Owings Mills to Hampden
I commute in part because I, like most of you, enjoy the “little adventures” that go along with it. Yesterday had a couple of nutty back to back incidents I thought I’d share.
Not more than a mile from my work in Owings Mills there is a new bridge being built. The deck is finished, but the paving, lighting and other little details are not. It is a bonus for me because I can ride it without the normal auto annoyances. Often I see skateboarders there. Yesterday there was a little boy (maybe 8 years old) and his mom. He had a helmet on and a bike nearby. As I neared them and announced “good evening”, the little boy looked at me and said, “We know you”. It startled me and I stopped. I looked at the mom and she smiled. I looked back at her son, careful to keep my helmet light out of his eyes, but with all three of my rear blinkies flashing like a police cruiser. “How do you know me?”, I asked him. “We live up there”, he said, pointing to the nearby townhouses. “We see your lights and your bicycle every night. It’s great.” My heart went soft.
His mom said, “Now, you’ve got some competition.” I smiled. “I like that!”, I said. “More bikes, more bikes.” ”Yeah” the little boy shouted. I wished them my best and rode off, filled with appreciation.
Twenty minutes later I’m fast cruising down a long flat stretch of Winands rd near McDonough. A car from a side street to my right is waiting to pull out. I notice the driver, high school age and his buddies. They wait for me to pass, but as roll past they give me a blast from their horn. Hmm… annoying, but harmless. I wait at the red light ahead figuring they’re somewhere behind me in line. Light changes and I shoot through the intersection. Several cars pass then I can tell there’s one hanging back, matching my speed and slightly behind me. It’s obviously them. They nudge forward to about a 10 o’clock position on my left no more than 10ft. away. I glance over and the kid in the passenger seat is staring me down making a sinister laugh. His arm comes up and whoosh- a big gulp cup comes at my head. I managed to duck the cup and to stay upright. Luckily. They gun the engine and are gone.
A piece of me thought about a chase (they got slowed down by another car up ahead), but I decided to let it be. It took a few miles, but by the time I got into Hampden I was all better. Hell, I might’ve done something like that when I was their age. Plus I think I was partially inoculated from the attack by my nice encounter with the boy on the bridge. I know one thing for sure: I’ll be thinking about that young boy, possibly watching my flashing lights go by, from a nearby window for many commutes to come.
Ride on. -Bob
11 comments
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03.26.10 at 11:33 am
blackeye
I had a little adventure on my commute home last night. Some kid punched me in the face as I approached the light at Ellerslie Avenue and East 33rd Street in Waverly. From talking to the little kids that helped me recover, I gathered that this was not the first incident in the area recently. I ride through there twice a day and hadn’t had any problems before, although I’m always wary of groups of juveniles. This kid caught me by surprise, though, because he looked so young. Anyway, just thought I’d put the word out to be extra careful for anyone who rides in this area. I think that as it gets warmer, these incidents are likely to increase.
03.26.10 at 3:52 pm
Johnny
Sorry to hear about both of you gents’ run-ins.
But the story of the little guy watching the bike lights, frankly, tickles me beyond measure.
03.28.10 at 11:12 am
dukiebiddle
blackeye, yeah, I got attacked yesterday afternoon on Guilford below 22nd in front of the parole office by a group of teens demanding my bike. They seemed 14ish, which I consider the most dangerous age for clusters of young males. I was able to cut and mash around them with about a tenth of a second to spare and a missed swing at my head. Luckily, they weren’t smart enough to push me over, because they were close enough. I could hear them laughing for blocks.
I can’t say I’m as altruistic as greaterbrown about this behavior. I was a pretty bad kid at 14, but I didn’t ever engage in sadistic behavior. I’m still hoping those kids eventually bite off more than they can chew before they breed or become Alphas. Maybe in a couple of days I’ll be a little less vengeful in my thoughts, but I doubt it.
03.28.10 at 4:56 pm
Nate
blackeye/dukie – can you post the specifics of the attacks (date, time of day, # of kids, if the bike was stolen)? I track attacks on cyclists for DOT.
33rd & Ellerslie is famous for these attacks, but this is the 1st on Guilford I’ve heard of – not good for our future bike boulevard.
03.28.10 at 5:19 pm
dukiebiddle
Nate – I think it was early afternoon, like maybe 1 pm? Saturday, March 27th. Right in front of the Maryland parole office. 3 kids, approximately 14 years of age. I wasn’t caught and the bike was not stolen. It wasn’t planned or coordinated attack on their part. They were walking in the middle of the street 15 yards ahead of me, one called out “Yo, give me your bike, Bitch!” I sort of pulled a corner route to the other side of the street and mashed while they reversed, ran parallel and closed from ahead on my right. The fastest one got close enough to take a swing at my head but missed.
03.29.10 at 11:06 am
blackeye
Sorry to hear about your incident, dukie. Unlike Nate, I have heard of cyclists being harassed/attacked on Guilford (although not often). I don’t consider it a particularly safe road, and I doubt I would choose to ride it if it weren’t so convenient and relatively car-free. After all, it goes right through Barclay, a known center of gang activity in the recent past. There was even a recent suspected gang-related murder right off Guilford in the 2600 Block of Calvert, so it’s quite probable that gang activity is still present in the area. Cyclists are easy marks for gang initiation attacks as well as just random violence from restless youth, so the further we stay from their territory the better chance we have of not being messed with.
As for my attack, it happened around 6 PM on Thursday, the 25th. Single juvenile, maybe 12 or 13 at most. He walked into the street from the sidewalk, sucker punched me as I rode past, then ran off. There were other kids around but they were all younger and some of them helped me after I was hit. They were upset about the incident. My bike wasn’t stolen, and nothing else was taken. I consider myself lucky, relatively speaking.
03.29.10 at 12:56 pm
dukiebiddle
My kids didn’t look like little bangers to me. At least not yet. They were just little shitheads. I think in the future I’m going to be weary of using that route during hours when school is out of session.
03.29.10 at 12:58 pm
dukiebiddle
weary= leery. Grrrr, I hate that I still make that mistake sometimes.03.29.10 at 1:00 pm
blackeye
In this case, I think both words could apply.
04.03.10 at 6:12 pm
Tweets that mention Ups and Downs of the Commute « NORTH BALTIMORE BIKE BRIGADE -- Topsy.com
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Gordon Steen, Gordon Steen. Gordon Steen said: Bike weather means be careful weather, stay away from Ellerslie Avenue and East 33rd Street in Waverly http://bit.ly/9ZdXOE [...]
05.07.10 at 11:54 am
Close Call
I narrowly avoided getting jumped for my bike and valuables in broad day light,+ riding up Pratt, nonetheless!!! After crossing Light St a group of at least 10 kids (thinking around 14) started looking at my bike and wanted to check it out. I had to stop in front of the Hilton on Pratt and Greene and had to bring my bike into the hotel after the concierge’s wouldn’t do anything to help me in the situation. They started asking me what kind of watch I was wearing, etc. Be careful of your surroundings and stay safe!