Hi
A warning to you all...
So I was out on a group ride today, went round a corner I know to be blind very slowly and collided with another rider coming the other way on the trail. I realised pretty quickly I was fine, got up and went to see if he was ok. He got up and unleashed a tirade of swearing, then hit me in the face. I was staggered by this reaction so didn't react. I tried to say that he can't go around behaving like this, to which he said "What you gonna do about it" and rode off. Although he is a cock, sadly he has a good point. Although there were 4 of use and one (rather large) of him, we were all wearing team kit with shop names etc plastered all over it. Not exactly the most subtle outfit to choose when you kick the crap out of someone. Plus, we were all just open-mouthed with what had just happened.
Perhaps Broadmoor left the gates open this morning.
GB
P.S. Yes I have told the Police, for what it's worth, and the Lookout visitor centre. They said they do have CCTV on the car park, but I doubt the Police will be arsed to look at it, even though there can't be many stocky 6'3" white people riding a Giant full-sus bike leaving the car park between 8am and 10am. Of course, he may not have parked there but you never know.
GB
Bit of a over reaction on his part as accidents like this happen, but you should have got even in my opinion.
Jesus...what a dick! He'll get his sometime, don't worry.
Violence + violence = not a solution. Especially not when you and your mates are dressed up to the nines in kit screaming who you ride for.
GB
wow 😯
What sort of bike etc was he riding on? Bike and physical description?
Team kit or not, if someone hit me or someone I was riding with I'd have sat on him. If he struggled I'd have subdue him. ****ing totally uncalled for. Injustice sets me off.
Glad you are ok though.
6'3" or so - I'm 6'1" and he was taller than me. Stocky build, not fat. Dark hair. White. British.
Riding a Giant full-sus bike.
GB
follow up the CCTV with the Vistors centre- make sure they dont delete/over record on it. Seriously- pop down and sit through it. See if you can identify anyone unloading it into a car. Its common assault.
Things like that really get my goat, admire you for keeping your cool, hope he didnt hurt you! What an arse.
Follow it up, seriously. I dont see why someone should physically assault you and get away it.
Three posts down there is a geezer called Dan admitting to punching someone at Swinley!!!!!!!
EDIT - ah fair dos. Am in the middle of something else.
😆 sense of humour by-pass you lot
Jesus George, you'd better not race tomorrow and take it easy 🙂
sorry to hear that. people can be aggressive.
That is shocking. What a dick. In any event you and your mates would have been entirely justified in punching him back, if you're being assaulted you don't need to lie down and take it, justified force and 3 witnesses...
Fair play for not rising to it tho.
I've reported it to the Police and spoken to the Manager at the centre. She said they do have CCTV but it would be up to the Police to request to look at it.
When the shop I used to work at was broken into, the Police arranged for a CCTV camera to be aimed at it in case of repeat burglaries. When the criminals came back a few weeks later, with the camera still pointing at the shop, the Police said there was no film in the camera and hence no footage of the second break in either...
My opinion of your common or garden Police officer is not really repeatable, so I don't expect them to be able to work out anything in this case either. They're just bloody useless. The only reason I reported it to the Police and the Lookout is in case it happens again/has happened before.
See you at Black Park tomorrow Nick - of all places I expect to be punched, it'd be there not Swinley...
GB
I'm surprised that I haven't been punched in the mouth yet. I've had a fair few offers, probably more than Neil the Octopus reseller 😆
See you at Black Park tomorrow Nick - of all places I expect to be punched, it'd be there not Swinley...
Hell yeah! I'm gonna invest in a full face lid to help fend off the locals!
3 of us .. and 1 big punchy guy = He would be wearing our foot prints for a couple weeks atleast.
I can understand you being taken off guard, an unexpected punch can put anybody on the back foot. Shame on your friends for not giving him a couple back for you though.
No doubt, on the way back they had a good reason why they never .. or how they were about to ... 🙄
gee - Don't let the Lookout staff get away with saying "The police will request it if they want it". They should be more proactive with someone getting a smack in their "family friendly" forest.
gee - Don't let the Lookout staff get away with saying "The police will request it if they want it". They should be more proactive with someone getting a smack in their "family friendly" forest.
Post of the month IMO.
i'm affraid i'd have taken his head off! i'm chilled but hate bullies
Bit out of order really, you should have given him one back though-at least he'd think twice next time....
I think its a pretty poor show from the manageress at the Look Out, she should have offered to go through the CCTV with you and then you could present that to the police once youd spotted the bloke getting into his car.
If they've scrubbed the CCTV I'd sit in the carpark next weekend. This fella needs to feel some bloody heat.
