Defending Yourself
#51
Senior Member
Join Date: Aug 2015
Posts: 1,794
Mentioned: 14 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1027 Post(s)
Liked 325 Times
in
204 Posts
This is a serious discussion for the men on Bike Forums. Not the little boys.
There are are three basic questions.
1) Have you ever been assaulted while riding? What happened and what did you do?
2) What measures have you taken to defend yourself and how far are you willing to go?
3) This one is personally important to me. If you primarily ride on one particular Bike Path at specific times, sunrise and sunset, and were assaulted one evening on that Bike Path, would you just avoid that section of the Bike Path in the evening, which is the only time they would be there, or would you ride anytime and anywhere you wanted even though it might mean defending yourself using very drastic measures?
There are are three basic questions.
1) Have you ever been assaulted while riding? What happened and what did you do?
2) What measures have you taken to defend yourself and how far are you willing to go?
3) This one is personally important to me. If you primarily ride on one particular Bike Path at specific times, sunrise and sunset, and were assaulted one evening on that Bike Path, would you just avoid that section of the Bike Path in the evening, which is the only time they would be there, or would you ride anytime and anywhere you wanted even though it might mean defending yourself using very drastic measures?
2. I don't take any measures to defend myself.
3. I would still ride there at that given time.
#52
Senior Member
Join Date: Jun 2018
Posts: 257
Mentioned: 6 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 76 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 19 Times
in
15 Posts
A tad off topic. Last year a friend was over and we were discussing my annual ride out of Alberta back into the states through the Canadian Rockies. I explained about having bear spray as a precaution and showed him a can that I had brought home. We went into the back yard as it was a calm evening and I end a short blast at a tree several yards away to show how far it would spray the cloud. My wife was on the back steps behind us observing. About 15 seconds later I heard her coughing and scrambling to get back into the house. I followed quickly to ensure that she was okay and ended up getting caught in some myself. Not much but enough to let me know that I would not want to get a full shot of it anywhere near me.
Oh and whatever you do don't wipe your pepper sprayed forehead with a gloved hand and then touch any sensitive parts of your anatomy it will transfer.
Likes For 88Tempo:
#53
☢
Trying to figure out the point of the OP's opening sentence. Are you really looking for information? What's the point of this being for "men" and not "little boys?"
Anyone who's never been assaulted is a "little boy?" Only real men get assaulted? Or do only real men defend themselves? Where are you hoping for this thread to go?
What about women? Are they not allowed to chime in here?
Anyone who's never been assaulted is a "little boy?" Only real men get assaulted? Or do only real men defend themselves? Where are you hoping for this thread to go?
What about women? Are they not allowed to chime in here?
#54
Senior Member
Join Date: Aug 2017
Location: Mid Atlantic / USA
Posts: 2,115
Bikes: 2017 Specialized Crosstrail / 2013 Trek Crossrip Elite
Mentioned: 43 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1002 Post(s)
Liked 237 Times
in
155 Posts
Pepper spray is the gift that keeps on giving. I've been hit with it once and it was rough for probably 20 minutes or so. The worst part was 5 or 6 hours later I jumped in the shower and the warm water activated (or lack of a better term) it again, but I think it was worse. I'd much rather be tased any day that's only a 5 second ride each time.
Oh and whatever you do don't wipe your pepper sprayed forehead with a gloved hand and then touch any sensitive parts of your anatomy it will transfer.
Oh and whatever you do don't wipe your pepper sprayed forehead with a gloved hand and then touch any sensitive parts of your anatomy it will transfer.
If you spray it on someone who is used to it (which can happen if we're talking about someone who's assault a random stranger) odds are you're just going to make them angrier.
#55
Senior Member
Join Date: Jun 2018
Posts: 257
Mentioned: 6 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 76 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 19 Times
in
15 Posts
There were probably 40-50 of us that got sprayed and only 4 or 5 it didn't really bother. I couldn't open my eyes, but I could of wrestled someone as long as I could of grabbed them.
Buddy of mine was smoking a cigarette not 20 minutes after catching a shot right in the face. He hated the taser though which I didn't find that big of a deal.
