If Cyclist are being targeted, then....

Thread started by
Hippy Sippy at 10.12.10 - 7:01 pm
Stop being a target. I been reading all this about riders getting hassled by the cops, hassled by gangs, hassled by motorist, getting hassled by this and that......
I wanted to ride tonight with a group of cyclist. So here I am. I see all this rides posted that look like a lot of fun except one thing: They all involve riding late at night with plenty of riders who have cocky attitudes. Now, not everyone is like that but when we meet and we roll out, it's fucking chaos! It seems that some riddas have no street smarts. And MOST of the time, no shit goes down. And when it does, its always "Oh woe is me!". Give me a break pussies!
I been riding my bike since I was a little kid. And since then my father has always warned me "Don't treat a bike like a car. Don't trust strangers. And why would you ride somewhere were you have no business being at?". This comes from a loving father who does not ride himself. I have to explain to him that it's rad and empowering to ride to places people don't even feel like driving to, all in a collected group of same minded individuals, all in the name of living and having fun. But he does have a point.
Rides should be at all times of the day. Morning rides should motivate people to get off bed and start the day right. Evening rides are fun as hell but if you keep on riding late at night, you are more likely to meet up with shady people. These scum are up all night! They are cockroaches! People work, people have days off. Some people don't work, and maybe they want to ride too because they been looking for work all week and they got time to spare. Some people only ride and thats all they do. Some riders drink, some don't. To each their own but I say why not make a stronger bicycling presence to Los Angeles in general by being safer riddas who keep things low pro? Critical mass in not the answer. Running red lights like we own the god damn road is not the answer. Being responsible riders is the answer. We live in Los Angeles and it's not all pretty, happy shit. This town is ugly as well as beautiful. If you want to have friendly talks with the V13 gang after they pretty much told you to get the fuck out of their turf, got into it, and then had the police be as useless as they usually are and laugh at you when you needed them the most, then go ahead. That is such bull shit! These fuckers only understand a bat to the head. If you don't want to fight them and "reclaim" public property, then don't go there looking for it. Ride leaders who want to ride at night should be smarter than that. I am not saying to not go out at night in Venice or a shady neighborhood ever again, but think about were the fuck you are riding and remember that strength in numbers only goes so much as far as how street smarts those numbers are. Swarm mentality is not always the best. Stick to riding at safer times of the days, on safer streets, with safer riders, and with some fucking direction.
Now I will go out and ride tonight, in a town I know well and back before Seinfeld starts.
reply
All those.dangers yet 10s of thousands of ridazz have ridden thousands of miles in LA with no problems.
This is a DIYcommunity.
Ppl have little time for nay sayers.
You can complain about ythe selection of rides or make your own.
The rides to the right exist because people organize them and others ride them.
Organize your own ride.
Mak it rad.
Get ppl to come out.
In short
Don't complain
Make it happen
trickmilla10.12.10 - 7:28 pm
reply
I been reading all this about riders...getting hassled by this and that.
Who? WHHHOOOO? who's been getting hassled by "this and that"? TELL ME!!
Just give me five...no, no, ten minutes with this, while that watches. And then I'll just be a little spontaneous with that. Promise it will be the last time this and that mess with any ridazz again.
I didnt read the rest of your post, but thanks for bringing this to our attention.
Sgt Krumer, do you have any leads on these "this and that" characters? I want them to burn!
md210.12.10 - 7:55 pm
reply
wall of text crits you for 9001
you die.....
nug10.12.10 - 8:07 pm
reply
If you haven't read the post, people are getting hassled while riding.
Thanks for not reading my post before replying. Very original.
What the fuck is Sgt. Krumer gonna do? Ride along? Fuck the police.