Reminds me of the time a mate at college had his walkman taken off of him on the bus home. We rode that sodding bus for a week afterwards waiting for them 👿
if i had been on my own i would have done exactly what you did, but with my mates im afraid to say i would have given him a bootful. make sure you get to see that cctv though
If I ever ride Swinley, I'll take my keyboard and if I find him I'll 'have him' 😆
Karma will sort him out - some little scroat will steal his bike! 😈
May his rides be infested with a thousand ticks and punctures.
Carry spare Bombers next time!
You know, the only thing going through my head at the time was "if I punch you this will turn into a fight and that's going to be hard to explain at work".
GB
Gee next time wear a full face helmet, ou know it makes sence.
Seriously some idiots are still out there on bikes,and give us a bad name.
and give us a bad name.
Us? There are tools in all walks of life. I'm guessing here but if Gee had been the same size as him or looked common the guy would have sworn, dusted off and gone home without much to do.
Edit- infact he'd have had his eyes down.
Who is this Dan geezer who has confessed to an assault in Swinley?
Is this a false confession by a serial false confessor?
Dan The Confessor?
Will he get burried in Westminster Abbey?
happy vibes coming your way 😀
I once saw a guy on the trains looking for a fight. Not nice.
seriously, i can't believe you let a bloke punch you in the mush, and di not retaliate.
violence+violence=revenge
I once saw a guy on the trains looking for a fight. Not nice.
Yeah, then there are people who wont stand up for this sort of thing.
Down with this sort of ting!
now i,m not a violent man but if i was in your position and got punched not only should you have retaliated but i,d have made him tell me where he lives and i,d have gone and bashed his dog to death with its own kennel
It wasn't a matter of letting him - it was a matter of being so stunned by what happened I was just at a loss as for what to do! I would have reacted differently in a bar/on the street etc. I've just never encountered anything like this with a mountain biker.
not only should you have retailed
Well this is STW afterall 🙄
mark, seriously, your out on your bike, you have a crash which is neither of your faults, the bloke punches you and you let him get away with it?
no way.
Is nobody going to arrest Dan?
I've just watched Mesrine so I better not say how to deal with him at the moment 😯
(waves keyboard at the screen)
TBH when that happens it can catch you right out, and by the time you've got off the floor, dusted yourself down taken in what's happend and put your dukes up it's all over.
This is what happens when you let common people ride bikes.
Now is there anyone you remember not waving to on the road before this happened 😉
Check the CCTV for Audi's in the carpark.
Check the CCTV for Audi's in the carpark.
At a trail center? That will narrow it down! 😆
Seemingly I'm the only one here, but I doubt I'd have hit him back, his reaction suggests a total ****t, and I can think of better folk to get into a fight with in the middle of a forest! ! I'm clearly not as tough as everyone here!
So I was out on a group ride today, went round a corner I know to be blind very slowly and collided with another rider coming the other way on the trail
Define "slow".
Does it matter what speed he was doing? Its not a reason to assault someone!
Does it matter what speed he was doing? Its not a reason to assault someone!
One person's "slow" is another person's "fast". Just trying to get a picture.
Define "slow".
"Very" was the term the OP used.
Gee - I wouldn't beat yourself up (sorry, no pun intended there) about not hitting him back. As Oldgit has said the guy punched you whilst you wasn't expecting it and then rode off whilst you was still reeling from it. If you and/or your mates had beaten the crap out of him you can bet Sod's Law that you would have gotten into trouble whilst he gets away scott free.
what a complete **** !
just rest assured one day he will pick on the wrong guy one day - ton/hora and get a kickin
The OP stated he was in a group and they were wearing club kit. So that means they are pretty swift/podium placed, doesn't it?
Which comes back to my point about one person's "slow" is another person's "fast".
I'm just trying to see the big picture, rather than just one person's viewpoint.
Sorry if I'm coming across as a bimbo. 🙂
Someimes I am slow to react. During the week I Spend my time being sharp, but at the weekend I try to refresh by slowing down with people - in short I would have been hesitant and done the same.If your out on the town it may be expected but at Swinley, no way.
Given the over-hyped nature of Swinley and it's 'super tech' trails, I'd probably have punched someone in the face if they'd run into me while I was there. 😉
No need for that sort of thing going on. Maybe he was just upset that he could see your bigger-than-his assets with all your lycra on.
Just to be clear, violence is unacceptable in any situation.
It's interesting to hear other trail users' perception of us and mostly it isn't good. I try very hard to rectify that. Today I ended up in the middle of a drag hunt (twice). Not a problem, I waited until they had all rode past. They were charming, greeted and thanked me, and I enjoyed seeing the horses and foxhounds.
