Worst Possible Thread

Edit: Thanks to Peenologist for the Worst Thread Ever crown.

Edit edit: D'oh! he said Worst Possible Thread, not Worst Thread Ever.

7/17: "was Fight with Gabe" removed from subject line for the sake of beauty, privacy, and security. Representative images added (too bad threads can't have their own custom avatars):

Picked up on OPCC listserv per Bill W; presumably posted today.

I don't know why Active Trans didn't put a warning out about the previous incident mentioned here.

===

Authored by Tom McGee and posted on the Oak Park Cycle Club facebook page. :

Tom McGee

LAKE STREET WARNING: With the warm weather, and newly added bike lanes on Lake Street, there have been more bike commuters heading into the city...unfortunately, there are some rough neighborhoods people need to cycle through and area street punks see the increase in riders as well.

On my way home from the city to Oak Park last night I was jumped by 2 male teens in an attempt to steal my bike. This occured at Lake & Lavergne. One guy was on the sidewalk, the other hidden behind an L pillar. As I was approaching, I sensed it was bad, but it was too late to react. They came at me from the left and right and pushed me off the bike. I was clipped in and went head first over the handlebars, landing on the right side of my face and shoulder. They did not go for anything but the bike, so when I realized that, I wrestled with them and kept my bike. A motorist stopped to help me, and seeing this they ran.

A number of good samaritans stopped to help me, called 911, and paramedics were on the scene within 10 minutes to get me to the ER. I'm stitched and bumped and bruised, but it could have been a lot worse.

I strongly suggest that riders get the word out to friends who commute, try to ride w/others (there are a number of group rides to/from the loop from what I've heard), and try not to ride too early or too late when other people may not be around to help.

I've already spoken with John Lankford, Bikeways Campaign Coordinator w/Active Transporation Alliance. He said there was a similar incident on Lake the morning of Bike The Drive. So they are aware of the problem, and will be approaching people @ CDOT and the city to try and address it.

Ride safe,
Tom McGee

Replies are closed for this discussion.

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by James BlackHeron on June 30, 2012 at 8:49am

Those who live in holy houses can get away with rolling stones...

h' said:

I had a dream. Crazy dream.
Anything I wanted to know, any place I needed to go

Hear my song. People won't you listen now? Sing along.
You don't know what you're missing now.
Any little song that you know
Everything that's small has to grow.
And it has to grow!

Permalink Reply by David P. on July 1, 2012 at 7:24am

Jim,

This may have something to do with being male! :) My girlfriend also lives in Andersonville and rides a lot, and gets catcalled regularly in all sorts of places - Avondale (where I live), Albany Park, Andersonville, Wrigleyville, and so on and on.

David

Jim S said:

I understand that you need to get your point across, but my eyes squinted in disbelief a little bit. As a resident of Andersonville, I ride Uptown and Rogers Park a whole lot, and would have to say that I've never had trouble at any hour of the day or night. I have ZERO reason to ride in Englewood, but I'd hazard a wild guess that it's probably a lot more treacherous than RP/Uptown.

Charlie Short said:

I will take Garfield Blvd over Clark and Addison every day of the week and twice on Sunday. And I think you get just as much catcalling in Uptown and Rogers Park as you do on the West Side.

Anne Alt said:

This is why I often find riding Halsted through Lincoln Park and Boystown much more stressful than riding Vincennes or Cottage Grove - prevalence of the "entitlement mentality" vs. a distinct lack thereof.

MagMileMarauder said:

From experience, I find around 90% of Audis, BMW's and Porsches; people updating the Facebook status, taxis, and doors in the "safe" parts of town more threatening than any potential attack from a thug in the rough parts of town.

Permalink Reply by Mike Zumwalt on July 1, 2012 at 1:29pm

I'm in agreement w/magmile marauder. Having been "jacked" for my bike and nearly hit by a Beemer no where is safe.

Permalink Reply by Gabe on July 1, 2012 at 4:12pm

I'm loving how many people LOVE this thread. We have gotten away from arguing with me which is disappointing but DAMN this is good drama! :-)

Permalink Reply by h' 1.0 on July 1, 2012 at 4:23pm

I think they just see "Gabe" in the subject line and are drawn to it.

As an experiment I will be starting various threads with "Gabe" included in the subject line over the next few weeks to test this theory. Stand by for "Help me figure out my Gabe ratio," "Do you wear a helmet on your Gabe, and if not, why not," and "What to do about cyclists riding the wrong Gabe in the bike lane?"

Permalink Reply by Gabe on July 1, 2012 at 4:31pm

Riding the wrong Gabe is really a shame. ;-)

Permalink Reply by Pat on July 1, 2012 at 6:08pm

After reading this entire post I realized that no one from the Westside has commented on what Gabe said. From living on this side my whole life, I can honestly say that it's the truth. I can't even understand why someone would even want to drive their car let along ride their bike down Lake street. It's dark and gloomy and just has too many places for someone to jump out and jack you. But I guess I think like that because I was born and raised over here and you have to think defense at all times. Take it from someone that lives in the middle of the hell whole, don't take Lake to Oak Park. If you call the police they take their time to get there because they really don't know what they are getting into. The police station was on 4 blocks from where this poor guy was attacked and it took them 10 mins to get there. That's a sign people.

