How about carrying a full auto paintball gun and spray the bastard
Are bb guns or softshell guns illegal too? Have a holster on the bike in addition to the pipe. Hit em far and get em close.

I've been through there a few more times and haven't seen them around. Maybe they've found somewhere else to loiter?

...and if you guys want to debate gun ownership best you keep it to U.S. issues because you don't seem very well acquainted with the gun landscape here in Oz. The overwhelming majority of our population is very happy with tight gun control and wants it tighter. Around here gun advocates are virtually non existent.

FWIW I'm eternally grateful that we don't have anything like the gun ownership you guys have. How on earth anyone can truly believe that 'an armed society is a polite society' or that walking around with a gun on your hip will make one iota of difference if that big bad gubbermint decides to get all oppressive on you, is beyond me.... an armed society is a dangerous and paranoid society, a polite society is polite out of mutual respect, not fear of being sumarily executed by a random stranger.

So you are saying that you now have a quiet commute due to mutual respect and not fear?

Much respect to the OP for taking care of business inside the laws of his country. No doubt those punks are wondering who will pop up next.

Maybe what I'm saying is that I had a bit of fun while taking care of the 'problem' without fear of being shot in the process.

Playing conan the barbarian isn't exactly, strictly speaking, within the letter of the law. ...and I suspect those punks are wondering which mental institution had an escapee make their getaway on a bicycle.

{Attempted Humor}That's `cause `stralia was settled by those who got caught, and the USA was settled by those who outran the sheriff!{/Attempted Humor}

Our states did, in fact, get rid of one government we felt was oppressive.

Seriously, ditch the monarchy already.

Kevin

(whose Dad served with Australians in New Guinea during WWII, and is dying to visit one day. Google "Buna" to find out about some really tough "blokes.")

I never really though of it that way, but you're right!

Isn't it ironic that we're basically a bunch of criminals and their descendants yet we never had a war of independence, we just told the Brits to 'F%%K off' and they did ....and instead of a civil war we just got together at a pub (a bar) and after a few too many beers someone said "oy, you blokes wanna start a country?...or what?" and everyone else said "yeh mate, but only if you but the next round" fortunately the bloke wasn't a tightarse and bought the next round, and so the land of Oz came to be.

The end.


Yep, couldn't agree more... and we will.... once we get 'round to it.... nobody is in much of a hurry to do anything down here.


Jokes aside, my family thanks your for your service to our country.... if your father is still with us please remind him that his service is not forgotten by a gratefull nation.

Dont know if been suggested all at once.. but this is exactly what you do. Get a car full of friends in said area, parked, car off in view of where the punks are (not far of course). You ride by and well, be ready to get engaged, have one friend in the car take photos or videos and have the rest get out and be "random good citizens" coming to your rescue. Then give photos to police. However, this probably is not the best idea either because noone likes to be beat, so they'll get more friends, and then you'll get more friends, next thing you know, we have west side story.

Actually, since the antagonists preferred 4-1 odds evening the scales would be riding with 15 other cyclists and seeing how they like it. Just make sure one cyclist has a video camera to capture their expressions as they turn tail and run.

Interesting you mention Buna ... my grandfather was there with 2/4th Armoured Regiment.

Gold! Pure gold.

"FWIW I'm eternally grateful that we don't have anything like the gun ownership you guys have. How on earth anyone can truly believe that 'an armed society is a polite society' or that walking around with a gun on your hip will make one iota of difference if that big bad gubbermint decides to get all oppressive on you, is beyond me.... an armed society is a dangerous and paranoid society, a polite society is polite out of mutual respect, not fear of being sumarily executed by a random stranger."



I'm not a "gun control" type, but cyclaholic makes an interesting case. We here in the USA would be more wise if we gave a bit more thought to how our friends in the world have tackled their social ills.

Because research shows that to be true in many types of crimes.

Home invasion at the forefront. Burglars don't generally break in to homes while residents are present in areas of high gun ownership.

In my state (Louisiana, USA) where everyone is assumed to be armed, I think twice before I accost idiot motorists who nearly kill me. I won't be swinging my U-lock or catching up with brainless wonders at stop lights and yelling at them. I am forced to be polite and just let it go. Way better than taking a bullet, which would be justified under the current "carjacking" law.

I have a longtime cop friend (Louisiana State Police). He likes the idea that everyone has a gun. When he makes a traffic stop, he knows the driver is probably armed, so he takes every precaution without fail. And if somehow he is getting his arse kicked on the side of the road, the next citizen driving by has the capability to save him.

As far as protection from our government. Just look at Iraq and Afghanistan. Controlling an armed population, even a small one, presents a formidable, if not impossible task. No one is going door to door Nazi style in the USA rounding up any group of people and herding them to the ovens.

On the other hand, ever heard of Rwanda? Look it up. Genocide took place there on a massive scale recently. Most polite unarmed people were just politely hacked up with machetes. Hundreds of thousands of polite people in fact. No need to waste bullets on peaceful, unarmed cattle.

I wear a seat belt in my wife's car, not due to paranoia, but because seatbelts have been proven to reduce injury from many types (not all) accidents. My home protection weapon makes my 95lb wife equal to a 250 lb crackhead kicking in our door.

