I rode through that area in the afternoon on both Saturday and Sunday. Didn't see anything. Too bad.
Can you provide the link to the South Bay Wheelmen forum (if its non-member accessible)?
You see some suspicious characters there periodically, but I've never had much trouble. I usually stare down anybody that looks like they would be a threat. Unfortunately, many cyclists are slight of build, and they may present tempting targets to some punks.
As someone mentioned above, pepper spray is the way to go if you feel threatened. It's legal to carry, it's inexpensive, it's easy to use, it's non-lethal, and it's very effective (incapacitating, as one 300 lb cop explained to me that had it used on him as part of his training.) A number of policemen I've talked to swear by the stuff.