A group of cyclists has had an abrupt end to a morning's ride after a number of thumbtacks were spread across the road near Ladysmith.
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Up to five riders' bikes were damaged when the group headed cycling around Gregadoo Road and Elizabeth Avenue at 10am on Good Friday.
"Next thing you know, I've got a thumbtack in my tyre," said cyclist Brett Waldron.
"My mate jumped down off his bike to take a look at my tyre, and when he got back on his had a thumbtack in it too.
"Then a little further along, another couple had stopped because they had thumbtacks in their tyres."
Rounding out a Good Friday miracle, the five riders managed to avoid injury when the tacks forced a sudden stop.
"Bikes don't handle too well when the tyres go flat, it's a bit like a car in that way," he said.
"Luckily, no-one was hurt but it could have been worse."
Having routinely taken the same route each week for months, Mr Waldron believes the tacks had been purposely laid.
"It's a long way out of town, so I'd say they had to be dropped deliberately by someone who wants to cause malicious damage," he said.
"I've never had anything like this happen before, never around here.
"The roads are in poor enough condition as it is. It doesn't help[ when you've got someone out there wanting to cause you damage too."
It was something of a dramatic conclusion to an already unusual trip.
"We do this trip every Friday, and there has never been a problem," Mr Waldron said.
"This ride was doomed from the start, I'd say, we copped a lot of abuse from motorists the whole way.
"I don't think it would have mattered if you were a cyclist or a slow-moving farmer, you'd have copped it. Everyone was just in such a rush."
A self-proclaimed 'petrol head and Lycra-wearing cyclist', Mr Waldron said it is a minority syndicate in the city causing trouble for the many.
"I reckon 90 per cent of cyclists do the right thing, and 90 per cent of motorists do the right thing," he said.
"It's just that few who are making it hard for everyone else."
While the damage is not expected to cost too dearly, Mr Waldron said it was something of an inconvenience.
The long weekend will mean riders cannot replace their broken tyres and bike parts for at least the next two days.
To save fellow cyclists from a similar fate, Mr Waldron encouraged his fellow riders to dispose of the tacks they found.
"I just picked them up, put them in my bike kit and chucked them in the bin, along with the tyre, CO2 cylinders and cartridges, everything that was damaged," he said.