[Closed] Leigh Woods night riding paranoia...?

Trust your instincts but dont be paranoid is my advice.
Probably a good call and no harm done
I ride loads at night on my own - the odd dog walker in random places every couple of years and doggers is all i have ever seen.

The eyes!

I heard somebody's house got ram raided last night after possibly being followed home from LW - no such thing as being too cautious these days. It's a sorry state of affairs.

Often ride up there on my own at night, never had any experiences like that. I think all of us need to continue riding up there through the winter, the more that continue to do so the more it acts as a defiant deterrent - I guess we all need to look out for each other. I know when I'm up there I'll make sure I'll give fellow bikers a nod and a hello. Funnily enough I feel a little safer riding out to LW/AC from Downend than I do driving over in the van as I'm less likely to have anyone follow me home riding!

I do usually ride with a mate or two. I am no stranger to night riding up there by myself though. Guess I just got the heebie jeebies!

Always trust your instincts. You did the right thing.

Yes better to be safe than sorry, just wouldn't want anyone getter deterred about riding up there as its a great vibe. Always good to see the trails ablaze with bike lights during the winter months 🙂

lots of groups of kids up there earlier doing walks - orienteering or summet ....

I've passed groups of kids at that spot (in day time though) quite a few times, not sure why they congregate there but there's also usually a smell of weed in the air. I figure if they're up to no good they'll probably make a grab for you first time around just in case you don't return, I would have thought they'd be hanging out near the car parks if trying to follow someone home, can't believe they're sophisticated enough to track a biker they've targeted around a big loop.

These weren't kids. I counted 4 blokes in their 20s-30s who stopped in their tracks as they heard me approach. One of them said something to the others, and they all turned their attention to me. That's what made me feel uneasy.

I'm not necessarily talking about being followed home. I take considerable precautions to avoid that these days. I'm talking about being mugged for my bike. A rare occurrence but one I'd prefer to avoid.

What sort of time was that Boxfish? I was up there at about 6.30ish - saw quite a few sets of lights but mostly all riders. I do tend to never stop apart from the time for when I took a few snaps of how murky it was last night!

I tend to take the approach 'how would I feel in this situation at 2 in the morning on a quiet industrial estate?'

If it feels 'wrong' and that the people aren't the 'right sort' or stand out then I'd feel quite happy just turning around and going back the way I came.

I ride solo 95% of the time, I think you have to just not assume 'cos you're in the woods/countryside at 9 at night that everyone you meet is going to be nice as pie and out enjoying a few cheeky trails.

Of course, the baddies will get smart eventually and start taking bikes with them so they 'fit in'...

Neil, it was around 6 when I saw those fellas.

you should mtfu then 😉

you did what felt right, you still got a ride and you've not lost out so why worry?

I've got 5 or 6 different routes home - all of which take in a mix of road, technical and backstreets/1 way sections so it becomes very hard to get a follow home. I think that's probably the safest thing up at LW/AC - but you're definitely right to trust your instincts I reckon.

You're always going to find groups of lads having a cheeky smoke up the woods anywhere you ride, but as you've described these as a bit older than the average teen stoners, I reckon you are right to be concerned.

Riding up there tonight with a few mates - cheers for the heads up, will keep a beady eye out.

🙂

I'm not worrying.

Bravado is all well and good until you get the sh*t kicked out of you. 😀

[i]Sometimes, things don't feel right. Am I paranoid? Probably, but having had bikes stolen, I decided to follow my instincts (RUN AWAY!) [/i]

sounded a bit like you had a small bit of worry going on?

Last time I was riding up there on my own after dark, I was thinking about the tales of people being followed home from AC and wondering how long it would be before folks were being mugged at night for their bikes. Only a matter of time, I reckon...

Last time I was riding up there on my own after dark, I was thinking about the tales of people being followed home from AC and wondering how long it would be before folks were being mugged at night for their bikes. Only a matter of time, I reckon...

It's already been attempted hasn't it, about 6 years ago. I dare say its happened since also. Pretty sh1tty state of affairs really,

I once encountered a large group of youths hanging around in the middle of Lordswood - they told me that my bike was sh1t. 😳

As for LW, I'll keep my eyes peeled.

