The Chainlink

Shot at w/t a BB Gun While Riding

Saturday night, my sister and I were riding home on Damen at 2:30am. As we were coming up to the United Center on Damen & Madison, a white car drove past us and shot at us w/t a BB Gun about 4-5 times. One of the BB's hit my sister on her thigh and bounced off, or at least I hope it did, but left her quite a wound. Has anyone else been shot at w/t a BB Gun while riding?

I'm contemplating not using Damen so late at night. Any suggestions on what routes to take heading south towards Pilsen at the crack of dawn?

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Permalink Reply by Cindy Martinez on August 17, 2009 at 3:10pm
I live close to Western & 23rd. Usually I ride through California or Damen on my commute home from Humboldt Park, Logan Square or Wicker Park, but that's during the daylight. Normally I'm by Kedzie, California, Western or Damen on that side of town. I don't really bike through side streets at night, as some aren't well lit, but Damen doesn't seem to be playing out as a good option either.

I'm going to try different routes. How do you guys feel about Western at night?

I riden down Halsted at night w/t no problems when I'm further up east. I could always do that but I would prefer to find a more direct route.
Permalink Reply by Michael on August 17, 2009 at 3:35pm
I was shot by some sort of pellet gun about 2 years ago not far from the area that you describe, however, in my case I was riding on a side street, and the shooter stepped out of a crowd of people standing on the corner to take a potshot at me. The projectile hit my backpack and did not penetrate. Since I was just a little bit irritated about being shot, I circled around immediately with the intent of harming the little shit that shot me, but upon seeing the size of the crowd, I pulled another u-turn and kept on going in the my original direction, calculating that a crowd that large would kick the shit out of me, and that discretion is the better part of something-or-other.

That said, I am still more concerned about getting hurt by a large chunk of gasoline-powered metal than I am about getting shot while riding, thus I continue to use side streets whenever I can. I avoid Ashland, Damen, and Western for the most part and prefer to use some of the streets H3 mentioned earlier to travel from Pilsen/Little Village to points north. Wood, Paulina, Oakley, Leavitt, and a little bit further west, Albany, are all nice, quiet streets.

Since not all side streets cross the Eisenhower or the railroad tracks, a little creative map-reading before heading out always helps. I would rather bike a few extra blocks and stay off the main streets than take the shortest route on main streets with lots of fast automotive traffic.
Permalink Reply by Lee Diamond on August 17, 2009 at 4:02pm
survival.

Brian Kennedy said:
"valor" (:

Michael said:
and that discretion is the better part of something-or-other.
Permalink Reply by Michael on August 17, 2009 at 4:05pm
or in my case, "not sticking around long enough to find out if anyone in the crowd was packing a REAL firearm."

Brian Kennedy said:
"valor" (:
Michael said:
and that discretion is the better part of something-or-other.
Permalink Reply by joe on August 18, 2009 at 1:21am
take halstead. damen sucks. tho halstead sucks a bit too up around chicago...but its better. plus u dont have to ride under that long ass train bridge. or like H3 sayd..if u are around roosevelt..take oakly..and wave when u ride by my house. im on 19th.
Permalink Reply by Juan 2-3 or more mi. on August 18, 2009 at 6:02am
Thanks for sharing, I had been pegged at the back of my head 17 years ago during broad daylight up north on Kedzie and Wilson. It was definitely a sniper because I looked all around for the punk around those tenement slums. Seems like the pattern is that any scummy slumbagg area is an area we cyclists have to keep our wits about us.
Permalink Reply by UV Metal Arts - Powder Coating on August 18, 2009 at 9:56am
Cindy, did you report the incident?
Permalink Reply by Vanessa B on August 18, 2009 at 10:00am
Yeah i would suggest avoiding the middle of the Ghetto at 2:30 a.m. Probably a smart idea.
Permalink Reply by Tony Adams on August 18, 2009 at 11:11am
Oakley is a pretty fun route. I live ten blocks southeast of H3. I used to live on the northwest side and rode down here several times a week. The Oakley route was a revelation. The neighborhoods change every few blocks from gentrified, industrial, african american, gentrified again, then more industrial. After a break for a mile or so on Western south of Roosevelt you can get back on Oakley to ride though a latino section and then one of Chicago's secret Little Italys - it is only a few blocks long. Oakley ends again at Blue Island (the road, not the town) but again, the sidewalk on Western is large and usually devoid of peds (but watch for glass).

I love that route. I was often torn between Damen and the Oakley route and whenever I felt like I had the extra 20 minutes it would take, I would take Oakley.

It is too bad that Damen sucks so badly between Lake Street and Marquette or so.


h3 said:
I live near 24th and Western.
Did you know Oakley is a through, 2-way street all the way from Roosevelt to Division? (and then it's one-way northbound to North Ave.) I ride it day and night . . . there used to be a few hot spots but they're better since the city put in a police camera at 4 intersections in a row (Van Buren, Jackson, Adams, Monroe). I ride the sidewalk through the industrial part of Western-- it feels like riding on a rural path; never encounter a pedestrian, occasionally another cyclist.
Permalink Reply by Cindy Martinez on August 18, 2009 at 11:45am
I didn't report the incident. I can't say I was completely sober when I was riding. My sister was sober and she was the one that got shot. Bad luck of the draw I guess.

Although the ghetto doesn't really phase me, as I've never had a problem riding through there before, I definitely do not want to have this experience again or be chased by a mob of kids like many of you have.

I'm going to try the alternate routes you guys mentioned, specifically riding through Oakley. If all else fails, I might just make the trek out to Halsted whenever I ride home at night. I really don't want to stop riding my bike at night just because of this one bad incident, I just have to be smarter about the routes I take. Besides, I rather much ride than drive. I only drive when I really have to.
Thanks guys!!
Permalink Reply by Tony Adams on August 18, 2009 at 12:26pm
I'm in! Perhaps we had a conversation last year (or perhaps in 2007?) fantasizing about flying an overpass over the train yards? I recall having a conversation on Oakley with a guy who rode that route regularly - and it seemed at the time as if we were the only two people in town doing so.

h3 said:
I've been wanting to form a "Friends of the Oakley Bikeway" to see what we can do to protect/improve it, modeled after "Friends of the Bloomingdale Trail" and similar orgs; imagine a thoroughfare for bikes across the train yards and/or the canal corridor for exmple . . .
Who's in?
Permalink Reply by Vondo on August 18, 2009 at 3:36pm
Hilarious! Howard who's on your writing team? Also, good tip about Oakley, never thought about taking that route up north.

h3 said:
You're telling a fair percentage of the posters here that they should avoid their homes.

Vanessa B said:
Yeah i would suggest avoiding the middle of the Ghetto at 2:30 a.m. Probably a smart idea.

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