Hedge Flailing and Debris

[Pebble]

Flailing hedges is normal agricultural practice, and if done well can be good at maintaining a hedge that is both good for wildlife and landscape. I get punctures too and it's annoying, but I'd rather have hedges than not. If branches are left on the road that may be a real hazard, but I"m afraid I can't take seriously those( admittedly quite a few) on this forum who seem to think farmers should go around sweeping up the finer debris... which may still cause bike punctures. It's just a small inconvenience for still having a rural landscape and community that hasn't quite fallen over yet and disappeared....( well where I am in Wales anyway).

Indeed, it is a minor nuisance for having a little natural habitat for our wildlife - and I'm no fan of farmers.

[gbnz]

And can't recall having had a flail debris "P" for years. Have to admit what causes me a greater problem , are those farmers who use the public road as a sewer to brush/wash their cow's faeces into. Haven't yet commenced micturating against farmyard walls, but have been seriously tempted :(Nb. There are a number of farmers who are notorious for the public road/sewer practice)

[Cugel]

And can't recall having had a flail debris "P" for years. Have to admit what causes me a greater problem , are those farmers who use the public road as a sewer to brush/wash their cow's faeces into. Haven't yet commenced micturating against farmyard walls, but have been seriously tempted :(Nb. There are a number of farmers who are notorious for the public road/sewer practice)

Cow$h!te - yes, a slippery & slidey hazard being much more slippery and slidey than other "muds" and also very stinky. I've slid over on cowmuck far more times than I have on muds.

Farmers can be mucky rascals - but at least its proper organic muck. Personally I detest the litterbugs who cast their plastic detritus all over the landscape, mostly because that's far more dangerous in the longer term to the health and wellbeing of every living thing.

I've been attempting to give up the consumption of milk and beef, starting with a large reduction. If there were no eating of the boeufs or stealing the calf-dinner by humans, perhaps the livestock producing those tasty foodstuffs will shrink to teeny numbers. This will apparently be good also for that global warming, especially from reduction of all the cow-methane.

Cugel, with shoes still slightly redolent of cowmuck from last weekend's plodge in a large pond of it.

[freeflow]

A month or so ago I abandoned an Audax after the sixth puncture of the day. Yes, the hedge trimmers had been out.

[robc02]

I changed job just over a year ago, so my new commute is 12 very rural miles each way. During my first winter I had numerous punctures ALL due to hedge flailing debris. So far this winter I have had one, though it was a slow one that I discovered the next morning. (It turned out to be two thorns in the same tyre).

Most of the time I was on 32mm Continental GP 4 Seasons, so not the most robust tyres but not lightweights either.

I have been contemplating whether to:

1. Switch to something like Marathon Plus, knowing that they will puncture less often but will be a major hassle to get off the rim (in the dark, in the rain and covered in gritty mud) when they do puncture.

2. Use slime filled tubes or carry a can of slime inflator (seem to recall trying the latter a long time ago and finding it not very good - wouldn't work in very cold conditions).

3. Just continue with nice feeling tyres and put up with punctures!

Number three is winning at the moment.

[Psamathe]

Flailing hedges is normal agricultural practice, and if done well can be good at maintaining a hedge that is both good for wildlife and landscape. I get punctures too and it's annoying, but I'd rather have hedges than not. If branches are left on the road that may be a real hazard, but I"m afraid I can't take seriously those( admittedly quite a few) on this forum who seem to think farmers should go around sweeping up the finer debris... which may still cause bike punctures. It's just a small inconvenience for still having a rural landscape and community that hasn't quite fallen over yet and disappeared....( well where I am in Wales anyway).

On the off topic, " Quicks" are Hawthorne, (whereas Blackthorne is .....er..."Sloe". Blackthorne indeed flowers early ...in April, whereas Hawthorne flowers later...in May, hence it's monica of May blossom......oh yes and both thornes will cause punctures..

For the most part, the hedge cutting/flailing I come across (and its a lot in the hedge-cutting season, as me an t-ladywife cycle down miles & miles of country backroads) is done so that the debris gets flung into fields rather than on to the road. Very little goes on the road unless the nature of the road, field and separating hedge is such that the tractor and it's flail can't get the right angle of cut. ...

Whilst I'm uncertain about the proportion done "cleanly" and the proportion done creating a mess, certainly it can be done without spreading cuttings all over the road (I've passed hedge cutting happening and without debris all over the roads. Other roads recent cutting leaves debris all over the road for ages (never cleaned-up).

I don't know enough about thge equipment/operation to know why some is done without spreading debris everywhere on roads and others spreads everywhere. But I do wonder if it's at least in part down to speed/profit. Round me farmers tend not to cut their own hedges but some contracting company blitzes an area presumably udercutting pricing from others as they end-up with loads in a locality so cheaper to do before disappearing ...

Ian

[bluespeeder]

I think the quality of the job depends largely on the equipment used. Recently the hedge was cut on the road outside our house by a modern machine with a blower on the back and skirts around the cutter to deflect debris into the hedge - the road was spotless. At the other end of the scale I see pre-war tractors dripping oil over the road with an exposed flail on the back distributing blackthorn far and wide relying on passing traffic to collect the debris.
I agree this an essential job but its nicer to see it done properly.

[simonineaston]

Well it won't be long until we go back to them bendy hedgerows and the dry stone wall... brilliant

[mattsccm]

Tubeless tyres. Replaced one this week. Worn out. Full of thorns, glass stones. Tens of punctures over the last two years of use. But did I notice? Nope

[Psamathe]

Anybody any experience of these? https://www.tannus.co.uk/collections/armour

Ian

[foxyrider]

I was on the eastern flanks of the Forest of Dean today, i'd already passed through a couple of lengths of hedge slashing when i found myself on a lane probably done yesterday. It was a nervous few minutes, debris was covering the road from verge to verge, some bits were actually small branches that needed dodging, but there was plenty more bits @ 2 to 3" across, navigating the carnage was not easy. As the lane in question sees about 20 cars a day, it won't get cleared by that method any time soon.

I somehow exited the thorn alley with my air intact, Oh how i long for the drystone walls of the Pennines