Riders Assaulted & Bicycles Stolen ! ! !
Submitted by kurtz on Fri, 11/17/2006 - 19:03.
RIDERS ASSAULTED & BICYCLES STOLEN ! ! !
I hate even having to post this shit. Sorry to do it here, but these guys have to be caught.
BIKE ONE - John that works at Herb Bauer, aka "Shoe," just purchased a 57 cm KHS Flite track bike (same color & model as the red one pictured). A couple of days ago, Shoe was riding south on Palm Ave towards Ben's Shop, Re-Cycle, & a Hispanic/Mexican male, about 230lbs & muscular, punched him in the face as he rode by. John fell w/ the bike, and the assailant & a number of other males (John didn't see how many) Ran (not pedalled) off with his bike. This happened at about dusk.
The cops were taking his report a half hour later when they got a call that the same thing had happened to a rider w/ an expensive road bike on the north side of Fresno.
BIKE 2 - This info was from Aaron at Tri-Sport. Earlier this week, an owner of a 56 cm Celeste Green Bianchi Pista was commuting between Ashland & Gettysburg, riding about 20mph, and a male adult ran out onto the street and shoulder-tackled the rider. That bicycle was stolen, and the rider broke his collarbone.
If you're booking along, and someone runs onto the street at you, please do whatever you can to avoid Stopping, and to avoid being attacked. Ride vigilantly, and please wear a helmet (who knows how bad an end-over, collarbone-snapping wreck would have been w/o a helmet).
If somebody tries to take your bike while you're on the road, Get the Hell Out of There (please don't think you're Charles Bronson delivering U-Lock Justice with your 145lb ass against a jacked dude twice your strength, as well as his friends), remember the faces of the jerks, and call the cops asap.
Also, PLEASE keep your eye out on craigslist, ebay, and on the streets of Fresno/Central Valley & the Bay Area for both these bikes. Ben at Re-Cycle should have the serial numbers to both soon, so call him at 559-906-2899.
I'm seeng a pattern
They aren't hitting just regular street bikes.
They're hitting serious road bikes.
They're also going after bikes, (track-bike, fixed gear, and singlespeeds,) that regular folks aren't really riding in huge numbers... (these are bikes that are going to be marketable mostly to other enthusiasts.)
There was a bike that came through a few weeks ago, (I didn't work on it,) -that wasn't from the community down at the park,
-but from what I heard it was one of those deals where a guy had a van roll up next to him, some guy was like 'pssst. -you know anything about bikes?'
-and the guy walking wound up with a pretty killer hybrid for (maybe,) a hundred or so? I dunno. (He had his bike stolen some time earlier, so just took it as a karma thing... (?!)
-I don't do karma... I do truckma.
The bike had damage on one of the grips too, like it had been dropped, --the rest of it was basically flawless.
To me it looked hott'ern blazes, but it wasn't my call, and I didn't even know who owned it, I just saw it and heard the story.
I don't remember the make of it, but it was not one of the ones that is in the post. (I want to say a black Mongoose, but that just doesn't seem right... it was a pretty high-end bike though.)
I'd recommend pepper spray,(if it's legal here in Fresno,) -though it would be a situation of having to aim back and use it, rather than just keep head down and haul-ass out of there.
A whistle also works pretty well... you'd be surprised what happens when you really blast someone who is not expecting it... it could give you a few more seconds, (portable 'blast,' horns (on aerosol cans,) also work pretty good too, again, just to add escape time.
But you're going to seriously jet to a well lit place, or call the cops or something, -it looks either way...
I just don't like that they are targetting serious roadbikes, and bikes that would be only desirable to other enthusiasts...
That smells weird.
I mean, I like fixie's and think that they are beautiful bikes, but am not sure that one is really suited for me, and I like bikes.
Not many people really know what these things are, -and not many of them are going to want one without knowing how to operate one.
(It's almost like the rickshaw(s) getting stolen... who would want it, and what would they do with it???)
If I see anything come through the park, I'll let Ben or Aaron know, I know Tom, Chris and I don't often come across stuff like that... it's usually vintage or some sprayed over Wal-Mart Full suspension thing...
Thanks for posting this.
bike attacks
gawd that's depressing news. just when i get used to the time change, the wet weather, and all the intentional obstacles of bike commuting around this town, now this happens to make it that much more unfriendly and dangerous.
A wise bike mechanic once told me, "ya can't let 'em ruin your sport".
i'll keep riding, probably a beater for a while, until i can assimilate and bear one more terrorist act, and maybe soon ride again with my normal level of paranoia.
Post new comment