How to best handle threatening behavior from the local teenagers?

Dave Larrington wrote:
In ps.com,
Duncan Smith tweaked the Babbage-Engine to tell
us:
Over the last half year, while cycling home at night the local kids
have been displaying threatening behavior on average about once a
month. So far this has been:

Wait until you are dead level, then quite suddenly jumping out into
the road, shouting and waving at the top of their voices - presumably
an attempt to make you fall off?

Shouting abuse - you fat/flash? b*stard and other profanities - a
reference to blinking cat-eyes?

As above, but also throwing a well aimed bottle at your head.

I think it's probably different kids in slightly different locations
each time. So far I've kept a non-confrontational approach and just
ignored it.

Do other people get the same problem, should I react/fight back,
report to police, or just continue to ignore? Maybe it would help to
look less conspicuous - remove hi-viz, hats and turn off lights before
the town centre?

Take off and nuke the entire site from orbit. It's the only way to be sure.


No offence!

Phil Cook said the following on 04/10/2007 21:58:

report to police,

Yes.

What do you think the police will do?

--
Paul Boyd
http://www.paul-boyd.co.uk/

On Fri, 05 Oct 2007, Paul Boyd usenet.is.worse@plusnet wrote:
Phil Cook said the following on 04/10/2007 21:58:

report to police,

Yes.

What do you think the police will do?

Write to the local paper saying they take all allegations of criminal
activity very seriously.

Nothing else.

But I'd still report it - I've a touching faith in authority, no
matter how misguided.

regards, Ian SMith
--
|\ /| no .sig
|o o|
|/ \|

Paul Boyd wrote:

Phil Cook said the following on 04/10/2007 21:58:

report to police,

Yes.

What do you think the police will do?

Nothing, unless you push it. Keep on reporting them and eventually the
police will do something if only to shut you up.
--
Phil Cook looking north over the park to the "Westminster Gasworks"

marc wrote:

Dave Larrington wrote:
In ps.com,
Duncan Smith tweaked the Babbage-Engine to tell
us:
Over the last half year, while cycling home at night the local kids
have been displaying threatening behavior on average about once a
month.

Take off and nuke the entire site from orbit. It's the only way to be sure.


No offence!

Alternatively get in your car and mow them down.
--
Phil Cook looking north over the park to the "Westminster Gasworks"

Duncan Smith wrote:
Over the last half year, while cycling home at night the local kids
have been displaying threatening behavior on average about once a
month. So far this has been:

Grim. Where is this?

The only time some lads (14-15?) tried to line across a bike
path and get me to stop, I put it in the bike ring, started
shouting 'YYYEEEEAAAAAA' and sprinted full pelt at
the biggest one. When he moved slighly, I adjusted course
to keep aiming at him. They moved properly aside sharpish
at that point.

It would have hurt me more than them if I'd hit, but they
didn't know that.

Arthur

--
Arthur Clune

On 4 Oct, 21:02, Duncan Smith wrote:
Over the last half year, while cycling home at night the local kids
have been displaying threatening behavior on average about once a
month. So far this has been:

Wait until you are dead level, then quite suddenly jumping out into
the road, shouting and waving at the top of their voices - presumably
an attempt to make you fall off?

Shouting abuse - you fat/flash? b*stard and other profanities - a
reference to blinking cat-eyes?

As above, but also throwing a well aimed bottle at your head.

I think it's probably different kids in slightly different locations
each time. So far I've kept a non-confrontational approach and just
ignored it.

Do other people get the same problem, should I react/fight back,
report to police, or just continue to ignore? Maybe it would help to
look less conspicuous - remove hi-viz, hats and turn off lights before
the town centre?

Many thanks,

Duncan

A few years back, I came upon a group of lads who were sat on
someone's wall, drinking. As I passed, one of them threw a beer can at
me and it struck my front wheel but without much impact. Still, I
don't put up with that behaviour, so swung around to go back and have
a go at them, wether that was a good idea or not. As I reached them,
another one pulled a lump hammer out of his jacket, so I swung back
out and made my escape whilst one of them tried to chase me on foot.

