sailor2

Part of my commute takes me through about 300 ft long patch of non mowed grass.
Tallest it's ever been is about chest high, but this varies during the year.
Me, few walkers and animals made a little path through it but it's very narrow.
Any tricks you can share to avoid getting the grass in the derailer, casette and chainring?
Hopping off the bike and walking it, is not the preferred option as I would need to carry a change of shoes/socks/pants to work.

PlanoFuji

Periodically go out and cut it down? Find a different route?

squegeeboo

Why does walking it require you to have an extra set of clothes?

ill.clyde

There isn't another option? A nearby sidewalk? A neighboring road?

dramiscram

A gallon of gaz and and lighter...

fietsbob

Commuter Mower..

Taller Elephant. ... or,


You need to keep a flock of sheep there and keep it grazed short.

Squeeze

I'm assuming this is public property. If so, why not cut the grass? I'm serious.

If it's 300 feet long and very narrow, you could clear that with one walk-through with a weed-eater/string-trimmer, if you or a neighbor or a friend has one. You can also rent them from Home Depot, etc.

Put it in your car, drive there on a non-commuting day, and buzz the grazz and weeds down as low as you can. If you're using this as a cut-through, others probably are too and will appreciate it.

Obviously you don't want one with a power cord for a stealth mission like this, so use one that's gas-powered, or better yet - for quieter operation - use one with a rechargeable battery.

Random image from google:

Rootman

I'm afraid you're SOL friend, a few scenarios have already been listed and the worst of the bunch is hidden obstacles, a short stretch of a route I sometimes take has the same high grass, the last time I cut through there I nearly ran over a broken bottle.

Another path I take is a actual walking / bike path through a failed subdivision, all laid out with streets and this neat little path cut right through it. The last time I took it I got a small twig ground up in my derailer and came to a grinding halt.

So short of being a hero and toting your mower over there and mowing it, or finding an alternative I'm afraid ther eis little you can do.

tigerteeuwen

anyone have a picture of that bike with the push lawn mower front end for this thread? lol

no1mad 

I'm thinking wet grass, maybe mud, stickers, and possibly the fang marks of a striking serpent.... which I would have to change at least my shorts if that ever happened to me.

Fargo Wolf

There's not much you can do, aside from stopping and picking the grass out of wherever it managed to get caught. Is there an alternate route available, or is that out of the question for safety type reasons?

Nothing like showing up at work with the lower part of your pants sporting a load of burrs...

I think the police, fire dept. and Forest service might have something to say about that tactic, though I can certainly understand the sentiment.

no1mad 

The one who suggested the 'scorched earth' approach in the sixth post has it as their avatar.

tigerteeuwen

I was also thinking you could pull a kids bike trailer and afix roman gladiator esk scyes to the wheels.

squegeeboo

Eh, if it gets up to chest high, you're getting burrs, moisture, etc regardless.

Fargo Wolf

True enough.

ThermionicScott 

Different route or:

tjspiel

On some day you have off just ride back and forth through there about 100 times.

Erick L

Put some wide BMX wheel bars and make a crop circle.

xtrajack

Some things I just don't do.
Riding in tall grass is one of them.
Last time I rode in tall grass, I was trying to straighten a fast down hill right angle turn, by cutting across the lawn of the house on the corner.
I hit the ditch (which I didn't see, and didn't know, that should have been there.) I flew through the air, landing with my head a handspan's width from a large rock.

Bug Shield

I ride through a similar patch of cockleburs. On my single speed no big deal. The same would be true for an IGH. My commuter has derailleurs though and the rear is lately picking up enough crap that I have stopped riding that route though I prefer it.

We had been riding it enough to keep them knocked down but have had good rain this year so have fallen behind. I'm going to go ride it a dozen times on my motorcycle and guess that will do the trick. If that doesn't work I'll probably have to hit it with the weed whacker or a scythe.

Badger6

This. Why do you have to include this in your route, especially since it is only 300ft (100m...the same distance Usain Bolt covers when getting the gold)?

sailor2

OP here,
thanks for all good (and not so good) ideas
This is a shortcut through a meadow, wet and muddy, frequently going through 4 inches of water, but saves me at more than 2 miles of an alternate route (which is nasty, narrow, 45mph, no shoulder road).
I've ridden through it over 100 times this year, I'm just looking for ideas to keep grass from the derailer & cassette.
I try to "dethatch" these twice a week, but I was hoping for a better is solution.

The excessive rains we have this year, make it grow fast (more than a foot over a weekend). Would need to come ride here every weekend

My kids loved this idea.

I mentally mapped all rocks and holes (there are two). I don't think new ones would show up any time soon.

I'm too big of a wuss for a fixie (hills), but IGH is a great idea. I wish there were cheaper.

It saves me more than 2 miles of much less pleasant alternative. Even If i needed to walk the bike I would still use this shortcut.

I'm staying much drier and less muddy if I can stay on the bike, even with the tall grass. To help me with this I changed my tires to wider (1.75" atm)
I carry a clean T-shirt & shorts with me, but don't carry shoes.
I needed to walk the bike twice through the mud & wet grass this year and it required major cleaning the shoes at work.

My kids likes this idea even better - I needed to show them a youtube video of these scythes first.


So far I only scared few bunny families. Deer can hear me from a long distance and I don't want to think too much about snakes in the grass.

Artkansas 

Well, you could always just bungee a weed cutter like this onto your bike and when it gets too long, you spend a few minutes on your way home improving your trail.



Or get clever and make an attachment that lowers two of them, one on each side and trim the weeds as you ride.

Or buy a beater bike like this.

fietsbob

I like that , lay out the crop circle first, a nice design, so they think the Aliens left a message..

kookaburra1701

Gaiters for your pants. You can get them at any outdoor store that caters to hunters or get fancy leather ones at any saddlery shop.