, as I always do, and while it stung quite a bit, it didn't leave a mark.

My ride to work this morning stunk - they continue to randomly scatter gravel over the shoulder, making it really impossible to miss it all. They do a little shoulder work, and spill the gravel on the paved part. Then there was a big blue towel, etc.

[Tuckervill]

On our tour last week, a garbage truck passed us going the opposite direction. We smelled it before we saw it, I think, and then as it passed, it hit a bump or something. Drops of liquid came flying out and hit me in the face!! Ewww. Luckily, I closed my mouth just in time! TriGirl escaped unscathed.

Karen

[Boise Birder]

First, one of my favorite rides was out past a state prison. It is in a rural area, nice shoulders, rolling area - lots of buffer area between the road the prison buildings.

I saw a large pumper truck pull out onto the road, leaking something.

It could have been worse, but had pumped cooking grease from the prison kitchen. Couldn't avoid it all - a little splashed on my legs. Old french fry odor!

The second event, I avoided the "obstacle" but one of the riders in my group didn't. We are blessed in Idaho with lots of wildlife - highways are deadly to them. We are cruising down a hill on a fairly busy highway, but good shoulders.

I saw the obstacle, there was no traffic, and I avoided it. So did the second rider. The third didn't. The obstacle??? A dead beaver, dead long enough to have a mighty unpleasant odor. A note plugging icon would work well here!

He did some pretty serious scrubbing of his legs at the local watering hole when we took a break!

[Kano]

So, you like the ride south of town on Pleasant Valley and Kuna Mora roads too, eh Boise Birder?

Roadkill beaver? I haven't seen any of those on my rides -- dead badger between me and downtown lately, but he's past stinking now! Usually, snakes and squirrels, occasionally jack rabbit...

Karen in Boise

[coyote]

During Monsoon we get toads and frogs. Some have poisonous skin. Last year one of them died on the bike path and stayed there for a month. It dried really fast and became preserved. Yuck!

I do confess to picking it up once by its tail, it was kind of like a reptile popsicle

[Boise Birder]

Yes, I've seen them. Why are toads subject to this weird, dessication thing that maintains the body in a very flat state?

We used to use them as frisbees as kids - some of us thought it was fun, some of us thought it was horrifying. Me, the fun group. But I didn't stoop to toss the toads at those who didn't think this was fun.

Kano, yes, Pleasant Valley is the land of badgers who shouldn't have crossed the road. I like badgers, and it does bother me. I say a prayer as I pass for all the wildlife destroyed on roads, and hope they are in a better place.

The beaver was on Highway 21, near the overlook above Lucky Peak Reservoir.

The watering hole was Crow's Inn.