Carpet tacks ruin bikes on Monon

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) - Several dozens carpet tacks were found on the Monon Trail.

Volunteers found the tacks between 54th Street and Kessler Boulevard.

One of the volunteers told 24 Hour News 8 they're pretty sure they've picked the tacks all up.

Just looking on the trail, you couldn't see the tacks.

"I couldn't see them," said Kevin Whited with IndyCOG, an Indianapolis Bicycle Advocacy Group.

But they were there - carpet tacks - and they were putting bikers, runners, and walkers in harms way.

Whited said over the past couple of weeks cyclists have reported an increase in flat tires.

"We called the parks department; they came out and did visual inspection and didn't find anything," he said.

So Whited and volunteers from the Central Indiana Bicycling Association rented several magnetic sweepers to see what they could find. After a stroll up and down the monon they picked up the culprits.

"You couldn't see the tacks, but you could hear them hitting the metal on the magnet," Whited said.

Whited said the majority of the carpet tacks were found in this area just south of the bridge over Kessler Blvd.

"It just went crazy. I'm mean 20 or 30 pings in a couple of seconds. Ping, ping, ping - like that," Whited said, "We weren't even through the cluster yet, and I'm going to guess we've picked up 50 or 60 of these little tacks and we kept going and picked up more.

"I commute to work," said Keith Cruz of Indianapolis.

The discovery was a shock to Cruz.

He uses the monon everyday to get to work.

"I mostly see glass on the trail up around Broad Ripple and further south, by 38th Street, but I've never heard of tacks being thrown on the trail before," he said.

A flat tire could cost you $20 plus in repairs. Cruz said a flat tire is the least of his concerns.

"It could be pretty disastrous I mean if your front tire gives out on you and you have no control of your bike," Cruz said.

Whited said they picked up about 150 to 200 tacks along the trail. He's not sure who tossed them here but is calling it an isolated incident.

When the problem first started...one cyclist went to TWITTER to alert others about getting flat tires on the trail.