Yeah, there are choices to rides on MR. There are many rides going on everyday all over. And if there are rides, then a community happens. A community is a beautiful thing. Lots of nice happens. Also, If there is a community, some shit is bound to happen. My point is that the shit happens to a community who has members who think they are the fucking indestructible, who ride aimlessly at odd hours of the night, some drunk and some just plain dumb. I seen way too many crashes, fights, and egos around here. And yeah, I don't have to go to any rides I don't want to go to. And I don't have to organize any rides. Any time I ride I only need me to pedal my bike to go to where ever I please. Riding for me has never been about a scene. It has always been about riding and going home in one piece, safe and sound, to ride another day. I have a pack of riders that I know and love, who ride quite safely. They are my close friends and we ride when we can. We don't leave each other behind, leach of each other, or fight each other. We are not punk ass bitches who don't know how to protect ourselves. We don't fight with anyone unless one of us gets into it. Then we all get into it. Maybe one day the true cyclist will come out and scream "Thy bike is holy. Respect it and all that it allows you to do!". Maybe Los Angeles will one day be a bike town.
Hippy Sippy responding to a
comment by md2
10.12.10 - 10:27 pm
reply
Yes sir. I see your point. I am a DIY kind of guy. I do commute daily with my bike and it is my transportation. But I don't need to organize rides here. This is not a progressive website. I mean this website is for shits and giggles. I been to enough rides posted here to know that. If I was to organize rides, they would not be like any other rides here. They would be organized, lawful, and with a sense of direction. And what good will that do? No one here would care. I rather stick with my kind, people that ride to live, not people that live to ride for no fucking reason.
Hippy Sippy responding to a
comment by trickmilla
10.12.10 - 10:34 pm
reply
ride for no fucking reason? really? you have been on enough rides to find that out. i want to point out the key word, which is enough and it does not mean all. if you go to party rides, well, no shit people are there to have fun, not your type of fun.i am not disputing your right to have standards/expectations, but don't lump every ride together. There is something for everyone here and If you couldn't find it, you didn't want to find it. Say what you want about the rides you *have* been on but don't come here with that generalizing bull shit.
mechazawa responding to a
comment by Hippy Sippy
10.12.10 - 10:51 pm
reply
Damn. Who are you man? WOW you've been riding your bike since you were a little kid... That's exactly the problem. People have that attitude that they have been riding since they were "little kids" and think they know everything.
Velocipede10.12.10 - 11:18 pm
reply
There are rides I have enjoyed immensely here. Too many to name. Some where party rides. They were well put and flowed nicely. They had a reason. I don't generalize all rides but I do generalize riders, and those make up the rides. When ever I see the latest trend, I tend to get disillusioned. It's taken years but I said fuck all this noise.
I know I am jaded. I've had it. Fuck it all!
Hippy Sippy responding to a
comment by mechazawa
10.12.10 - 11:30 pm
reply
Its because I been on a bike since I was a child that I hate to ride with little kids. I am an adult now I don't know everything, but I do know that Los Angeles will not accept cyclist more because of MR. I'm calling out the bull shit here. I don't aim to change it. Those cyclist will hurt themselves in due time. It only takes one second to fuck up the rest of your life. That is the real change, Velocipede.
Besides, don't worry about me no more.
Hippy Sippy responding to a
comment by Velocipede
10.12.10 - 11:37 pm
reply
You seem like you got what you wanted out of mr community, which happens. you'd be surprised how many people would agree with you. everything has an expiration date for everyone, it just means it's time to find something else that makes you happy. it seems that you have figured that out.
mechazawa responding to a
comment by Hippy Sippy
10.12.10 - 11:53 pm
reply
yawn...........does anybody know when the new batman movie is coming out?
shotgun_mike10.13.10 - 12:09 am
reply
Hippy zippy is a poor troll. Prob user1 or some other crudmudgeon who is just old and cranky.....
Foldie responding to a
comment by mechazawa
10.13.10 - 12:11 am
reply
Thanks for not reading my post before replying. Very original.
I read it. It wasn't worth reading, but I read it. Are you happy now?
