Received this tonight.

Veteran attacked by teens while riding his bike | HLNtv.com

Ride safe

I was attacked on the Pinellas Trail in St. Petersburg FL 4-13-16 by 5 teenagers, sounds really close to what this guy went through. I was hit in the right side head by a blunt object fractured my jaw and cheek bones, needed 2 plates and ten screws inserted. My vision is all screwed up too, but should get better. They tried to steal my bike but I total flipped out, I had blood pouring from my nose and was screaming for help while I stood up and started walking towards them. Two other bikers that just past me the other direction heard my calls for help and came back. That's when those kids all scattered. I never fell, so luckily I didn't have any other injuries. I think they saw a 50 year old man coming and thought I was a easy target, but they were very wrong.

Heal well my friend.

We can only hope these thugs are caught and taken off the streets for a long time.

I doubt those idiots thought their actions through. I'm of the opinion that many people today have no impulse control. It is interesting to speculate why this may be so. I suspect many feel disconnected from society due to socio-economic reasons and if this is so, the situation will get worst.

Sounds like it happened in daylight. Pretty brazen. Usually, this type of coward only gets brave at night.

Yes it happend around noon, just out doing my 16 mile lunch ride just like every other day. Those kids were targeting someone to steal a bike from, they thought they had it all planned out because they were at an area with 2 exit points from the trail. They figured I would probably just fall from my bike when they hit me over the head with a large tree branch, and they would just scoop up the bike and ride away. Two of the kids were on road bikes with no seats, cops told me that is a really good sign that those bikes were stolen. They were trying to score another one, and I was their target.

They didn't expect that once I got hit, I would stay upright and ride another 20 feet and softly ride into a ditch, then get off the bike and furiously come at them yelling for help. After the little hoodlums left/ran, a bunch of other teenagers that were out running for their track team stopped and gave me first aid until the cops and EMTs showed up. It made me remember to think that there are a lot of great kids out there too ! Oh and my helmet probably saved my life ! Without it they probably would've fractured my skull.

Thanks for all the kind words, being a victim of a random violent unprovoked crime really sets off your emotions in all directions. Luckily I have a ton of great people around me to help me through this.

That's rotten. I hope you heal up the way you're supposed to, and I hope the cops bust those criminals.

I wish I lived in a country in which I didn't have to worry about having my bike stolen simply because I have the audacity to actually take it out in public.

I'm wanting to get a used bike and fix it up just how I want it with a new paint job, shiny chrome and brass, etc. But if I do that, I'll have to worry about someone ripping it off more.

My current bike is a twenty year old Walmart bike. At thirty feet, it doesn't look bad. Up close, no one in their right mind would put forth any effort to steal it, and that gives me a little peace of mind.

How aggressive are cops at pursuing bike thieves?

I hope the local PD is motivated to pursue this. With a bit of effort it should only take a few days to track these rodents down.

I think there is a market for stolen bikes and I also think that some people enjoy hurting other people. I try to stay aware of my surroundings and I will not hesitate to protect myself. Recreational violence is on the rise in our country due to the likelihood of not getting caught and even if an arrest is made there is often no real punishment for the offenders. I carry a small handgun and am proficient in its use. I don't like it but that is just the way it is. I look like an easy target and I am to old to get my ass kicked.

While I feel the same about that on the roads(will not hesitate to protect myself). The reason I started this thread was not only informational in terms of what happened to this cyclist. But it also reminded me about the series of attacks on cyclists. On DC's Metropolitan Branch Trail. Several years ago a bunch of boys where making vicious attacks on cyclists' riding the trail.

Ride safe

Kids love hitting cyclists with baseball bats and such in New Orleans. Even sucker punches. Whenever I see a group of kids in the roadway or semi-blocking the bike path, I make a U-turn and go a couple of blocks over. I realize this is not always possible unfortunately. Just about every cyclist i know has had an attempted (or successful) clubbing/sucker-punch experience. I try to abide by the 21 foot rule whenever possible. You can never relax around here on a bike. Always looking for heads peeking out behind vehicles or groups of kids hanging out near or in the road.

Sorry that happened to you Scooty. Sucks.

Check out the 21 foot rule video. It might save someone's skin literally when it comes to avoiding trouble. If you can't pass a group of suspicious people with 21 feet to spare, take a different route. This video just shows how much ground an assailant can cover before even trained professionals can react and take action. Ignore the firearm training part. Just imagine you are on your bike passing an assailant.