Permalink Reply by Gabe on July 1, 2012 at 6:11pm

Love ya Pat! Welcome to the biking community! :)

Permalink Reply by Trachea on July 6, 2012 at 5:39pm

I used to ride on Lake and Augusta. I figured the cops weren't likely to show up quick/at all if I got jacked or hit. I had to admit I was taking a big risk in riding thru the west side; I could not expect the cops to rescue me if something happened.

Pat said:

After reading this entire post I realized that no one from the Westside has commented on what Gabe said. From living on this side my whole life, I can honestly say that it's the truth. I can't even understand why someone would even want to drive their car let along ride their bike down Lake street. It's dark and gloomy and just has too many places for someone to jump out and jack you. But I guess I think like that because I was born and raised over here and you have to think defense at all times. Take it from someone that lives in the middle of the hell whole, don't take Lake to Oak Park. If you call the police they take their time to get there because they really don't know what they are getting into. The police station was on 4 blocks from where this poor guy was attacked and it took them 10 mins to get there. That's a sign people.

Permalink Reply by O on July 17, 2012 at 10:07am

Corey Brooks is a pastor from the Inner City of Chicago. Rather than spending a good deal of his life on forums like this he has chosen to do something positive.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/07/15/rev-corey-brooks-rooftop-_...

Assigning labels to entire regions of the country, state or city based upon your limited experiences is regrettable. Spending so much time on swearing at one another and the usual "put down antics" some prevalent among those who feel a strong sense of entitlement is what makes this thread seem sorely in need of something real to talk about.

Rather than spending so much time churning around the North Side of Chicago during Critical Mass rides, why not come on down to the South Side or better yet ride the West Side en masse. Find a pastor whose church could be a stop on your journey and listen carefully and decide whether there is anything you can do to help.

But if you feel like telling him and his parishioners that they live in a "shithole" fine. You will have at least said it to the faces of those who matter.

Pat said:

After reading this entire post I realized that no one from the Westside has commented on what Gabe said. From living on this side my whole life, I can honestly say that it's the truth. I can't even understand why someone would even want to drive their car let along ride their bike down Lake street. It's dark and gloomy and just has too many places for someone to jump out and jack you. But I guess I think like that because I was born and raised over here and you have to think defense at all times. Take it from someone that lives in the middle of the hell whole, don't take Lake to Oak Park. If you call the police they take their time to get there because they really don't know what they are getting into. The police station was on 4 blocks from where this poor guy was attacked and it took them 10 mins to get there. That's a sign people.

Permalink Reply by Joe Schmoe on July 17, 2012 at 11:02am

O, if you're from the neighborhood (like Pat is), I think you have license to give your honest opinion on cycling in the area. My impression is that on the Northside, you're more likely to get run over or hit by an oblivious driver as the streets are more congested, and there are more people and cars. On the South and West sides, you're more likely to get accosted by ne'er-do-wells, as there is more poverty and as a consequence, more crime. The former is clearly more likely wherever you ride.

Corey Brooks is awesome, for sure, but many of us volunteer in our own communities, or nearby communities, and pointing out problems for ourselves as a group (cyclists) with a certain part of town is not the equivalent of painting every person in those areas of town as less than human. I can do good for people less fortunate than myself, and still alert others to the fact that if you bike down Lake at night, someone might assault you. The same goes for much of the south end of the LFP at night (and certainly some of the north end of it, to be fair). I will also warn people of dangerous areas of the North Side, and bad intersections/stretches of road all over town.

I understand and accept that I might be hurt by a car, ped, or other cyclists on my rides (or f*****g pothole, which was my first crash in 4 years last August). I also could get mugged, particularly by myself at night. I try to stay away from cars as much as possible to avoid the former, and I avoid higher-crime neighborhoods at night to avoid the latter.

Permalink Reply by Gail Garcia on July 17, 2012 at 12:08pm

Really elegantly said, Daniel G. Thank you. I completely agree.

Gail

Daniel G said:

If you let ghettoes form, don't be shocked when people get territorial about their shitholes. It's all they have. Just another hazard I don't dwell on. If I let myself become preoccupied with whether cycling was "safe" on Diversey or Clark or Lincoln, I probably would stop riding in Chicago altogether. We are all basically activists treading a new trail and it is not safe. People get drunk and violent past 6pm, so ride fast. Segregation by race and income is a costly, bloody project, and we don't get to cross between the good and bad sides of the tracks for free. Maintaining a presence there is very important and positive though, and the westsidecommuters should consider sending a rep to a neighborhood association meeting on the west side once in a while. Bicyclists are uniquely invested in the conditions of a neighborhood and its streets in a way that other road users aren't, and nearly all west side residents will respect and acknowledge this.

Ride in groups, ride with mace, or take Armitage and just ride all the way around. Most parts of the west side are lovely at 7am, when I ride through. No parts are lovely for cyclists at 7pm.