Attn: North Philly Cyclists
 

I work in a local establishment and I've heard three separate reports of cyclists getting attacked while riding on N. Front St. and Kensington Ave. (under the el).

The attacks have occurred near the intersections of Front & Susquehanna Sts and Kensington Ave. & Cumberland St. In all three reports, 2 attackers are working together. One stands on the double yellow and the other stands in the bike lane, and approach cyclists slowing down at the traffic light.

One of the attacked is a friend of mine, and managed to fight off the attackers (who, in his situation, were 2 white males between the ages of 18-25). Others reported their bags and/or bikes getting stolen and physical abuse. The attacks have happened between 11:00 pm and 2 am. Another friend of mine was on a skateboard and was mugged in a very similiar fashion, by 2 males working together on N. Front and Montgomery Sts, about three months ago.

Please, be careful! Riding under the el seems like a better option late at night because it is well lit and there are more people out (like most of my girl friends say, "more people to hear you scream") but be weary of people standing in the street. Turn onto a side street. Just some words of warning for everyone.

Ride with a bat under your top tube. If anyone steps in front of you start swinging.

Forget Bike Polo, Philly-Lancing starts today.

fixed

yeah ive seen these guys. (i live at coral and susq) i saw them at front and columbia one day and turned to avoid them and once at 3rd and girard and did the same thing. they punched my friend in the face at hancock and montgomery one night. it's good i have a knife!

watch out on 10th, 11th, and 12th too!

haha philly is wild. id like to visit one day.

if these guys are stupid enough to be in the same places consistently, why don't you get like ten ballsy cyclists together and lay down some justice?

from both directions....

that **** would RULE

**** it, it'd drive from baltimore for it

i live on this corner, and will keep an eye out. i never came across these ****** bags yet, but have heard stories very similair to this since winter.

makes me look forward to moving to the city of brotherly love

timebandit, we live on the same street! saberhead, are you moving into the north?

Sounds like the same jokers that were stringing fishing line across the bike lane up Frankford/Kensington way a few years ago. There's a thread on it somewhere in this forum.

Hitting 20lb monofilament at 15 mph would certainly open you up, especially at neck level like they were doing.


I never, never, never-ever want to live in Philly again. If I absolutely had to though, I would ONLY live in South Philly btwn Broad/6th or West Philly around Baltimore/Spruce east of 50th.

Obviously Center City if I could afford it, and I really liked living on Grays Ferry & Christian, but you even had to mind your p's & q's there at night.


Philly is a hard, hard place to live. It ain't no Baltimore, but it's way too insane for my tastes anymore.


You know, David Lynch's inspiration for making Eraserhead was the time he spent living in North Philly.

Philthadelphia is a terrible place.

terrible

phillyis good times. just dont act like a ****er, and people leave you be.

I love my city. Stuff like this is upsetting though. Thanks for the tip, even though I don't ride around there. People are animals.

hahaha, holy ****. my friend and i are leaving tomorrow to stay in philly for a week. i know nothing about it at all. this gonna be interesting.

Haha, that was always the hard part about Philly for me, being the biggest ****er in the world from a tiny tiny tiny town in the Adirondacks. I don't operate at Philly speed.


I definatly will be returning to a city after my work season, but probably one of the Western dork variety.

yeah, that happened on the corner i work on. unfortunately i saw a girl eat the asphalt from that fishing line. well, heard it first. she was really messed up.

then someone i knew posted it on here.

what sucks about philly, and most cities, is that there really isn't any telling what d-bag will lash out at you and where. the only reason i felt it necessary to post this was that it has been happening consistently and not everyone is as paranoid as i am when i ride, so unfortunately people tend to ride right into bad situations where bad people are waiting.

i've been-like other cyclists i know-dragged, slapped, harassed, run off the street, pinched between cars, etc. by motorists, but never pedestrians, probably because i never get close enough to people on foot for them to get near me. mace helps; i'd never carry a knife for fear of some dude wrestling it out of my hands and using it against me.

