So I am going for a peddle on my treddly, through europe for around 3 months, as a solo tourist (male and not knowing how to punch my way out of a paper bag). Has anyone got any stories of physically being accosted on the road, by people who hate cyclists, or just simply think you are an easy target for stealing things off?
Im sure it happens, and as it does, do people carry with them anything for self defence (and no I am not talking about firearms...I think this was semi-recently a topic on the forum and don't reallly want to go back there) Maybe a knife, a tyre pump or simply running and adandoning your bike.
Alternatively with people who do travel solo, do they tell their loved ones that they will report back in every 3 days, as a safety net, so they know where your body may or may not be found roughly within a 300km radius???
I know I shouldnt be overly concerned, but its interesting how confident in your own country your are, and when I travel abroad, I am very open minded to anyone who will have a chat, yet quite protective of my body/wallet etc. Cause I would hate to knock back genuine help/hospitality through fear of something happening.
Damn those stories of rapists/murderes/kidnappers that remain so salient in my mind!!!!...still it won't stop me from my adventure!!!!
In the last ten years or so I can only recall hearing of one incident where cyclists were threatened with violence - I think it was couple who got mugged at gun point in eastern Turkey. I have certainly never experienced any problems of that nature myself.
Personally, I wouldn't carrry any sort of weapon - it's only likely to make a bad situation worse.
The main think that keeps you safe on a bike is looking too poor and too stupid to be worth bothering with.
well that was my idea.... unshaven, bad b.o, hopefully it rains everyday.... have you ever seen a wet roadside mugger??? ;)
Compared to the risk posed to cyclists by car drivers, the risk of getting attacked is trivial - don't worry about it.
I have been training in a Japanese martial art for the last year or so, just incidentally - hopefully I won't have to use it on the tour (except occasional training), but now I think about it, it does bring a certain peace-of-mind.
Every town i have cycled through has warned me of muggers/thieves/banditos on the roads, i used to get worried by these stories, but as has been mentioned, i'm more worried about the lorries... several months pedalling has got me fit enough so i rate myself to be able to run away from most people. i do still intend to buy and store some dollars in my seat tube though, for worst case scenarios (my guess is that thieves aren't after battered bikes)
You ask about being "physically being accosted on the road"
My worst is in Australia where I have had things thrown from speeding cars. The jelly baby from the child was OK, maybe even friendly, but the half full can of drink was potentially lethal. What is it about the usually friendly Aussies?
Eggs were common in the UK a few years ago and I sometimes get shouted at, which although it doesn't hurt can be a bit unnerving.
In nearly 30 months cycling in Asia, I can only remember a couple of times of being even slightly worried - not counting the traffic of course which is a constant threat everywhere.
Remember that on a bike you have a very good chance of getting away. Also even if in the right, don't push it - if someone cuts you up, etc let them get away with it. There are nutters out there who thrive on confrontation - don't give them the satisfaction of an arguement or worse. I like the Asian way of laughing when things go wrong.
I wouldn't set a 3 day contact home rule, cos it will start to rule your life and if you can't make it, it will worry whoever you are meant to contact. Fairly frequent, but irregular contact is much better. Leaving your 'rough' route plan is also useful. I also make sure I check in to hotels, hostel, etc with full name and home location so I could be traced if the worst happened.
Go, enjoy and don't worry.
Simon, many aussie motorists hate cyclists because they slow the traffic down. And some cyclists, usually the racers can be quite aggravating when they ride three abreast, they are so mucho, or at least that's how they come across, even to other cyclists.
I have been driven off the road in Sydney. But i was hardly in a position to do anything, even the numberplate i was trying to commit to memory went out with the fright i got from the next car that passed me shouting abuse. That was on a main road just before the centre of Sydney during peak hour, so i guess they all thought i had no right to take that way to work.
OP, I recommend you do not commit to any pre-arranged plan to make contact. Do it whenever it suits you and but you could make sure you tell them a bit about your forward movements as you plan them. Otherwise, you will have your family or whoever frantic whenever you don't make the arranged time and when you do make it on time, you will probably spend half a day or more stressing about getting to an internet cafe when really you would rather be doing something else.
Fair call on the stressing part newislander, yep, don't want to be rushing around like a headless chook looking for a inet cafe!
thanks to everyone for all the discussion points
Hi New,
Just a quickie in reply and somewhat off post.
I know about the urban drivers in Oz, I cycled in lots of your towns and cities, but my incidents were right out in the sticks on open roads. This made them all the more worrying as I had nowhere to run. It seemed to be a sort of lets have fun and see if we can hit the cyclist. Once was by a group of young guys and another time by older people, so it wasn't even an age thing . I'm sure the half full drink can morons didn't realise how dangerouse it was and that they could have easily been facing a serious injury or murder charge (maybe this is why helmets are compulsory in Oz?).
Another and somewhat similar Oz driver habit is the recycling of stubbies (small glass beer bottles) by throwing them out of the car window, usually when there is a concrete wall for them to smash against. I got to know as I was cycling in even in out of the way places that if I saw a wall coming up (eg bridge, underpass, crash barrier, etc) there would be plenty of glass around. Luckily we mainly use tins in the UK!
As I said, I love the Aussies and their general attitude (apart from Ricky Ponting of course) which is what makes this sort of behaviour all the more strange.
Having said all this, these incidents were very few and far between in 9 months of cycling.
trusted partner
