travelmama

Agreed

Painted Pony

Get a bottle of bear spray. Bear spray is pepper spray under high pressure. It will shoot a 30 second stream of pepper spray 30 feet out. Much safer to use IMO than a small bottle of pepper spray. You don't have to dismount & get close to the offender to use it, the wind doesn't impact the stream like it would with a regular pepper spray bottle, it is much more intimidating to the offender than a little bottle. You can find it at REI type stores and get a velcro and plastic holder that you can put in a pocket or strap to your leg, bike, or whatever.

rumrunn6

they clearly didn't want to actually hurt the OP. so how about the approach of smiling and shaking your fist in gest. as if to acknowledge and respect their wilding without escalating ...?

Joeleo

Personally, I don't carry anything for self defense except a multitool which probably would not do much good since Its usually in my pack. But reading this is making me think I should be prepared for more then just a flat tire. I ride through some areas that are secluded and I never know who's waiting around the bend. I think I'll pick up a can of mace at least and velcro it to my top tube for easy access.

poopisnotfood

Problem Solved....

HFTB

shank shank shank shank shank

my shank would have been the first i'd reach for. regardless if I'm falling off my bike or not. chances are they don't have much more than a shank (low level crooks) if they are trying to steal a bike. RIDE FASTER

JoeyBike

Bright lights are a great passive tactical weapon. Mounted on your helmet allows you to continually blind someone but causes problems for innocent motorists at times. Even on your handlebars, bright lights can be a nice deterrent.

Ajenkins

jesus. Another freakin' *********.

Cyclaholic

Playing chicken with a recumbent on a bmx bike is a darwinian act... at least it would be against my 'bent since I have no chainring guard, and a combined weight (bike + me) of 240lb+

I'd do all I could to ride away, but forcing me to stop then grabbing my 'bars would undoubtedly trigger my survival instincts, which would mean that 10+ years of tae-kwon-do training would come into play. I'd start kicking and wouldn't stop until there's nobody left standing to kick. I wouldn't hang around for the aftermath, I'd be out of there asap.

mkeller234

+1 it was a crappy comment

Sorry to hear about your incident, definitely a scary situation. I would second any advice to avoid escalating the situation, I learned the scary way. +1 to carrying bear spray also, make sure it is easily accessible and attached to you in some fashion.

I think you handled it as well as possible. Let's say that you had fought back and beat every last kid up... that sounds like some legal territory that I personally wouldn't want any part of.

ERdept

I carry pepper spray. From the survival forums, Fox Labs brand is very well spoken of. I'd say only spray if you feel endangered. Grabbing your bars can make you fall, and that can kill you. I'd mace them. Hard to ride after you with their eyes shut. Use as first line.

Second line, a knife. It's a tool and legal to carry. If it came to your life, you'd use it.

Cell phone idea is as effective as doing so in an home invasion. The crime is being committed NOW. You gotta act NOW. Call after to report what happened.

no motor?

The couple of times I've used them like this I didn't have to do anything special, the salmon quickly moved away and there was no need for me to explain my actions. But if I would ever need to explain why I did anything, the bright lights are a lot less threatening and more acceptable than pepper spray, a knife etc....

chandltp

I read that and assumed it was referring to the impoverished areas of town. Not limited by skin color so much as defined by blighted properties and high crime rates. I may be wrong. Granted even if this is referring to skin color, the blighted areas of town tend to have a high percentage of non-white population, so the statement appears to be technically accurate. Just because it's not politically correct doesn't automatically make it racist.

Edit: Look at the caption under the name. He's from "the dark side". This could very well be a Star Wars reference.

bugly64

I would have treated them like grown men and U-locked a couple of them. My Dummy would have been harder to stop as well. I also carry a nice knife my Uncle Sam gave me when I was in Iraq.

gerv 

You've caught my attention. Does this also involve a jigger of gin and an olive?

BSB

I think it looks a little more like this:

Simko

To be honest(and this is only my opinion), some of the people who want to swarm, are usually in desparate need for: your bike, cash, etc. I believe that professional thieves (correct term?) really just want to steal things, and avoid a confrontation. I dont like the idea of people using knives and shanks for self defense, thats just getting really close with the attacker(s), and could lead to them getting ahold of your weapon. How clean are these people? if they are so desparate, is it to feed a drug fix? are they using dirty needles? You have NO idea what diseases these people are carrying around, you close the gap between you and the attacker and you risk getting bitten, cut , and chance contracting something that can change your life for good.

Im going to have to agree with people who say bearspray, compact pistol, or what i would really prefer: escape, and trying your hardest to get away from there as fast as possible.

just my little bit of input

rumrunn6

or ask the experts - call the police! :-)

or there must be links for confronting / defending from a personal attack or mugging

he OP's anecdote, however, did not sound like a mugging, just some mild wilding

Rock-it

LEO opinion here....

OC spray is not the best idea. You are more than likely to spray yourself. Most roaches (bad guys) have had enough exposure to OC that they can fight through it WAY better than you.

Knife and shanks are BAD idea. W/O extensive proper training you are most likely to hurt yourself.

Gun is not a bad option. If you can get a carry permit, and you REALLY know and understand the criteria for using the weapon. Getting charged with brandishing or unlawful discharge of a firearm would not be good for anybody. Most ranges offer self defense handgun classes that provide a good foundation of training.

Best option is don't be intimidated and don't stop. Reporting it after the fact won't mitigate the immediate issue but could help in the future. Resource allotment is decided upon crime report statistics. Also, if someone attempts to assault you and fails, they will almost certainly try again with others. Crime patterns and suspect descriptions are incredibly helpful in patrol. There are many pieces to a puzzle.

rumrunn6

also, police call logs are public record and many depts publish hem in their local paper. the property or life you save may be your neighbor's

bugly64

Ajenkins,
Why do you have to start calling hateful names? Tea Party people aren't racist or perverts, like your fascination with testicles.

chucky

Yes it does. The danger of racism isn't that it is technically wrong, but that it is morally wrong because it marginalizes those who get grouped in with the baddies and since they can't change their skin color they are powerless to do anything about it. To not consider this is a an exceedingly selfish perspective which has been deemed so destructive it is in some cases illegal.

But I thought that "dark" was a proper term for anything bad or evil (ex "dark days", "dark sense of humor", "dark side", etc). Nothing to do with skin color, but I guess some people purposely use the play on words to subtly promote racist concepts?

RedWhiteandRed

This thread is funny.

Loose Chain

This is why I got a concealed carry license. People are more prone to good behavior when they know that bump in my back is not a love handle.

gerv 

How do they know this... if it's concealed?