Lakefront Bike Path south of 31st Street north of 47th street
I was attacked last night on the bike path. Fortunately I escaped. Basically as I was riding my road bike southbound, I had passed the new harbor at 31st, on the path at approximately 10PM I saw a large group of people. I turned on my hand held flashlight, a very very bright light and they all scattered. Once I past a couple of people they all then moved in and WHACK I was hit with something big and hard on the shoulder. Had it hit my head, arm or wheel it would have knocked me over and the beating would begin. I rode on, called the police and waited. after a bit of time passed I could see 10 of the mob in the group attempt to surround me. I fled again, called the police and filed a report. I am one lucky guy!
If I would have hit the ground i'm sure they would have beaten me to a pulp. I will ride again, just not solo on the south side at night.
PEOPLE WHO RIDE THERE NEED TO KNOW THIS.
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Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Gail Garcia on -
Hi S,
Thanks for your comments. I will now be forced to sheepishly admit that my decision to not ride the trail is totally related to my WEAKNESS - I am just not tough enough for the winds! Streets are easier for me- I don't have the hills and wind. Now my secret is out.
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Permalink Reply by Elizabeth on -
Oh, and in my experience it's the patch between 31st and 39th that's dark and sketchy. South of that it opens up and brightens up.
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Permalink Reply by Joe Studer 8.0 mi on -
The only place where I've had incidents is on the stretch between McCormick Place and the 31st Street Beach house. That stretch south of 31st where there is still construction fencing is somewhat sketchy, but I've never had any incidents there. Even very late at night.
As an aside, I've always had positive experiences with people at the skate park in this stretch.
Elizabeth said:Oh, and in my experience it's the patch between 31st and 39th that's dark and sketchy. South of that it opens up and brightens up.
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Permalink Reply by Serge Lubomudrov on -
Few weeks ago, I installed on my bike the Noisy Cricket siren (some of you might have heard it during the Naked Ride). I find it very helpful when yells or bell fail to get attention of drivers, cyclists, runners or pedestrians.
Of course, you would not like to attract attention of a vicious mob, but may be a siren (here's the sound of it) would give the bad guys a pause enough for you to escape.
Just a thought.
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Permalink Reply by James L. Zychowicz on
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After a difficult encounter last weekend, I found this posting useful, since it was in approximately the same area. Last Saturday (August 11) at 3:00 p.m. I took the lakefront path south from Fullerton Beach to Hyde Park. At 5:30 p.m. I headed back on the bike path, and around 5:45 p.m. between 5300 and 5500 was accosted by a gang of five or six males who rode around me and tried to run me down. They were heading south on the bike path and clearly out of their lane. No one was ahead of behind me at the time. They tried this twice, and I kept going and did not say anything. It left me concerned about safety on the bike path.
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Permalink Reply by kiltedcelt on
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James - so your incident occurred within the vicinity of The Point or just north? I usually don't see much in the way of malefactor-type people down there. My turn off is at 57th, and I'm usually well past all the yahoos by then. Also, being around 5:30 or later would be the usual time I'm riding through there on the way home. Most of the reports of violence seem to be more to do with people who are out riding after dark and usually pretty late at night. Did you report this to the police? I think even if you were able to get away from them, they were still riding in a menacing manner and you felt threatened. Anyone who experiences something like this should report it ASAP. In your case it's not likely that the police would have done anything about it, but at least if a report is taken it will show them that they need to increase patrol presence in the area. I for one do not want to forfeit my right to use the LFP because a bunch of assholes are out there trying to intimidate people, beat them up, and steal their bikes. I'd rather see more police presence and potentially see these scumbags arrested.
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Permalink Reply by Steven E Gross on
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James,
Sounds like your experience lasted a bit longer than mine and in broad daylight too. I hope you filed a police report. Its not to late if you didn't. Glad your ok. Its sad that this kind of shit has to happen. What can we do about it? take up arms? Wishful thinking.
James L. Zychowicz said:After a difficult encounter last weekend, I found this posting useful, since it was in approximately the same area. Last Saturday (August 11) at 3:00 p.m. I took the lakefront path south from Fullerton Beach to Hyde Park. At 5:30 p.m. I headed back on the bike path, and around 5:45 p.m. between 5300 and 5500 was accosted by a gang of five or six males who rode around me and tried to run me down. They were heading south on the bike path and clearly out of their lane. No one was ahead of behind me at the time. They tried this twice, and I kept going and did not say anything. It left me concerned about safety on the bike path.
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Permalink Reply by Barry Niel Stuart on
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We've got concealed carry in Wisconsin, but because we so recently had it passed, we've yet to detemine whether or not it's had a positive effect in decreasing assaults.
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Permalink Reply by Jeff Schneider on -
I wonder how the assault rate in the US compares to other countries. We have a LOT more guns per capita than any other country; it would be interesting to know if the assault rate here is correspondingly lower.
Barry Niel Stuart said:We've got concealed carry in Wisconsin, but because we so recently had it passed, we've yet to detemine whether or not it's had a positive effect in decreasing assaults.
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Permalink Reply by Dragonborn on
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One concern I have would be getting ambushed by a mob at the Lakefront Trail while carrying concealed on a bicycle. A mob that surrounds you could overpower you, knock you and your bike down, then upon finding you carry, they would steal both your firearm and your bike. Of course, one could also be ambushed as a concealed carrying pedestrian on the LFT, but I believe a bicycle is a more appealing target to steal.
So if right to carry is ever honored one day in Illinois, cyclists like me who would carry while riding on the LFT should avoid mobs or suspicious people as much as possible and either just turn around or take a far enough detour.
If you do carry in Wisconsin while riding a bicycle, do you ever have such a concern?
Barry Niel Stuart said:We've got concealed carry in Wisconsin, but because we so recently had it passed, we've yet to detemine whether or not it's had a positive effect in decreasing assaults.
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Permalink Reply by Jeff Schneider on
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Nobody is going to actually attack you unless they have a tactical advantage, e.g., numbers and/or surprise. If your weapon is accessible enough to wield effectively in a surprise attack, it could not be very concealed. If not concealed, it would be an enticing target for theft. All guns begin life as legal, but very, very many make their way into hands that should not have them. I don't want to contribute to that. YMMV.
Dragonborn said:One concern I have would be getting ambushed by a mob at the Lakefront Trail while carrying concealed on a bicycle. A mob that surrounds you could overpower you, knock you and your bike down, then upon finding you carry, they would steal both your firearm and your bike. Of course, one could also be ambushed as a concealed carrying pedestrian on the LFT, but I believe a bicycle is a more appealing target to steal.
So if right to carry is ever honored one day in Illinois, cyclists like me who would carry while riding on the LFT should avoid mobs or suspicious people as much as possible and either just turn around or take a far enough detour.
If you do carry in Wisconsin while riding a bicycle, do you ever have such a concern?
Barry Niel Stuart said:We've got concealed carry in Wisconsin, but because we so recently had it passed, we've yet to detemine whether or not it's had a positive effect in decreasing assaults.
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Permalink Reply by James L. Zychowicz on
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Over the last few days I've heard from friends in the city who wonder why anyone would ride the path at all. While I find that shortsighted, I wonder if we as a biking community can do something to change things. I will continue to contact my alder about this, and I wonder if others could contact theirs to make them aware of the problems that exist. I also wonder if we could watch out for each other as we ride, so that solo riders are accompanied by others. I plan to do so, and I hope others will consider this. Perhaps other constructive ideas can emerge in our support of biking in Chicago.
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