Obviously, they didn't like being confronted and made their way off,
leaving their empties on the pavement. I came back and was met by one
of the neighbours who saw the whole thing, so I asked him to call the
police, who came, collected the beer cans, took my details and went on
the hunt. The group were picked up down the road, together with the
lump hammer, and were connected with an earlier incidence of criminal
damage.

The police visited me later and took a statement about the incident. I
didn't hear anything since then, since the police are particually bad
at telling interested parties about the outcome of any action. But I'm
happy I did my bit, after all nobody should tolerate such behaviour.

David Lloyd (at work)

unlurk

Duncan Smith wrote:
Wait until you are dead level, then quite suddenly jumping out into
the road, shouting and waving at the top of their voices - presumably
an attempt to make you fall off?

Since moving to Newham and returning to cycling earlier this year, I've
had variations on this happen several times. Typically, they're waiting
at the roadside, as if to cross, and as I pass yell at the tops of their
voices into my ear. I've also had them do the same sort of thing while
passing me on BMXes. Twice this has happened to me on busy fast roads
with their fair share of HGVs, where I dread to think what the
consequences would have been if I had come off.


Shouting abuse - you fat/flash? b*stard and other profanities - a
reference to blinking cat-eyes?

In addition to the usual homophobia etc. that I'd occasionally get from
gangs of teenagers if I were on foot, I tend to get "nice bike" and
variations on that theme. I consider that to be an occupational hazard
of riding the folding BSO[1] that I'm currently using, and is in itself
harmless. They do seem more willing to shout abuse if you're on a bike,
though, presumably because you're unlikely to stop. It never seems to
happen when stopped at lights.

The great thing about folding bikes is that although they're an object
of ridicule when you're riding them, they do seem to attract a look of
awe when you fold them up and bung them in a supermarket trolley or
whatever.


As above, but also throwing a well aimed bottle at your head.

Not had that, thankfully, though I have been spat at (thankfully with
poor aim) from passing cars.


I think it's probably different kids in slightly different locations
each time. So far I've kept a non-confrontational approach and just
ignored it.

Works for me. Sadly, in the interests of not swerving into traffic, I
try to expect that likely looking people at the roadside will do the
shouting thing, so it doesn't scare me quite as much. Having been a
teenager myself, I feel bad for stereotyping like that, as law-abiding
teenagers are invisible enough these days.

/unlurk


Kim.
--

[1] It was cheap, it fits in the flat without hassle, and I didn't want
to invest in a decent bike until I was sure that my dodgy knee[2] would
cope.

[2] Childhood injury that has caused the knee to fatigue easily since my
late teens. It seems that moderate cycling has improved it massively,
so that's another excuse[3] to invest in a proper bike sometime next year.

[3] Apart from it being free as I'm not running a car any more, obviously

On Oct 5, 11:38 am, (Arthur Clune) wrote:
Duncan Smith wrote:
Over the last half year, while cycling home at night the local kids
have been displaying threatening behavior on average about once a
month. So far this has been:

Grim. Where is this?


Northampton, and not really the town-centre either, just the
outskirts. It's a shame but not that bad, in a year they haven't
managed to actually hit me yet. I imagine in some areas of Manchester
they must make commuting by bike a serious difficulty - if not
impossible?

Regards,

Duncan

Duncan Smith wrote:
On Oct 5, 11:38 am, (Arthur Clune) wrote:
Duncan Smith wrote:
Over the last half year, while cycling home at night the local kids
have been displaying threatening behavior on average about once a
month. So far this has been:

Grim. Where is this?


Northampton, and not really the town-centre either, just the
outskirts.

Whereabouts? I used to avoid certain areas around Billing/Lumbertubs!