General Cycling Discussion - Cyclist shot in foot

Today I read in the local newspaper that a cyclist was shot as mentioned in Escondido.. Some how I am not surprised.. I have been torked about being hit by baseball bats, etc.. of which we have seen in this forum of late...
Is this a first.. ? The hostitilty I ocassionally see out there, I am not surprised.. Anybody in San Diego county know any more details of this incicedent on March 2..? Sort of afraid of riding to Escondido after that...

What do you know of the details? Was it an accident (not likely)? Was it drug related? Was it like the bat thing you mentioned?

If it doesn't appear to be antibicycle like the bat thing, then you are likely safe enough to ride.

Joe

Police gave no details in the newspaper account as to whether it was anti-cyclist.... The story sounded like the assailant fled and there were no observers, others than the cyclist.. Experiencing the ocassional hostility I have seen, I strongly suspect it is anti-cyclist.. ANyone else read of a similiar incident anywhere else ..? If anti-cyclist is this a first.?

This is sick...

Originally posted by cyclezealot
If anti-cyclist is this a first.?

I seem to recall several topics posted last year about road rage drivers hitting or shooting cyclists.... so no this would not really be the first. :(

Originally posted by cyclezealot
Police gave no details in the newspaper account as to whether it was anti-cyclist.... The story sounded like the assailant fled and there were no observers, others than the cyclist.. Experiencing the ocassional hostility I have seen, I strongly suspect it is anti-cyclist.. ANyone else read of a similiar incident anywhere else ..? If anti-cyclist is this a first.?

I remember reading about a situation years ago on the old cyclery site where some tosspot set up a "tripwire" on a bike path somewhere which was virtually invisible. As I recall the cyclist on that occasion had a very narrow escape (whatever was set up just missed him), but I can't remember too many details.

Either way, this level of hostility is, unfortunately, not isolated.

Originally posted by Chris L
I remember reading about a situation years ago on the old cyclery site where some tosspot set up a "tripwire" on a bike path somewhere which was virtually invisible. As I recall the cyclist on that occasion had a very narrow escape (whatever was set up just missed him), but I can't remember too many details.

Either way, this level of hostility is, unfortunately, not isolated.

I've heard of land-activists doing that to mountain bikers too. They positioned the wires at head-level.

Originally posted by khuon
I've heard of land-activists doing that to mountain bikers too. They positioned the wires at head-level.

Holy cow!!! This is a good reason not to support the eco-terror groups. Sierra club and others are out to get us all. Bikes are bad for the ecosystem in their opinions.

Originally posted by SamDaBikinMan
Holy cow!!! This is a good reason not to support the eco-terror groups. Sierra club and others are out to get us all. Bikes are bad for the ecosystem in their opinions.

I've never experienced it myself... only heard about it. But there were a couple of warnings about trails around here being booby-trapped a while back. The Sierra Club has been pretty radical and intolerant of mountain bikers but I don't think all environmental groups are bad. However, the people who do such things like the aforementioned give environmentalists a bad name. I do support the activity of groups like Tread Lightly and IMBA though.

Sam. Did they take finger prints of those who put up the wires to trip up mtn. bikers? There are some fringe groups yes; I have known of some Sierra Club members who are avid cyclists..
Maybe those who put up these wires could have just been psycho punks...?

Originally posted by khuon
I've heard of land-activists doing that to mountain bikers too. They positioned the wires at head-level.

North shore even has groups like this. The pull the nails out of parts of the man made sections so the crumble as you ride over them. Litter the trannies with nails to blow the tires. I have never experienced it myself but have heard of others having problems like this on the shore.

Getting back to, "shot in the foot.."

Any use of a lethal weapon ranks above assault of any other kind.
This is extremely serious.

lets not confuse the Sierra Club with Earth First or any of those nut case groups. I find that they tend to be the best of them all and are more of a lobbying group than anything else. And with this as being somebody shot in the foot maybe we should be advocating something along the lines of gun control why is it so easy for these nuts to get a gun.

Actually a better idea would be to have bicycles come with guns so we can fight back. Sure hitting someone with a kryptonite works, but I don't always have the chance to engage in close combat. :)

-Andy

from earthfirstjournal.org :

"Monkeywrenching: ecotage; ecodefense; billboard bandits; desurveying; road reclamation; tree spiking - All these can be defined as the unlawful sabotage of industrial extraction/development equipment and infrastructure, as a means of striking at the Earth's destroyers at the point where they commit their crimes. [...]

Within the Earth First! movement, monkeywrenching is a source of controversy. There are those who say we should renounce all forms of sabotage. Others are against particular tactics, particularly tree spiking, which they say has the potential to injure. Several EF! local groups have renounced tree spiking, others have not. There is no movement consensus at this time, and debate is lively. Ultimately, whether or not to monkeywrench is an individual decision.

The book, ECODEFENSE: A Field Guide to Monkeywrenching, Third Edition (available from the Earth First! Journal for $18), contains detailed information on monkeywrenching techniques as well as careful discussions of security, safety, strategy and justification. The book is 350 pages long and is heavily illustrated. Any potential monkeywrencher would do well to study the security section carefully before embarking on the clearly illegal and potentially dangerous path of ecotage."

a mixed message, to be sure; still, there will always be extremists that give any movement a bad name.

I have a pretty strong feeling that, if I came across someone on the trail rigging a wire, I'd react the same way I would if I found someone abusing a person or animal.

-alex.

Originally posted by SamDaBikinMan
Holy cow!!! This is a good reason not to support the eco-terror groups. Sierra club and others are out to get us all. Bikes are bad for the ecosystem in their opinions.

Sam - You've got to stop holding your breath when you lift weights. It's killing brain cells like crazy. Most environmental organizations are very much in favor of cycling, since any form of transportation that doesn't burn fossil fuels is a positive.

Eco-terror is an oxymoron, kind of like military intelligence...

On yer left,
Lou

Did any MTBers actually get decapitated by those wires? GROSS!

I do not believe violence is wide spread against bicyclist and I have ridden in Los Angeles in gang neighborhoods including Echo Park, Alysian Park and the Watts area, these are hispanic, Asian and black gang neighborhoods AND I'm WHITE!!

I THINK WE NEED TO STOP FREAKIN AND POSTING FEAR INDUCING POSTS!!! Granted, you must be careful but it's a rare event of violence against a cyclist; you ought to be more worried about cars around you. If your too freakin worried about bad things that MIGHT happen then stay home and get a stationary bike!!!!!!!!!