Cyclist attacked & bike stolen on Bristol - Bath cycle route.

[andrewc]

https://www.urban75.net/forums/threads/attacked-and-robbed-on-bristol-bath-railway-path-heading-through-easton.371674/


Sounds very nasty.   

[Cudzoziemiec]

Nasty. There are outbreaks of this every year or two, then a few get jailed, the process repeats. But this lot seem to have taken lessons from Minnesota. 

[Kim]

Ugh, that's worse than being pushed into the canal!

[Asterix, the former Gaul.]

Nasty. There are outbreaks of this every year or two, then a few get jailed, the process repeats. But this lot seem to have taken lessons from Minnesota. 

We've had incidents on York tracks. I had rubble chucked at me a few years ago when I think they hoped I'd stop. Obviously I did not.  I believe the police took action because it didn't recur.  Cycle tracks in quiet locations attract scum unfortunately.

[Jurek]

Time was when it was a regular event on the canal paths along Lea Valley.
I can't say I've heard of it happening recently tho.

[Peter]

That is awful.

Sadly, it's been a regular occurrence on the Fallowfield Loop in South Manchester, especially in Levenshume.  I remember that a couple of years ago, after a series of attacks, the police said they didn't think the attacks were connected (same place, bike stolen, violence used, so obviously no links).  However, after a recent spate, a gang of suspects is apparently awaiting trial.  It's such a bloody shame because, quite apart from the basic criminality, it's a fabulous, well-surfaced route (part of the Transpennine Trail) and a great traffic-free way of crossing Manchester east to west to east (and back!)

Bastards.

[andrewc]

Yes,  sadly I'm always cautious on the Liverpool Loop route for the same reasons.   

[Andrij]

Time was when it was a regular event on the canal paths along Lea Valley.
I can't say I've heard of it happening recently tho.

It's all happening on the Greenway these days, though the last month or so has been quiet.

[ian]

It was always the case that the Waterlink Way was the home of roving feral locals ready to pounce on passing cyclists.

That said, despite years of using it, nothing bad happened to me, and compared to the potential depredations of the local drivers, probably preferable.

Someone once dropped some masonry on my head from the Aylesbury Estate in E&C though. Bad shit sometimes happens, regardless.

[rogerzilla]

We always expect trouble on that path, which goes through a few scratter areas.  Best avoided at quiet periods on your own.

[Cudzoziemiec]

I'm not sure it's necessarily quieter periods. This attack was done at 8pm on a summer Saturday, it was probably quiet-ish but not that quiet. I know someone who was attacked in more or less the same place several years ago on his way home from work, just after 5pm.  OTOH, I've ridden along there at 1am without incident.

[Kim]

I feel much safer in that sort of environment at 1am than I do at 8pm on a summer evening, for exactly that reason.  As I've said before: It's not the *dark* that's scary.

(To put it in perspective, I'm generally more nervous about bad surfaces - especially alongside water - than I am about oiks.)

[quixoticgeek]

This hilights one of the problems with a lot of Sustrans routes. It's lovely to have a quiet route in the middle of nowhere away from all cars and people. But that means that rather than being beaten up by an Audi, you can be attacked by a human.

If the cycle transport infrastructure follows the main roads, it can be safer from this sort of attack.

J

[psyclist]

Time was when it was a regular event on the canal paths along Lea Valley.
I can't say I've heard of it happening recently tho.

I stopped using the Lea Valley path further south than Lea Bridge Road after I heard about cycle muggings about 10 years ago. Originally I had thought that the miscreants wouldn't be up and about at 6:30am when I rode through, but the reports advised otherwise.

I've not personally had any problems north of there all the way up to Enfield Lock. Not that I've been commuting since March.

[Cudzoziemiec]

This hilights one of the problems with a lot of Sustrans routes. It's lovely to have a quiet route in the middle of nowhere away from all cars and people. But that means that rather than being beaten up by an Audi, you can be attacked by a human.

If the cycle transport infrastructure follows the main roads, it can be safer from this sort of attack.

J

You'd think so, but in practice these attacks tend to happen in busy places at busy times. I'm not sure I can explain this except that if you're intent on mugging someone, you might not be prepared to hang around as long as necessary in the middle of nowhere at one in the morning.

[Panoramix]

I had a colleague who suffered such an attack a bit more than 10 years ago on the same path nearby(just after whitehall school exit going into Bristol). He was luckier though as he was going full speed and the attacker lost his balance as the impact was quite severe whereas he somehow continued on his trajectory.

I am not sure how true this is but apparently knocking down a cyclist was part of the inception in one of the local gangs.

[ian]

There are two types, I suppose. Organized robbers will want decent traffic to select potential victims from, but not too much that they can't do the deed and be gone before someone else intervenes. So they'll want semi-popular times.

The other type are the opportunists – they happened to be staggering around at 11pm and see the chance.

I think generally you're probably safer in the dead hours.