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Edit: Thanks to Peenologist for the Worst Thread Ever crown.

Edit edit: D'oh! he said Worst Possible Thread, not Worst Thread Ever.

7/17: "was Fight with Gabe" removed from subject line for the sake of beauty, privacy, and security.  Representative images added (too bad threads can't have their own custom avatars):

 

 

Picked up on OPCC listserv per Bill W; presumably posted today.

I don't know why Active Trans didn't put a warning out about the previous incident mentioned here.

===

Authored by Tom McGee and posted on the Oak Park Cycle Club facebook page.  :
LAKE STREET WARNING: With the warm weather, and newly added bike lanes on Lake Street, there have been more bike commuters heading into the city...unfortunately, there are some rough neighborhoods people need to cycle through and area street punks see the increase in riders as well.

On my way home from the city to Oak Park last night I was jumped by 2 male teens in an attempt to steal my bike. This occured at Lake & Lavergne. One guy was on the sidewalk, the other hidden behind an L pillar. As I was approaching, I sensed it was bad, but it was too late to react. They came at me from the left and right and pushed me off the bike. I was clipped in and went head first over the handlebars, landing on the right side of my face and shoulder. They did not go for anything but the bike, so when I realized that, I wrestled with them and kept my bike. A motorist stopped to help me, and seeing this they ran.

A number of good samaritans stopped to help me, called 911, and paramedics were on the scene within 10 minutes to get me to the ER. I'm stitched and bumped and bruised, but it could have been a lot worse.

I strongly suggest that riders get the word out to friends who commute, try to ride w/others (there are a number of group rides to/from the loop from what I've heard), and try not to ride too early or too late when other people may not be around to help. 

I've already spoken with John Lankford, Bikeways Campaign Coordinator w/Active Transporation Alliance. He said there was a similar incident on Lake the morning of Bike The Drive. So they are aware of the problem, and will be approaching people @ CDOT and the city to try and address it.

Ride safe,
Tom McGee
 

==

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Replies are closed for this discussion.

Replies to This Discussion

You can comment. The folks from Orlando Commute did this AM. In fact twice. Try it.

notoriousDUG said:

I have a very, very clear message for 'O' right here and now and I want him to perk up and pay attention:

If I EVER see you posting my words out of context, using my name or likeness on your blog and/or posting to/about me on a forum where I cannot respond to them you and I are going to have a very, very serious problem...

Oh, wait a little bit of research has shown me you are already playing this game...

Take that shit down or open your comments to allow those you are quoting and responding to a chance to respond back and defend themselves.  We allow you to continue to respond to our comments here, why do you not offer us the same courtesy on your website? 

I can't wait to meet O :-)

As you well know that stretch is under construction. We are having two additional lanes added. But you could currently ride Warrenville Road to the south with relative ease. It even has a substantial shoulder.


Gerry G said:

O, could you be persuaded to suit up?  Maybe with a bar mounted cam facing forward and a helmet cam facing to the rear?  Then get some savvy cyclist reps in on Butterfield Rd between Orchard Rd and Lambert Rd.  A few East bound and some casual West bound trips, heck it's only 2.5 miles.  Control the lane while expanding the situational awareness of those operating motor vehicles in Wheaton.  Post'em to the tube for all to peruse. 

Highly anticipating your efforts, looking forward to seeing you in action, O.  

"O", could you be persuaded to suit up?  Maybe with a bar mounted cam facing forward and a helmet cam facing to the rear?  Then get some savvy cyclist reps in on Butterfield Rd between Orchard Rd and Lambert Rd.  A few East bound and some casual West bound trips, heck it's only 2.5 miles.  Control the lane while expanding the situational awareness of those operating motor vehicles in Wheaton.  Post'em up to the tube for all to examine.  Total PSA opportunity.  Could potentially generate generous amounts of what you crave, manure.   

Either this group really believes that everyone on this forum should "grow a thick skin" or not. It appears that when you are on the receiving end of the vitriol it becomes a problem.

Peenworm Grubologist said:

I mean since he's already got it all figured out, the only possible productive discussion would be agreement and accolades for his fantastic wisdom. Being contradicted is automatically unproductive because no one knows more about whatever than he does, somehow.


Road construction you say?  Perfect circumstances and timing for you to demo what you think you know.  

O said:

As you well know that stretch is under construction. We are having two additional lanes added. 



JM deserves better than to be tied to me. But heck I've often wondered if you were Rush Limbaugh cruising this forum for your morning's comments on Liberals and Anarchists. Do you smoke cigars?

You really ought to sit down as a group and reread your threads in RSS format to get the uninterrupted effect of it all. You really have to see the prose from 1,000 feet above the tree line to understand how vile it can sometimes get here.

The "Lord of the Flies" effect is rampant in this thread alone. People circle their wagons and pounce on anyone who disagrees with them and then claims that those complaining about it all need to "develop thicker skins". Ok. But that cuts both ways.

Riding in Chicago is a fun thing to do. You would think that a positive thread about that experience would not attract naysayers, but even that one eventually had the usual suspects complaining the the positive nature of the thread was making them upset.

