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 Bike Bloke on -
The key here is the Police presence. BUT it can't be uniformed bike cops because guess what? Everyone behaves when uniformed cops are about. Duh! So what is needed is a one-officer unmarked cop bike patrol with other cops close by. Of course that'll never happen!
A good alternative would be some of those police cameras on poles that flash blue when in operation. Why only have those on streets when they're apparently needed in place like the LFP?
Oh, and if the Maywood PD is listening, put some of those camera poles on the Illinois prairie Path, please.
kiltedcelt said:Reading about this sort of thing really pisses me off as I use the LFP to commute to and from work 5 days a week. Granted, I'm out riding in the morning when this sort of thing is extremely unlikely, but coming home, especially closer to the weekends when there are lots of people out, particularly around this area by 31st and a bit south, I've seen plenty of large groups of people, some of whom have been rude. The closest I've come to any confrontations was last year when I approached a group while riding south of 31st and a guy in the group made a fake lunge at me like he was trying to fake me out and get me to flinch or swerve and fall off my bike or something. Lately I've seen more police presence in the form of bike cops and cruisers, but obviously it's still not enough to deter this sort of crap from happening. I do think you're more likely to be a target the later you're out on the path, but there have been riders who've been jumped in broad daylight so just getting off the path before dark isn't necessarily the best solution either. I've been thinking of starting to carry some bear mace, but you have to be sure you can use it without it blowing back in your face, and given the winds out there on the path half the time, you're just as likely to douse yourself as your attacker. Another possibility is those ASP batons that the police carry, but then you're looking at trying to use that to defend yourself against superior numbers. It might just be better to turn tail and head the opposite direction. I hope this isn't ever an issue for me. Maybe the current level of police presence still isn't enough?
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Permalink Reply by Vondo on -
just spitballing here, but maybe setting up a meetup group for commuting down the lfp, What if people met up to ride down together, there might be safety in numbers. Groups leaving every hour or so, these kids might not mess with a group of ten or twenty riders. I don't know, just thinking out loud.
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Permalink Reply by Serge Lubomudrov on -
Like merchants on the Silk Road would form caravans with an armed escort? Or convoys in the North Atlantic during the World War II?
. . . Interesting times we live in, eh?
Vondo said:just spitballing here, but maybe setting up a meetup group for commuting down the lfp, What if people met up to ride down together, there might be safety in numbers. Groups leaving every hour or so, these kids might not mess with a group of ten or twenty riders. I don't know, just thinking out loud.
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Permalink Reply by Anne Alt on -
Yes, definitely interesting times, and not always in a good way.
Serge Lubomudrov said:Like merchants on the Silk Road would form caravans with an armed escort? Or convoys in the North Atlantic during the World War II?
. . . Interesting times we live in, eh?
Vondo said:just spitballing here, but maybe setting up a meetup group for commuting down the lfp, What if people met up to ride down together, there might be safety in numbers. Groups leaving every hour or so, these kids might not mess with a group of ten or twenty riders. I don't know, just thinking out loud.
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Permalink Reply by Craig S. on -
I've never been physically attacked but everything else described has happened to me riding through Uptown.
I always assume everyone is hostile, sometimes even the groups I'm riding with.....
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Permalink Reply by Kevin C on -
Damn! This will force me to rethink "the element of surprise."
Craig S. said:[snip]
I always assume everyone is hostile, sometimes even the groups I'm riding with.....
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Permalink Reply by Cameron 7.5 mi on -
Sometimes?!
You must have a lot more faith in our mutual friends than I do.
Craig S. said:sometimes even the groups I'm riding with.....
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Permalink Reply by S on -
Seriously, ever get between Iggy and his wings before?
Cameron Puetz said:Sometimes?!
You must have a lot more faith in our mutual friends than I do.
Craig S. said:sometimes even the groups I'm riding with.....
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Permalink Reply by Elizabeth on -
I rode through a dark group like this in that area last summer. No-one attacked me, but I was heading north to meet my husband, and I went back through the same area about 15 minutes later, after we met. Or we tried to go through the same area. We got stopped by the police, because someone else had gotten mugged.
Ugh. We ride this path alot in summer evenings, with kids. I don't like the idea of just giving it up to criminals. It only gets more dangerous when people avoid it. But it's a no-win situation. We need more police presence in that area. And more lights.
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Permalink Reply by El Guicho on -
The LFP is park of the park district right? Don't parks close at sunset? Maybe there's a reason for that.
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Permalink Reply by James BlackHeron on -
This is also my concern with the someday-built Bloomingdale Trail/Path. Looks like a good place to get mugged/assaulted with the limited entrance/exit points -especially in the evening.
Bum trap.
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