I had a large group by the picnic benches in LW shout "ere mate". Obviously I put the hammer down and promptly buggered off to ashton court after that 🙁

Riden through a few "traps" and managed to only just get away with my bike. I love Bristol but it's getting beyond a joke now 🙁

Garylake - how do you mean traps?
What sort of thing?

Well there is only one thing for it!
Bar mounted Tazer, pepper spray and an Axe in your Camelbak.
That's 3 things 🙂

wordnumb: as in in waiting hidden in side roads and making a grab for you as ride past.

Started happening a couple of Mondays on the trot right outside where I lived. Used to be a group ride I went on, same time every monday, they were there 3 Mondays on the trot before I started driving up. Call me paranoid but I felt a bit targeted in that instance.

Hi, everyone, I don't post much on here, just read, but I walk the dogs and ride in this spot most evenings and there is definatley alot more undesireable looking people around.

I dont know if anyone else has had any experience of a simillar car, or seen it acting suspiciously, but I had an orange/ metallic gold Peugeout hatchback (possible 206/306 maybe cabriolet)try to ram me head on, in the lane into the small car park a couple of weeks back. I know he tried to ram me as the ****er carreered onto the grass verge to try to hit me and then stopped to see if I had come off, but alas I was gone. I've seen what I think is the same car parked up at the golf course car park nearby where the cafe has opened.

Also, another dubious spot to be aware of is the path up from Paradise bottom to the main car park. About half way up the path splits to the left and heads down to the toe path by the river. I've seen a couple of guys stood around this area before and they took a bit much of an interest in my bike than the average walker/ badger watcher.

Oh yes and another thing we can all do to lower the level of paranoia, is to keep the pathways clear, if a group of you do decide to stop for a chinwag or drink, it can be pretty off putting to see 4 or 5 + men blocking the paths with bikes when you approach. In fact, for someone else to have to stop and say "excuse me please, can you move your bike" is taking the piss. That happened to me in in the summer on a light evening. If it happens on a dark evening, i'm not stopping and going to crash through the middle.

There must be a way though, to ensure people's safety up there and Ashton Court.

where is this leigh woods? sounds well dangerous!!

I think we've just found Stickman's car then.

yeah was up there last night with a mate, the mist was well scary, not sure i'd have gone on my own last night - normally its ok

I'm a LW/AC regular who got their bike robbed from their house last Friday
[url= http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/stolen-orange-blood-nicked-from-bristol ]Orange Blood nicked[/url]

The police were dead sure that I will have been followed back from the woods at some point, maybe even the night before.

I'm not sure you can be too paranoid at the moment - if it looks/feels dodgy, trust your instincts.

Oh yes and another thing we can all do to lower the level of paranoia, is to keep the pathways clear, if a group of you do decide to stop for a chinwag or drink

Oh and just to be clear - I never, ever drive to the trails, so if I was followed it will have been via bike

I think we've just found Stickman's car then.

We're pretty sure Stickman is the grumpy old git who lives in the house on the fireroad, with a silver Merc.

He tried to mow down one of our group a month or so ago, and when we stopped him, he went into a mental old boy tirade, including coming out with the gem "don't argue with me!". One of our crew put it to him that we think he is the one putting sticks & logs over trails - he blustered a bit and stormed inside.

For what it's worth, the Avon and Somerset Police local Beat Manager will soon be aware of the issue... please post locations of ne'er-do-well hangouts here and I'll pass them on.

It's around this time of year as well, when the woods will be crawling (well there will be a few) with magic mushroom pickers, lets hope the pickers dont arrive by bike, because that could cause some serious paranoia whilst "tripping the light fandago"

Was i the only person who thought this thread was going to be about the giant vampire spider werewolves that only come out into the woods on night rides?

boxfish - Member
These weren't kids. I counted 4 blokes in their 20s-30s who stopped in their tracks as they heard me approach. One of them said something to the others, and they all turned their attention to me. That's what made me feel uneasy.

boxfish - Member
I'm not worrying.

Bravado is all well and good until you get the sh*t kicked out of you.

...or you get rogered senseless.