PC responding to a
comment by Hippy Sippy
10.13.10 - 2:28 am
reply
Dude, If I did any shit it would be the coolest shit but I don't do shit I talk shit cause doing shit is old style shit and im on some new style shit which is TALKING shit instead of doing shit that is some futuristic 21century virtual shit! Why do it when you can say it? Fuck it ... I'm not even gonna say shit i'm just gonna think it. Zooom Weee!
trickmilla responding to a
comment by Hippy Sippy
10.13.10 - 2:56 am
reply
Hippy Sippy....what group bike rides have you been on that were posted over there-----> ??
Can you give us a "review" of sorts on your experiences on the rides?
Thanks.
barleye responding to a
comment by Hippy Sippy
10.13.10 - 8:48 am
reply
The rumor on the web is that it'll come out in 2012 with shooting in 2011. Don't know who the new batvillains will be since the script is still being worked on.
As for Hippy Sippy, I think you have some valid points about not looking for trouble but at the same time, should people just hide in fear when the sun goes down? MR aside, there are a lot of people on bikes at night either going or coming from work. Especially working class dudes that are just trying to pay the bills. These people don't have a choice about their transportation and with the economy, may have little choice in where they work. I don't want to go as far as saying that an MR rider presence makes the streets safer for all but it does, in some ways, makes drivers aware of a cycling presence at night so they can be a little more careful when driving. If people who drive at night never see a cyclist, then they won't expect them and look out for them.
And thieves will be thieves at any time of day. That's just a fact of life and an unfortunate occurrence when it happens to you. The fear of crime shouldn't be a crippling condition that doesn't allow you to go out and live.
graciela responding to a
comment by shotgun_mike
10.13.10 - 8:55 am
reply
As long as Midnight Ridazz ride leaders continue to plan for safety, as long as ridazz continue to remain open to communicate about issues that need to be addressed, and as long as everyone keeps in mind and is continually reminded of the main tenets of MR and reads the
About the Ridazz page, then we will prevail and ride on!
Joe Borfo10.13.10 - 10:43 am
reply
I was just reading that! No seriously, where is all this hate coming from? Positive vibes people. Keep it positive.
^olsko*jr7 responding to a
comment by Joe Borfo
10.13.10 - 11:00 am
reply
You're coming off in a very condescending manner. I'd much rather ride around little kids on Magna BMX bikes that actually hold their line than a bunch drunk and/or stoned teens and 20-somethings that ride like they have inner-ear infections. I always see little kids at LACM, FMLY ride, and even Ciclavia last weekend that ride better than many adults. I feel like riding in this city is still an experimental activity and very few of us (especially on this site) are any more expert at it than anyone else. Who are you to tell anyone how to ride? If you really want to teach, become a certified instructor. Or better yet, go to school, study traffic engineering, urban planning, statistics, human physiology, bio-mechanics, and psychology, get a PhD, ride your bike for about 50 years, and then write a comprehensive guide for how to safely ride your bike in Los Angeles. If you feel that your fellow riders or MR are making life so much more difficult for you, I suggest that you google "external locus of control", and work on that. I'll worry about my handlebars, and you worry about yours.
Velocipede responding to a
comment by Hippy Sippy
10.13.10 - 12:19 pm
reply
Now that's what I call a
Buuuuuuuuuuuurrrrrrrrrrrrrrnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn!!!!
Ninja biker responding to a
comment by Velocipede
10.13.10 - 1:31 pm
reply
You guys are taking this in the wrong context. Happy Sippy is confiding in us by explaining his feelings.
Happy Sippy, it sounds like you're feeling jaded and maybe a little sick of late night group rides. Perhaps your final nerve was struck and you need a break.
Remember, that's okay.
It's okay to take a break and ride alone or maybe not ride at all.
Maybe you should try smaller rides with people that have brains. (no, they aren't zombies)
Be happy, happy sippy.
imachynna10.13.10 - 5:07 pm
reply