I saw this on WTSP, although they didn't make mention of the cyclist being a Vet. Does anyone in the Tampa Bay Area know if there are any more details on this case?

Joey,

Thank you for the video, I've always heard about but never saw demonstrated.

Working with a few defense and LE experts, we ran through this experiment several times. Turns out, if you're the defender, your best bet is to take a backfall while you draw and fire from the ground. It's harder than it looks to run up on someone laying on their back, feet toward you and reach down to stab them while they're kicking you and taking aim at your head. Especially since it's such a large change from the plan the attacker had when he started the charge.

I haven't encountered any kids with malicious intent, yet.

But, Regardless of who, or where. The 21-foot rule definitely makes a lot of sense.
In the story, it says he was the second person in 24hrs. to be attacked. So, Regardless of the age of the teens. It is a number of teens who will keep doing it until they get caught.

I don't think that the WTSP story made mention of that. Thankfully I do NOT think they were the same ones who had come up behind me a couple of weeks ago. As I am still here with no injuries at all.

Florida & Ohio are the 2 WORST STATES, when it comes to those driving against bikes/cyclists.
I say this as a Cal cyclist, driving in Cal. Looking @ their license plates, when passing me/my bike.
When those above are in my area.

When I watch the tv news: coincidentally --- the weirdest incidents happen in Florida & Ohio. (domestic, crime, surreal, etc. All this)

@Scooty Puff JrAll the best for a speedy and complete recovery. This is scary stuff. And I really hope they can catch these hate-filled f***ers.

Last year, we had somebody doing something similar to the OP story:
https://www.nydailynews.com/news/crim...icle-1.2321323
I have not seen any new information on this story, it appears they never caught this criminal.

Much like Scooty Puff Jr, one of my daughter's friends was attacked for his bike by a group of 5 or 6 young men. He suffered a broken jaw and other injuries, and was able to use his U-lock to leave a mark on a couple of the attackers. He has recovered and no long-lasting ill effects. Never caught his attackers.

I hate to say it, but these bike-hating-animals live in all placings, including bike-friendly Minneapolis. It is a sad statement on our society.

[MENTION=420758]Scooty Puff Jr[/MENTION]-How are you healing?

Thank you for asking. I'm doing better, all the swelling and most of the bruising is gone and the stitches around my eye have been removed and my sight is clearing up. Though I still have a ways to go, my jaw is still very sore, feels like I have a mouthful of cavities, and the numbness in my face has cleared but was replaced by more pain. Just have to tough it out a few more weeks with Motrin and heat and ice.

Not all bad though, I rode a bit over 80 miles last week, and I'm on pace for my normal 100 plus this week. Since I didn't fall, and my helmet saved me from any brain injury, the only severe injuries were to my face, so my doctor said I can ride and go to the gym all I want. Though I have re-thought what route I take now when riding by myself.

Thanks again for asking !

I am glad you are mending. Did they crack a lot of your teeth?

I am glad you felt good enough that you were able to get some miles in.

I remember re-thinking my route to a doctor's office. A couple years ago, when I was sideswiped by a motorist. I continue to use the same route. But my injuries didn't come close to what happened to you.

I am glad you didn't get a brain injury. I have live with one. All my life.

Scooty, good luck with your continued recovery. I feel for you on a number of levels. I too ride the Pineallas trail when I'm over in the Tampa area and thought the troubles had been over for the last several years. And like you were, I am usually riding alone. Andy

The lesson I took from that is to use bare hand techniques and send the attacker sprawling, at which point you will have plenty of time to draw a weapon. Seemed to me like going for a weapon first is only the right choice if you are very far away. Bare hand techniques on someone who is really hyped up, probably not trained, and lunging on an attack should be relatively straightforward to redirect and make him trip. But I've only ever sparred, not done any takedowns in real life, so I may be badly mistaken. That video sure seems to back me up though.

You're making three big and potentially fatal assumptions about the attacker, though. Rule 1 of going up against a knife is to expect to get cut if you get within range. What you put close enough for the attacker to cut determines how bad that will be. The advantage of the backfall is that it's not convenient to reach stuff on the ground when you're standing up, end especially when running, so the attacker has to slow/stop his charge or belly flop on top of you to continue the attack. If you're drawing from a fast holster, you should be able to get at least one shot off before he can do that.