besides reading "beware" posts like this, the most helpful thing i've found is to avoid the streets you've had bad experiences on (obviously), ride as fast as you can at night (i don't ever really even stop or slow down at traffic lights up north, i usually will just go between cars) and act deaf. i never confront anyone, no matter how loud they are yelling at me. some dude called me the C-word last week cause he really was trying to yell some s*** at me and i wouldn't even look at him. it actually worked to my advantage, because it made him so incredibly mad he just started spewing incoherent words and phrases and i just continued on my way without even acknowledging him.

long story, but i don't think philly is any more ****ed up than other cities when it comes to aggressive people. although, North philly is a different city altogether--if you live up here, take an hour to watch the BBC doc Law and Disorder and you'll see what i mean, if you don't know already.

how are all you people getting picked on so much?

are you seriously that visibly sketched out, or look really lost and scared?

i see the stand around types every day, but i dont get ****ed with half as much as i hear about other people, and never on my bike, and yes i am knocking on my wooden desk.

i love my city as well but you really do need alot of common sense to live and survive in it...

Glad you posted that, most members think Philly is "not to bad."

hmm -- interesting... i've been toying around with the idea of moving to Philadelphia one day when it's time to settle down a little -- though, these descriptions don't make it out to be any more family-friendly than certain areas of Brooklyn.

what is the c word?

It's funny you say that. I lived in Philly for like... 6 years. I ran away from home to there when I was 16. Lived everywhere from Broad and Snyder to 40th & Lancaster (well before gentrification hit) to Front and Montgomery to friggin' 15th and Spruce. And lots of different spots in between.

It seems to me that everybody I knew has one of two experiences in Philly.

A: Philly is great to them, and everybody is smiley and happy and every day is an adventure with a positive ending.

B: Philly makes them afraid to leave their own house after dark or when school is letting out.


My good friend and I are both about 140 lbs soaking wet. He's from the San Francisco 'burbs, I'm from the Adirondacks. Not "hard" places at ALL. We look very similar. We both sport unusual thick framed glasses. We both dress about the same, Dickies, hoodie, sneakers, pretty normal.

He walks EVERYWHERE. In every neighborhood. At every time of night.

He's never once been mugged, followed, jumped, or even ever really called out or picked on.

Me, I ride EVERYWHERE. I became too afraid to walk around anymore. Every time I poked my head out of the front door I'm called a "f*g". I could barely walk to the store on the corner 1/4 of a block away without incident. I've had sticks jammed in my spokes, I've had bricks whizz by my face, I've been tackled off my bike, I've been followed for blocks walking late at night many times, until I had to start sprinting. Yes I was being followed, cause I'd start walking erratically (crossing streets, crossing again) and it would continue.

Once I was walking home from a medical study at TJU and had an $1100 check in my pocket. It was snowing bad. I had on a red Ortlieb messenger bag, was wearing a Flyers jacket and had my hands in my pocket. I was heading back to 6th & Reed. It was noon-ish. At 11th & Fitzwater this group of about five 14-16 year old boys started throwing snowballs and insults from across the street. Then they crossed to my side of the street and got closer and were now throwing recyclables, glass and cans.

Next thing I know I'm on my back in front of the Rite Aid at 11th & Catherine and I'm being stomped to a pulp. A big guy came running of of the pharmacy and yelled for them to leave me alone, they turned their heads and I jumped up and never stopped running until Washington Ave. They never checked my pockets or tried to mug me. They just wanted to see blood.

This was 11th & Catherine at noon. I challenge you to find a "safer" neighborhood in Philly outside of Center City.



Long story short, I find that for no calculable reason, Philly either works for you or it doesn't. Sadly for me it is a dismal and scary place that unfortunately all my best friends live in. They keep me coming back.

Personally, I think of Philly as an abusive spouse. You know it's bad for you, you know it doesn't really love you back, but it's so convenient, and God, the good time's sure are great. But the bad times are very very bad. Somehow you convince yourself it's your fault, and you just need to "carry yourself" better. Besides, you'd never be able to make it in a city like Portland or SF. I guess I should go back...


My best wishes to everyone in this thread who's thinking about moving there, and like I said, if it'll work for you, you'll love it.

This.

francis and alex, get back over to phillyfixed or im telling luke!

hi kenny
sorry, heard there was free beer here