I'll have the guns and the social problems that come with them, thank you.

This is an interesting thread. Gun ownership is a complicated issue. On one hand everybody wants to be able to defend themselves, particularly when the local police are reluctant to take up the mantle. On the other hand, nobody wants to find themselves in an altercation with someone who decides to use that same means as an offense, rather than defense.

To make things worse, we talk about "gun control" as if a gun is somehow disjoint from the spectrum of weapons and aggression. What about tasers, batons, brass knuckles, pepper spray, steeled toed boots, baseball bats with nails through the end? What about regular baseball bats, U-locks, and scary looking pieces of pipe? Personal aggression is not limited to explosive-propelled projectile weapons.

Then we throw in numbers and the argument goes to the birds. Criminals are less likely to invade a home in an area that has proportionally higher gun ownership. Gun deaths are fewer in areas with strict gun control laws. A gun makes a weak victim as powerful as a strong attacker. A gun makes a weak attacker as powerful as a strong victim.

The question at hand, however, is would the OP have been more or less likely to face real danger were gun ownership prevalent in Australia? Personally, I don't see how having a gun would help me as I travel on a bike towards a group of prepared, collected, on-foot thugs. Am I supposed to take shots across the handlebars at 20 MPH? Simply wave it around? Does that give them the right to defend themselves against my perceived threat with their own guns? Would my family prefer that I simply turned around and took a different route that day, or that myself and up to four thugs died in a firefight?

Obviously there's no magic bullet (har har). My personal view: in the vast majority of near-violent situations, escalation of aggression does not help avoid violence. Guns, regardless of their secondary effects, are a means of aggression, and so I prefer not to own one, independent of legality.

While we're going down this whole gun ownership aspect without getting rabid about it (which is good), can someone satisfy my curiosity: have any of you tried firing a gun while riding a bicycle? I'd be surprised if aim was good, but I'm more interested about recoil effecting balance.

No handgun out there is going to knock you over unless you're totally unprepared for the recoil, or are a small child.

I personally don't own a gun & have no problem with anyone who wishes to own one, I think you have to take into consideration the these are opportunistic incidents by board teens, not that it makes them any less dangerous but more of a nuisance. I think that once these kids realize your not going to be a victim it is over. I would not want to kill anyone by mistake. I personally carry a bike chain and lock over my shoulder. I also am skilled with several objects of self defense. I have yet to ever have had to defend myself with any weapon. My body language alone had been enough in the past. People that will not be victims show it in there eyes,there body language & so do people that are easy prey. Do not be a victim, If you do not know how to protect yourself then learn to.

What, no boomerang?

Another poster has answered the recoil effect, and I'm sure aim would be terrible. But also consider the fact that in any (civilized) society without strict gun control laws there are strict gun usage laws. Generally there is some threshold of danger that must be met before the use of the gun is considered "valid". I doubt that a biker could start shooting at a group of stationary pedestrians while approaching them from a distance and meet those requirements.

In fact, if one were to try this, it's my guess that a court would rule the cyclist to be the aggressor. Can you imagine an innocent civilian wandering by the OP's path one day, finding him or herself suddenly accosted by bullets launched from a 20 MPH approaching bike? In a society without strict gun control, I wouldn't be surprised if the pedestrian was upheld by the courts as being within his or her rights by firing back.

Regardless of the bigger picture of gun control, it's a little silly to assume that a gun would in any way benefit a cyclist while riding. I'm happy if I can keep the bike on a straight line and watch for cars; I've never seen the rider who has the concentration to manage a firearm while commuting.

I think this is a good point; these almost certainly weren't hardened criminals but just a few punks. And to bring this back to gun control for more self-righteous harping ( ) - without a legal right to a gun in every pocket, the temptation to escalate the situation without thinking is lessened. As is the probability that one of the punks snuck his dad's handgun out of the bedroom that morning and wants to show off to his friends.

Cool, thanks.

Well then, what do you call it when decent people are made to feel that they have to *avoid* 4 tard teenagers by changing their route? This is ridiculous! The cops won't do anything but clean up the mess afterwards. This is what the guy's been told? Right? They must not care too much about truancy laws in Australia either? It's obvious what needs to be done here.

I had a similar situation here in the states. I was at the cemetary visiting family when I took a road in the middle of the cemetary that goes behind a hillside that blocks the view. There were three tard teenagers there partying it up and as I went by one of them lunged at me and knocked me off of the bike. When I got up, all three were coming at me. I decided the best thing to do was to start by taking out the biggest one first. When I was done with him, the second one went down much easier and the third tried to run away. When I chased him down and tackled him I grabbed him and banged his head into one of the stones. I felt bad about disrespecting the grave marker. I knew they weren't going to call the cops because what would they tell them? They probably had rap sheets a mile long being so brazen and all. I saw it as a complimentary upper body workout. LOL

Jaleel

Over here in the Netherlands more and more people wish they had a firearm, as violent crime (including gun crime) is all around: people get beaten to death by "youths", *****, robbed, cars set on fire, etc. It doesn't help that certain religious figures are encouraging these "youths" to "harm the infidels any way possible".