Buddy of mine was smoking a cigarette not 20 minutes after catching a shot right in the face. He hated the taser though which I didn't find that big of a deal.
#57
Cycle Dallas
Join Date: Jun 2005
Location: Land of Gar, TX
Posts: 3,777
Bikes: Dulcinea--2017 Kona Rove & a few others
Mentioned: 1 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 197 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 10 Times
in
5 Posts
The OP started this thread with an antagonistic sentence about being a man or a little boy. Seems like an absurd way to invite reasonable discourse. And no, I don't feel the need to start a topic asking if women have outgrown their little girl panties based on how they would handle a personal assault.
Likes For MMACH 5:
#58
☢
Palms are pretty thick in most cases. Just don't forget to wash your hands. If you rub your eyes you'll be sorry.
Getting use to it doesn't mean it has no effect. It just might not be as intense as the first time. I recently cooked up a batch of pepper spray to rid pests from my garden. The tiny vapor particles alone were enough to send my nasal passage into full running faucet mode.
I shudder to think how it would have effected me had I been hit in the face with a direct dose. This stuff was powerful, and I was only using medium grade habanero I had grown. You correct in that its effects are not instantaneous, unless you get hit in the eyes.
You get used to pepper spray. It's pretty mild compared to some of the military/police grade stuff out there.
If you spray it on someone who is used to it (which can happen if we're talking about someone who's assault a random stranger) odds are you're just going to make them angrier.
If you spray it on someone who is used to it (which can happen if we're talking about someone who's assault a random stranger) odds are you're just going to make them angrier.
I shudder to think how it would have effected me had I been hit in the face with a direct dose. This stuff was powerful, and I was only using medium grade habanero I had grown. You correct in that its effects are not instantaneous, unless you get hit in the eyes.
Last edited by KraneXL; 05-24-19 at 12:24 PM. Reason: spelling
#59
working on my sandal tan
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: CID
Posts: 22,627
Bikes: 1991 Bianchi Eros, 1964 Armstrong, 1988 Diamondback Ascent, 1988 Bianchi Premio, 1987 Bianchi Sport SX, 1980s Raleigh mixte (hers), All-City Space Horse (hers)
Mentioned: 98 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 3870 Post(s)
Liked 2,563 Times
in
1,577 Posts
Otherwise, the question would be as simple as "How would you defend yourself?"
#60
Senior Member
Join Date: Jun 2018
Posts: 257
Mentioned: 6 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 76 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 19 Times
in
15 Posts
1. Never been assaulted while riding. Worst thing that ever happened was someone threw a mason jar at me. I'd got in a fight with him and his brother a few days earlier. I was in high school at the time. I knew where he was going and headed there, but he left before I managed to pedal my way up the hill.
2. In this case I was going to give the guy a good beat down.
3. Discretion is the better part of valor. Back in my younger and considerably wilder days a fight wasn't a big deal today it's a last resort kind of thing.
2. In this case I was going to give the guy a good beat down.
3. Discretion is the better part of valor. Back in my younger and considerably wilder days a fight wasn't a big deal today it's a last resort kind of thing.
#61
Senior Member
Join Date: Aug 2017
Location: Mid Atlantic / USA
Posts: 2,115
Bikes: 2017 Specialized Crosstrail / 2013 Trek Crossrip Elite
Mentioned: 43 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1002 Post(s)
Liked 237 Times
in
155 Posts
Getting use to it doesn't mean it has no effect. It just might not be as intense as the first time. I recently cooked up a batch of pepper spray to ride pests from my garden. The tiny vapor particles alone were enough to send my nasal passage into full running faucet mode.
I shudder to think how it would have effected me had I been hit in the fact with a direct dose. This stuff was powerful, and I was only using medium grade habanero I had grown. You correct in that its effects are not instantaneous, unless you get hit in the eyes.
I shudder to think how it would have effected me had I been hit in the fact with a direct dose. This stuff was powerful, and I was only using medium grade habanero I had grown. You correct in that its effects are not instantaneous, unless you get hit in the eyes.
And we're not even talking about the assailant who's on certain drugs. Someone who's high on a variety of things may not even know you hit them with the pepper spray. They will just keep coming at you.
