I set out this morning for a run on my FJ. Not far from
home, on a small back road, I notice a car parked and an elderly couple who
seemed to be mending a fence. I thought little of this but when I passed them I
saw, at the last moment, a length of rope across the road. There was then an
almighty bang. I looked round and saw some shattered plastic and the old guy
remonstrating with me. I stopped some distance away but didn't want to debate
with him so I continued on my journey. I assumed I'd hit something of his but
I hadn't seen it.
A while later I stopped for fuel and noticed that the front
part of the mudguard was missing. It seems that the rope had ripped it off.
I returned to the scene to find the remains of the mudguard
and the couple gone. They were farmers setting up an electric fence.
The rope was coiled up on the other side of the road and possibly not connected
with their activities.
I fitted the mudguard from my old FJ, that is now becoming a donor
bike. It's blue rather than black so I'll look for one on eBay. Failing that it
should be a simple matter to spay paint it.
I got a bit of a fright but I'll put this incident down to
just one of those things that happen.
***update***
Thinking about it I don't now think
that the couple were farmers. They were too old and well dressed. I think that
they were just passers-by that found the rope that may have blown across the
road and were moving it. I'll never know for sure.  |
| For what it's worth I recovered the debris |
 |
| I fitted the mudguard from my old FJ |
 |
| The offending article |
Makes you wonder what the rope was doing there. Glad it was just the mudguard that was harmed.
ReplyDeleteSee my update above. This could have been nasty because nylon rope is strong and could have pulled the bike over had it got tangled up. If you dwell on what could happen when riding a bike you'd never get on one.
ReplyDeleteyikes! no kidding , that could of been much worse. A friend of mine was telling me how he won't ride his bicycle on trails in certain areas, because ner' do wells would string up thin ropes to knock unsuspecting bicyclists down...to rob them, and-or steal their bicycles
ReplyDeleteI had thought about this but I don't think that the rope there maliciously. It was out of town and the road, although quiet, is fairly well used by locals and tractors from nearby farms.
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