Just to be clear, violence is unacceptable in any situation.
Goodo, not that I thought you was being "racerist" or anything 😉
I am not "racerist"! In the past I have had "sensible discussions" with people but considering most of the time I ride on my own, that is probably not the best thing to do. 🙄
Would rather try and understand other person's viewpoint. Of course, being a woman, it comes naturally. 😉
all I am saying is people can be agressive and sometimes you need to look out for yourself if people start sometimes. Violence is really bad tho IMO.TBH it is always best to walk away.
It's a cr@p that someone gets ****ted like this but I think it's also cr@p that the OPs gettng stick for not skelping him back. I probably wouldn't have hit the guy back either.
For heaven's sake, people can not go around thumping each other 😯
That was not normal behaviour. Should I be worried as a lone female rider at Swinley? Do I need a bodyguard or a pitbull?
I did hear that the local Council received £20K from the HP film company for use of the car park. Interesting huh?
You reap what you sew, even if you cant see it right now.
Would rather try and understand other person's viewpoint.
To be fair to the OP he did say he tried talking to his attacker after the attack but the other guy wasn't interested and rode off.
if someone punched me I'd probably say something like "Is that the best you can do ?"
Not good. Sorry to hear that.
I hope you find out who it was and let us all know their name and description.
Don't know if the law has changed but many years ago when Mark Thomas was doing his informative comedy on C4 he did one about big brother and the cameras that watch us.
One of the things I remember is that if you are recorded, they are legally required to supply you the footage for a fee of no more than £10 if you request it, perhaps getting one of your mates (ideally of the same shape and size as the offender) to go and tell the manager this may get them access to the tapes as they may be too lazy.
As regards your reaction i'd say it is pretty natural to be shocked, I was completely taken aback during a "road rage" incident a few years ago.
If the trail centre finds CCTV of the guy and, for instance, his car's number plate, and if the cops don't feel like doing anything, then you can obtain owner's info from DVLA (preparing for litigation is a legitimate reason to access that data) and then sue him in trespass for assault. Only problem on a practical basis is getting the tape from the trail centre and making sure they don't delete it.
I'm surprised you didn't smack him back and it's bad your mates didn't help. In that situation it's self defence.
I've had MX'ers threaten us at Swinley so as they passed me (very close) I rammed my bike into the guys front brake lever. The police will never catch these people so they need to be dealt with. He's probably done it before and keeps getting away with it.
I see all the STW keyboard warriors are out in force again. 😆
Who would have thought IT managers were so 'ard?
Couldn't you have just curtailed your ride and followed the guy back to his car then taken his details?
And all the virtual hard men appear! No matter what you are gonna be a tad taken aback by somone lumping you whilst put on a ride.
Who would have thought IT managers were so 'ard?
Didn't you know? All those keyboard presses builds your muscles like nothing else.
if someone punched me I'd probably say something like "Is that the best you can do ?"
I'd probably mumble that bit.
baccodaddy - Member...i,d have made him tell me where he lives and i,d have gone and bashed his dog to death with its own kennel
Hahahahahahahahahaha.
Best reply yet!
Clearly a massive over-reaction from an unhinged individual.
However.....whilst I have only ridden @ Swinley a couple of times I did think this sort of thing was bound to happen. I don't quite "get" the Swinley concept. You make a place that in all senses (except for proper hills!) feels like a trail centre with typical trail centre numbers of people riding there but then don't define specific routes or have one way tracks. People smacking into each from opposite directions just seems inevitable - given the number of riders per mile ratio of a typical weekend.
There again, its been a good few years since I bothered going so it may be different now from what I remember.
He's probably done it before and keeps getting away with it.
He'll have told his mates about it in the pub that night. He'll have bigged it up abit and wont think twice if hes in a disagreement with someone again.
I/we've never been threatened or experienced a threat whilst out on the trails. Rude sods not saying thank you so for someone to get soo unchilled in that setting it means he has a real problem.
I t-boned another riders bike once. I was in the wrong and apologised profusely/check his bike thoroughly. Even though he had a bloody nose- not once did he swing at me or become agitated.
****ed if I'd let anyone with me get hit and get away with it. Your riding buddies should always look out for each other.
Anyway- threads laboured abit.
I'm surprised you didn't smack him back and it's bad your mates didn't help. In that situation it's self defence.
It appears the other guy had punched the OP 'only' the once and then stopped. If the OP had retaliated after the other guy had stopped attacking him then I doubt it would have been regarded as reasonable force in self-defence (I guess?)