Now, personally....I try to avoid areas where people who are tripping on PCP and bath salts hang out. It's not like they are on every corner. But they are in some places that people ride. And you can't bank on pepper spray stopping them.
#62
Senior Member
Join Date: Apr 2016
Location: South Carolina Upstate
Posts: 2,105
Bikes: 2010 Fuji Absolute 3.0 1994 Trek 850
Mentioned: 3 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 762 Post(s)
Liked 555 Times
in
322 Posts
so, the question in my mind is has the OP (original poster) ridden the same mup since the incident, and were the same yutes encountered?
#63
Senior Member
Join Date: May 2016
Location: Southeast US
Posts: 921
Mentioned: 9 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 318 Post(s)
Liked 149 Times
in
104 Posts
Edit to add: But you were talking about the level of pain.
Last edited by rseeker; 05-24-19 at 01:41 PM.
Likes For 88Tempo:
#65
Expired Member
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: TN
Posts: 11,505
Mentioned: 37 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 3654 Post(s)
Liked 5,392 Times
in
2,737 Posts
Sorry! He initially said one slapped him on the shoulder and another slapped him on the back of his head. I confess to skimming the rest of his backpedaling so guess I missed it if he described worse treatment. Whatever the situation, he was clearly frightened enough that it's still worrying him.
#66
Senior Member
Join Date: May 2014
Location: USA
Posts: 1,820
Bikes: 1996 Trek 970 ZX Single Track 2x11
Mentioned: 8 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 614 Post(s)
Liked 564 Times
in
428 Posts
Putting down violent assaults against us isn't so-called "vigilantism." It's survival in a situation NOT brought upon us via our own actions, not requested. The mere fact someone continues to go about his/her life irrespective of the potential for threat doesn't make that person a "vigilante" nor a criminal. (Except in states that criminalize "failure" to do everything in one's power to run from such felony attackers who cross our paths. [aka "duty to retreat" states. Thankfully, not everyplace is so draconian about one's right to live one's life.])
Consider this:
Suppose it's one path across town for which one has a dozen legitimate alternatives. But, suppose it's one's own street. Is a person somehow "vigilante" across town but, going about one's legitimate and lawful business, doing the same on one's own street is different? As though a person causes it if over yonder, but not somewhere else? That mixes up the perpetrator with the victim, right there.
#67
Expired Member
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: TN
Posts: 11,505
Mentioned: 37 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 3654 Post(s)
Liked 5,392 Times
in
2,737 Posts
Maybe we need a 50+, big boy swinging and packing ride to help OP take back the MUP. I'll bring the Wagner.
Likes For shelbyfv:
#68
Senior Member
So to be clear. One is the victim of assault. Then as far as we know does not file a police report or take any legal action. He then goes on a public forum for advice alluding to defending himself and what lengths others would go to. He then is contemplating returning to the same place at the say time which he fully expects would lead to a second altercation. Is it self defense? Or something else.
Likes For flyjimmy:
#70
Senior Member
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: San Jose (Willow Glen) Ca
Posts: 9,834
Bikes: Kirk Custom JK Special, '84 Team Miyata,(dura ace old school) 80?? SR Semi-Pro 600 Arabesque
Mentioned: 106 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 2337 Post(s)
Liked 2,811 Times
in
1,535 Posts
This is a serious discussion for the men on Bike Forums. Not the little boys.
There are are three basic questions.
1) Have you ever been assaulted while riding? What happened and what did you do?
2) What measures have you taken to defend yourself and how far are you willing to go?
3) This one is personally important to me. If you primarily ride on one particular Bike Path at specific times, sunrise and sunset, and were assaulted one evening on that Bike Path, would you just avoid that section of the Bike Path in the evening, which is the only time they would be there, or would you ride anytime and anywhere you wanted even though it might mean defending yourself using very drastic measures?
There are are three basic questions.
1) Have you ever been assaulted while riding? What happened and what did you do?
2) What measures have you taken to defend yourself and how far are you willing to go?