A group of 20s-30s blokes with an unhealthy interest in other people's bikes and no signs of actually having ridden anywhere? That was probably us. 😉

I'm aware of one attempt to actually steal someone's bike from them on the trail (the one Alexathome describes above), but there are plenty of reports of people being tailed home. For that reason alone it's a good idea to keep an eye out for anything suspicious.

There was a report today on the [url=www.facebook.com/stolenbristolbikes]Stolen Bristol Bikes FB page[/url] of someone being followed home by a small silver hatchback, possibly a Peugeot. They broke into his garage and then, realising the bikes weren't there, the thieves kicked his front door in (possibly the "ram raiding" referred to above - I'm not aware of anyone actually driving a car into someone's house to gain entry) Unfortunately he didn't wake up and they were able to nick his bike.

I'm led to believe that such activities take place on the [i]other[/i] side of the Avon Gorge. 😯

GaryLake - if I could keep up with you, I'd offer to ride with you as some sort of deterrent.

Is there a Deal Extreme high power light / taser combination yet?

I'll be riding there later, about 6:00pm till I'm tired. I'll keep my eyes open and look forward to the tail home, I'm going quite a way and I bet they don't keep up...!

Just read the report about that robbery in Downend, poor b*stard

if I could keep up with you, I'd offer to ride with you as some sort of deterrent.

It's if they catch me at the end of laying down a bitching Strava segment that worries me</tongue-in-cheek>

Not really sure what else you can do? I don't expect forming a big lynch mob and tackling every group of people you find in LW that don't look like cyclists is going to help… 😐

I'd love to pwn some bike thieves with some Bombers, but unfortunately they got nicked last Friday 😉

We've got to ask ourselves how we came to be in a situation where thieves are going out of their way to specifically steal push-bikes.

Perhaps it's something to do with their high resale value, their relative anonymity, the infinitely renewing supply created by insurance claims, and the no-questions-asked second hand market? 😕

Perhaps it's something to do with their high resale value, their relative anonymity, the infinitely renewing supply created by insurance claims, and the no-questions-asked second hand market?

+1

Perhaps it's also the criminal justice system not taking it seriously,

1) coppers who can't be bothered to do even the minimum to investigate / follow up other people's invetigations (yes, I know they're not all bad, but I're read more reports of CBA coppering than diligent ones)

2) Lack of any significant punishment when they do get caught - tbh I can understand why the average flatfoot doesn't want the hassle and paperwork of nicking a bike thief when the local beak treats it as "just a nicked bike" and hands down derisory non-punishments in so many cases.

What other form of easily transported, small, easily sold on commodity with a retail value of several thousand pounds could the average scrote easily nick in the knowledge that there's hardly any chance they'll be caught and, if they do get caught, there's virtually no risk of any meaningful punishment anyway?

i find listening to my i-pod when on solo night rides helps with the paranoia

Talking to the coppers in Bristol who deal with bike crime, it seems there are a few issues. The system that police use to record crimes is antiquated and the idea that a bike can cost more than £100 is quite alien to some. Of course you're not necessarily going to know how much a bike is worth just by looking at it unless you have some background knowledge, it's like any other specialist hobby. However they are starting to treat it as a serious issue.

If you feel the local police are neglecting bike theft then you can go along to your area's [url=www.avonandsomerset.police.uk/LocalPages/SSN/PACT.aspx]PACT meeting[/url] and get it added to their priorities.

The sentencing thing is a bit more vexed. Part of me thinks it would be great to get all the thieves off the streets and locked up in a big box, but when even the justice secretary is arguing against harsher custodial sentences ([url= http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2011/may/10/reoffending-rates-short-jail-terms ]and he might well have a point[/url]) then it's not that straightforward.

Like everything, it's more complicated than it looks. But I'd certainly point to a ready buyer's market and the easy anonymous fencing possibilities of the internet as one of the reasons that bike theft isn't going away.

I say cut off their hands, they wouldn't even be able to mug you and ride off that way...

Was i the only person who thought this thread was going to be about the giant vampire spider werewolves that only come out into the woods on night rides?

Weredeer are the real nasty beasties. Whoever heard of vampire spider werewolves?

get all the thieves off the streets and locked up in a big box

.......which is then slowly filled with water.