What really pisses you guys off is that anyone stands up to you. Then you get red in the face and "white noise" starts. You like to call sections of Chicago vile names and then complain when someone points out this fact. Grow a pair.

Quit acting like a bunch of pantywaists and either argue your points without the personal attacks or if you really have no need for someone hours of animation creation then perhaps you can offer something better or until you can sit quietly and search the web archives. Better yet create an animation that dispels the ignorance of the Florida Bicycle Association chapter in Orlando and send them your work to let them see how it is done.

Duppie offered up a copy of the Bike Chicago brochure. It was a piece that it turns out I have seen before and if I am not mistaken is already in my sites media library. And while prose it often pretty exact the animations really hit the spot for me. It helps to be able in a classroom setting to let a newbie see what you are talking about. And I would gladly use them for that purpose.

I just wish that you guys were as brave on the streets of the South and West Sides in "talking smack" as you are sitting behind your keyboards. Some of the veterans who have returned from Afghanistan would be quite happy to help you better understand the value of life in their communities.

James BlackHeron said:

I see a similarity in both underlying style and the dogged single-mindedness of both O and JM.  

I did try, comments were closed on the post I wished to comment on.

O said:

You can comment. The folks from Orlando Commute did this AM. In fact twice. Try it.

notoriousDUG said:

I have a very, very clear message for 'O' right here and now and I want him to perk up and pay attention:

If I EVER see you posting my words out of context, using my name or likeness on your blog and/or posting to/about me on a forum where I cannot respond to them you and I are going to have a very, very serious problem...

Oh, wait a little bit of research has shown me you are already playing this game...

Take that shit down or open your comments to allow those you are quoting and responding to a chance to respond back and defend themselves.  We allow you to continue to respond to our comments here, why do you not offer us the same courtesy on your website? 

You caught me O-More.  I am indeed Rush Limbaugh.  You surely have a keen sense of reading comprehension to have been able to read all my posts and equate my positions with El Rushmo.   

Because Rushie is so much the anti-statist/voluntaryist bicycle commuter -JUST LIKE ME!

Congrats on your mad deductive skillz.   See  you out on the road.

At the bottom of each blog entry you will find this box:

Enter away. I know that Spencer Thayer did a while ago so it has to be working.

notoriousDUG said:

I did try, comments were closed on the post I wished to comment on.

O said:

You can comment. The folks from Orlando Commute did this AM. In fact twice. Try it.

notoriousDUG said:

I have a very, very clear message for 'O' right here and now and I want him to perk up and pay attention:

If I EVER see you posting my words out of context, using my name or likeness on your blog and/or posting to/about me on a forum where I cannot respond to them you and I are going to have a very, very serious problem...

Oh, wait a little bit of research has shown me you are already playing this game...

Take that shit down or open your comments to allow those you are quoting and responding to a chance to respond back and defend themselves.  We allow you to continue to respond to our comments here, why do you not offer us the same courtesy on your website? 

But then again you probably really are Michael Savage. I think that is really your identity. Yep. I have settled on Michael Savage. The keen attention to spelling and grammar that your forum mates complain about is more like Michael. Do you own two white dogs (teacup sized)?

James BlackHeron said:

You caught me O-More.  I am indeed Rush Limbaugh.  You surely have a keen sense of reading comprehension to have been able to read all my posts and equate my positions with El Rushmo.   

Because Rushie is so much the anti-statist/voluntaryist bicycle commuter -JUST LIKE ME!

Congrats on your mad deductive skillz.   See  you out on the road.

Once again Gerry, the animations and the approach is not mine. It is being offered by the Florida Bicycle Association in conjunction with the OrlandoCommuter.com website. Now if you have a beef with their approach you can always trot your fingers over to their website and scroll down to the comments section and blast away.

The real irony here is that this group has suddenly gone from being sympathetic with the plight of Anika when a policeman tried to curtail the very practice that you now think is unwise. If this group could ever stop being contrarian long enough to find a common approach and stick with it longer than a single thread that would be great.

But from my viewpoint your collective wisdom shifts with each and every thread. No wonder the cops are viewed as capricious when not even Chicago Cyclists can agree on what they really believe. If you say you support national and statewide cycling organizations which are affiliated in large part with groups like ATA you really must have been aware of the influence of the thinking and writing of John Forester (author of Effective Cycling). And that would have meant that the "take the lane" approach would be common knowledge to this group.

Now if you have issues with the "take the lane" approach (especially in high volume, high speed corridors like Butterfield when under construction) then do your crying on the shoes of those who authored the idea and who continue to push it.

Unless things have changed becoming a League Certified Instructor means that you know the contents of the book mentioned and you actually teach from it to both newbie and experienced cyclists. Evidently the Chicago Cycling world has somehow become an ice berg calved into their own portion of the sea and proud of it.

Fine. It helps to know your position. It would mean that the decades of teaching, training and knowledge gathering done by all of those irrelevant cyclist over 40 years of age can be jettisoned for some as yet uncodified set of Rules of the Mean Streets.

Gerry G said:


Road construction you say?  Perfect circumstances and timing for you to demo what you think you know.  

O said:

As you well know that stretch is under construction. We are having two additional lanes added. 



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