3) This one is personally important to me. If you primarily ride on one particular Bike Path at specific times, sunrise and sunset, and were assaulted one evening on that Bike Path, would you just avoid that section of the Bike Path in the evening, which is the only time they would be there, or would you ride anytime and anywhere you wanted even though it might mean defending yourself using very drastic measures?
1) Had an apple thrown at me, otherwise no. while walking I did get mugged with a 38 snub nose under my ear once (in the Bronx, in a connected neighborhood)
2) completely situational, you have to read the situation and know your capabilities.......getting away from the situation is always the best...... 38 under ear with a nervous teenager.... no defense, total calm, give them the wallet. If it is serious and you have no out fight dirty....knees, balls, eyes, earrs.
3) Assumes people are waiting at same point every day...if so call cops, If not just ride..... if dark lots of lights. Drastic measures, could get you in more trouble and or jail. look at all the time police have shot, tazed, pepper sprayed people adrenalin and drugs can make some hard to stop...... and if who ever it is you are fighting is a really a hard person....then they probably have had more fights than you......experience counts. Again Avoidance
__________________
Life is too short not to ride the best bike you have, as much as you can
(looking for Torpado Super light frame/fork or for Raleigh International frame fork 58cm)
Life is too short not to ride the best bike you have, as much as you can
(looking for Torpado Super light frame/fork or for Raleigh International frame fork 58cm)
#71
Administrator
Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: Hudson Valley, NY
Posts: 32,979
Bikes: Merlin Cyrene '04; Bridgestone RB-1 '92
Mentioned: 325 Post(s)
Tagged: 2 Thread(s)
Quoted: 11952 Post(s)
Liked 6,603 Times
in
3,467 Posts
In case you haven't checked, this is a bicycle forum. We can extend our sympathies to a downtrodden rider, and bemoan unfortunate incidents, but digression to dwell upon off-topics is not encouraged.
__________________
See, this is why we can't have nice things. - - smarkinson
Where else but the internet can a bunch of cyclists go and be the tough guy? - - jdon
Likes For BillyD:
#72
Senior Member
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: San Jose (Willow Glen) Ca
Posts: 9,834
Bikes: Kirk Custom JK Special, '84 Team Miyata,(dura ace old school) 80?? SR Semi-Pro 600 Arabesque
Mentioned: 106 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 2337 Post(s)
Liked 2,811 Times
in
1,535 Posts
So to be clear. One is the victim of assault. Then as far as we know does not file a police report or take any legal action. He then goes on a public forum for advice alluding to defending himself and what lengths others would go to. He then is contemplating returning to the same place at the say time which he fully expects would lead to a second altercation. Is it self defense? Or something else.
__________________
Life is too short not to ride the best bike you have, as much as you can
(looking for Torpado Super light frame/fork or for Raleigh International frame fork 58cm)
Life is too short not to ride the best bike you have, as much as you can
(looking for Torpado Super light frame/fork or for Raleigh International frame fork 58cm)
Likes For squirtdad:
#73
☢
Otherwise, the question would be as simple as "How would you defend yourself?"
He then is contemplating returning to the same place at the say time which he fully expects would lead to a second altercation. Is it self defense? Or something else.
#74
working on my sandal tan
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: CID
Posts: 22,627
Bikes: 1991 Bianchi Eros, 1964 Armstrong, 1988 Diamondback Ascent, 1988 Bianchi Premio, 1987 Bianchi Sport SX, 1980s Raleigh mixte (hers), All-City Space Horse (hers)
Mentioned: 98 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 3870 Post(s)
Liked 2,563 Times
in
1,577 Posts
Not that it's necessarily relevant. Bullies like to intimate that they could be doing worse. It would shake me up for sure.
#75
Senior Member
Join Date: Jul 2005
Posts: 5,989
Mentioned: 26 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 2493 Post(s)
Liked 738 Times
in
522 Posts
You can't have it both ways my friend. If you are going to take a logical, Liberal minded view of the o.p.'s situation you prove yourself to be better than the misogynist mouth-breather deplorables. So don't spoil it. There IS something inherently evil about dividing a public discussion by gender. Even if no woman I know would touch this thread with a 3.05 meter pole.