Seriously though - some very good points re: the "blind eye" sometimes turned by people when they see ridiculously low second hand prices.

Shame there's not a local copper like that one on the South coast (was it MBR that ran the feature?) who took in on himself to really go in and investigate, and smashed that massive theft ring.

Just to add, no one in the woods at all tonight, except for loads of riders! I still hit 120mph on the way home just to be sure I wasn't being tailed...

It was wasn't half warm out tonight! Didn't go into LW but to the road bike out and was sweating my tits of in a autumn LS jersey.
It was a brother of my wife's friend that was ram raided in Staple Hill for his bikes on Monday night. Apparently he was followed home from LW at the weekend. Not good.

Bloody cold up there today!

Bloody cold up there today!

Looks nice though.

I'm on nights this weekend, so no biking for me. 🙁

Fifty Acre was very pretty.

The system that police use to record crimes is antiquated and the idea that a bike can cost more than £100 is quite alien to some. Of course you're not necessarily going to know how much a bike is worth just by looking at it unless you have some background knowledge, it's like any other specialist hobby. However they are starting to treat it as a serious issue.

good to know that the wealthier the victim, the more serious the issue.. 😆

I had my door smashed in lastnight about a week after they had a go at my Asgard. I did wake up and they knew I was in the hallway but despite this - they carried on smashing! Luckily for me the house alarm was on which alerts the police so they scarpered. I'm not even sure what they are after since my bike is not really worth much being quite a few years old.
I got a look at them through my smashed door, there were 3 males - one of them wearing a light coloured hoodie. These people are prepared to take more risk given the aggregated nature of my incident and others.

hope they catch the f*ckers goyawave 🙁

Mine was an Asgard that got broken into last week - my pet theory is that they target Asgard sheds as they must reckon something valuable's inside.

They definitely went at my Asgard with a plan and some proper tools - there have been 3 done over in Bristol in the last week to my knowledge.

Sorry to read about your ride fuzzhead.

I'd be interested to know which part of your shed failed first? However, I'd rather not discuss it openly because we shouldn't create the idiots guide to breaking into sheds. Ultimately they timed out on mine thanks to my neighbours.,

The tinnier bike sheds around my area appear to have not been targeted.

By the way, Asgard have been great with providing space parts.

Does anybody know if there is an open group type thing for riders to turn up and ride at AC/LW at night?
I wouldn't mind giving a night ride a go but have nobody to ride with and reading this post is putting me off. If there was an organised meet time / place for people to turn up then I would give it a go.

Wave jumper, if you live near portishead / Nailsea a group of us often do AC/LW and finish off with a pint in the lack horse Clevedon. Look up gordano bike on Facebook.

theres also bristol mountain bike club (tues/thurs) and cheesy riders (mon/wed iirc)

OK thanks. Unfortunately I don't like near portishead / Nailsea but more north of the city centre.
I might look up the MBC or cheesy riders. Are they open (and friendly) to new members and how much does it cost to join?
Might have to give that a go as I don't fancy it on my own for my 1st attempt at night riding.

Wavejumper - I live about 15 mins ride from LW/AC and try to get up there a couple of evenings a week for a spin. My email is in my profile, drop me a line if you'd like to arrange something.

Generally can't get out for the BMBC/CR ones as they start about 6:30 which is a bit too early for me to get home from work and then back out - 7:30 onwards is a bit more realistic.

🙂

They broke into his garage and then, realising the bikes weren't there, the thieves kicked his front door in (possibly the "ram raiding" referred to above - I'm not aware of anyone actually driving a car into someone's house to gain entry)

My brother in law lived in Ham Green in a house with an integral garage. Thieves ram-raided the garage door to get at his bike...which was a cheap commuter. They dumped it in a hedge.

Cheesy Rides tend to be Mondays 7pm and Saturdays 11am lately. Drop me a note if you fancy a ride, I'll let you know what's on and let them know to expect you.

Ransos, sounds like a nasty business. And more proof if it were needed that you can never underestimate the stupidity of bike thieves.

Trust you instincts +1

Or

Be the one thats scary