tungsten

Does it happen on the road?

[admin edit: Please include discussion topic here]

BobbyG

[QUOTE=tungsten;20494340]Does it happen on the road?/QUOTE]
A friend of mine was "bike jacked" in Chicago in 1974. THis is nothing new, and it can happen anywhere. Be aware, be alert.

Colnago Mixte

My bikes are all free for the asking, once the thief makes it clear he (or she?) is willing to use force. My life is definitely more important to me than any one of my 10 bikes, even my $4000 BMC. I will even offer to turn my head as they ride away, so as not to be able to identify them in court.

Of course i have had many people ask me nicely, "Can I ride your bike? Pleeese? I'll bring it right ba-aack . . ."

These individuals are promptly and swiftly advised to go f*** themselves.

indyfabz

BTW...It's pretty interesting to read how the thread progresses much the way many BF threads progress.

Also, some people who posted clearly think the thread is a troll thread. Sounds like it is to me. Give that some thought before you get all worked up.

CliffordK

I haven't ever heard of it happening around here. Robberies in person are exceptionally rare, and treated seriously by the local police.

Perhaps the worst thing is the homeless people that tend to congregate along the greenways along bike paths and under bridges. But, so far they've never given me problems.

Cuyuna

rumrunn6

fear mongering. the OP doesn't share where he/she rides & that forum thread doesn't share a location either

Leisesturm

Surely the return on investment (weapon(s), stress, risk of injury, death ... imprisonment) is higher if a jacker uses the same 3 minutes it takes to subdue and dump the (former) driver of a Subaru Outback vs wrestling the owner of a Surly LHT away from their pride and joy? We are assuming adult bad actors engaging adult members of polite society, yes?

mtb_addict

Doesn't surprise me...feels like there's less law and order than used to be.

Seem like you hearing more and more crime and murder on the nightly news nowadays.

Colnago Mixte

I agree with this.

Thieves are, if nothing else, smart about how they invest their larcenous energy. After all, the whole reason they steal is to avoid getting out of bed in the morning and going to a job in order to earn money the honest way.

But I'm still not gonna risk my life wrestling some meth head with AIDS over a $100 bike, especially when I've got 9 more at home I'm trying to get rid of. I'm not sacrificing my life on principle, and I've had enough bikes stolen from me in the past to know that life goes on.

Probably not the response the OP wanted, maybe this thread could be moved to the "Firearms and Shooting People" sub fora.

Leisesturm

By every objective metric all forms of crime are lower than they have ever been (though this is beginning to change). The 24 hour news cycle and the increased competition from multiple media sources has made the "if it bleeds, it leads" mantra of program directors more relevant to their bottom line than ever.

base2 

Assuming this isn't a troll thread...
One time in south Seattle a junky tried to intercept me while riding my Cervelo on an isolated lesser traffic road in an industrial area. (South Park, if anyone is interested.) I sped up. Hard. I'd probably sprinted up to 25+ mph, locked eyes and made like I was going to shoulder him. He caved and struggled to catch his balance on his tippy-toes as I rode by.

Bike-jacking isn't a thing I'd even give a thought to.
Theft on the other hand...I'd be more than honored to use my cyclist legs to stomp a skull. That ride however, wouldn't get uploaded to Strava; That would break my heart.

tungsten

Heard stories from friends in Mpls. about this ****..... Incidents

See my avatar. After working the afternoon shift @ Rocky (4-midnight) we'd actually take a busy arterial roadway home rather than the bikeway we rode in on (see what I did there?) because of prior incidents and threatening behaviour experienced from criminal types/gangs lurking along pathway.

Dave Cutter

People rob other people every minute of every day. It would be odd if some of the people robbed weren't cyclists. And when cycling... the bike is generally the cyclists most valuable item in his/her possession.

As far as sabotage of the trails..... yeah that happens too.

Gresp15C

If somebody takes my bike, it means they're soon going to be a good distance away from me. That's a good thing, worth not putting up a fuss if someone really wants to rob me.

KraneXL

Unless its by gunpoint, they ain't getting it without a fight. But the first rule is to avoid those areas in the first place.

Jim from Boston

I ride through some nice parts of Metro Boston, including wide scenic bikepaths, e.g. the Muddy River path through Brookine. However, I won't ride them in the dark, even in early pre-dawn.

One exception is the well-lit Jamaica Pond bikepath that runs within about 20 feet and clearly visible to the well traveled Jamaicaway auto route.

Colnago Mixte

indyfabz

Yeah. See my comment above. It appears to some on that forum to be a troll thread. I also noticed the lack of any description as to where this allegedly happened.

PT Barnum was right.

CAT7RDR

Prevention is the best option. Stay out of high crime areas. If that is not possible, what are you willing to lose and what are you willing to defend and how?

Cyclist0108

Funny, that.

MoAlpha

Had two attempts and one bike taken from me by tougher kids my age (middle school) in lower Manhattan in the 1960s. I guess they were real innovators.

mtb_addict

Well, I think it might have to do with demographics. I mean, more people are moving back into the urban center of cities...these people were living in the suburbs carefree...now they're more scared becuz where the're living really close to bad neighborhoods now. I the old days...crime was concentrated in bad neighborhoods...so you don't worry as long as you stay out of those areas.
But now...I think due to things like meth and opiod...crime is also spreading into nice suburbs...where it used to be very rare there's crime in nice neighborhood...you have robbers following business owners back to their nice .5 million homes and murder them...now I hear car jackers are targeting suburbians with nice cars...also due to advanced electronic security...car theives can no longer break into car and steal it...they hold you to gun point and take your car. I guess what I saying is criminals' viciousness might have gone up to give people perception...like you have a whole family slaughter the other day by the father.

Cuyuna

The folks on that site generally think that any position that doesn't jive with their beliefs is a troll thread.

Colnago Mixte

But you will admit that at least some troll threads do indeed exist on this board though, correct?