Potholes are the bane of every cyclist’s existence. If only someone would fix them. Earlier in 2023, Arnold Schwarzenegger did just that.

After waiting weeks for the city to fix a pothole that has been irritating cyclists and drivers, the Terminator took action into his own hands.

“For three weeks, I’ve been waiting for this hole to be closed,” says Schwarzenegger to a motorist driving by. As the Terminator and his team terminated the pothole with a few bags of Quikrete and compacting tools, the driver thanked him for fixing the issue.

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“You're welcome,” quipped the 75-year-old actor. “You have to do it yourself. This is crazy.”

Not everyone was happy with Schwarzenegger’s fix

Though the driver and cyclists may thank Schwarzenegger for making the road safer, the Los Angeles Department of Public Works senior public information director Elena Stern told NBC News that the crater in the road was not a pothole but instead a “service trench that relates to active, permitted work being performed at the location by SoCal Gas, who expects the work to be completed by the end of May.”

Whether it’s a service trench or a pothole, cyclists and drivers see it as a nuisance and a safety hazard in need of immediate attention. Last month, Los Angeles officials received over 1,300 requests for pothole repairs in one week, according to CBS New LA.

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The Terminator isn’t the first to take pothole repair into his own hands

At that rate, cyclists and drivers may feel that potholes will never get fixed. Some people, like Mumbai native Dadarao Bilhore, have elected to take Schwarzenegger-like actions to rid streets of potholes.

In 2016, Bilhore’s 16-year-old son, Prakash, was killed after the motorbike he was riding hit a pothole. Prakash was “thrown from the bike and sustained fatal brain damage.”

Since his son’s death, Bilhore has filled over 585 potholes to prevent others from getting injured or killed. Simply filling potholes with sand and gravel could be a lifesaving measure. In India, approximately ten people die every day because of potholes, according to government data.

Bilhore can’t prevent future potholes, but he hopes that filling existing voids in the road will reduce the chances of the same potholes being created in the future. Additionally, Bilhore views each pothole repair as a tribute to his son.

In a Now This video posted in response to Schwarzenegger’s DIY road repair, Bilhorein says, “As long as I am alive. As long as I have hands and until I get rid of all these potholes, then I won’t stop doing this work.”

From: Bicycling US
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Taneika Duhaney

Taneika is a Jamaica native, a runner and a gravel cyclist who resides in Virginia. Passionate about cycling, she aims to get more people, of all abilities, to ride the less beaten path.