Comments on: Pop a round at a cyclist, get four months.

By: Basin taps

Basin taps — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 06:41:03 +0000

Just added a link to your site from mine, great blog.

By: armedcyclist

armedcyclist — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 04:08:45 +0000

It actually fits quite comfortably in a soft holster in the center pocket of my jersey. I have been riding on the road since I was 13 (22 years) and I have my share of brush-bys, yelling, honking..etc. Maybe I am older/more carefull now, but I have noticed in the last few years it has become considerably more dangerous. A few years ago I had 3 rides in a row with situations, 1. pickup truck with out of state plates, passenger swings his hand near my head and yells “nice tights fag” 2. the next day riding on a well traveled road with a wide (3-4ft) shoulder, a red CBR1000 comes from behind swerves in next to me, pulles in the clutch and revves the shit out of it…loud, fast and close (under 6″). I had heart palpitations the rest of the way home, it was the closest to death I have ever come. 3. A few days later a Jeep Cherokee full of high school kids comes by tires squealing, with a coke can flying out of the window towards me. I reported it to the police each time, with pretty good descriptions and nothing has happened (that I know of). Believe me, I have kids and I would never ever pull a weapon on someone unless my life or my family’s life was in danger. I can talk a dog off of a meat wagon, and beleive me I would try all angles before doing something as life changing and drastic as using a weapon…but it is a fucked up world out there and you just never know.

By: pirata

pirata — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 05:38:51 +0000

Doing a really quick search, looks like the Kel-Tec PF-9 could be a good contender for the light weight category at 411 grams…loaded…but then if you are going to carry, probably not the department to skimp out on weight, so I have to agree with armedcyclist and the choice for the .40 cal. That is a good demotivator I would venture.

I agree the gun is a great deterrent, but that is where it gets sticky. Do you pull your gun at the first sign of any possible trouble? If so, then you could take what is actually a minor situation and make it much worse for yourself. On the flipside, if you wait, by the time you realize the gravity of the situation you will probably already have lost your window of opportunity to defend yourself.

I suspect that someone with bad intentions would probably be fairly quick to show a gun if they have it. This dilema is perhaps where having a highly visible gun would be the best deterrent, kind of like the audible/visible warnings you get from a rattlesnake. You don’t have to guess what you are dealing with, and as a result, most creatures will choose to stay away.
Criminals and assholes both seem to be opportunistic like that, won’t go making trouble where they don’t know if they have the advantage, at least not if they are at all smart.

armedcyclist – how do you carry that thing when you ride?

By: armedcyclist

armedcyclist — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 02:21:03 +0000

I understand people’s opposition to being armed while riding, but In defense: 1. I only carry on solo rides 2. I am licenced to carry a concealed firearm 3. I practice situational use with the firearm on a regular basis 4. and MOST IMPORTANTLY…it is my CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHT to carry my firearm…on a bike or not. As for the weight issue, like a steel singlespeed roadmachine I carry a S&W .40 w/ 190gr hollowpoints…. 15 of em’. Not light, but smooth and effective.

By: Gnome

Gnome — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 15:46:50 +0000

Contador created his own resin_based two-shot ala Malkovich. 343g.

By: bikesgonewild

bikesgonewild — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 10:58:50 +0000

…colonelsandersretired…re: que ???…

…”The Good Roads Movement occurred in the United States between 1880 and 1916. Advocates for improved roads led by bicyclists turned local agitation into a national political movement…
…Outside cities, roads were dirt or gravel; mud in the winter and dust in the summer.”…beyond that info, use your imagination…

By: danimal

danimal — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 05:30:15 +0000

Oh this could turn into an awesome cycling debate as to what gun saves the most weight for gnarly climbs.

“I hear Schleck is carrying a SpecialOps 330 carbon-ceramic .45 with high-density plastic shell casings, and with only 4 bullets it weighs a measly 412.4 grams!”

“And Phil, what’s contador carrying today?”

Anyone?

By: mikey

mikey — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 05:10:09 +0000

Don’t be a retard. I paid about $1000 to lose that last three pounds of bike weight and I’m not going to climb with a .45 ACP strapped to my sweaty back. Or what, you’re gonna just put two rounds in the clip to save 12 ounces? You guys need to keep your priorities straight here.

By: mattchew

mattchew — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 04:06:59 +0000

did he fire from inside the car? they could have gotten him on § 13-1209(A):

A. A person commits drive by shooting by intentionally discharging a weapon from a motor vehicle at a person, another occupied motor vehicle or an occupied structure.

that’s a class 2 felony. douche wouldn’t have been able to own a gun legally after a conviction on that one.

By: 3rd place

3rd place — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 03:50:48 +0000

Like Grandpa McCain says – it takes a ‘cool hand’ and in the case of being armed and facing someone angry, a person armed *usually* has a little more restraint. Only a suicidal idiot pulls a gun on someone who is armed. If you shoot, that means you’re probably going to get shot at in return. It is a micro-economic arms race, and it works. The gun is either one of two things: A: a deterrent to being a victim, or
B: the ability to defend oneself against an armed assailant. The bottom line is this: If you do not have a gun, and someone with bad intent toward you does, you have no leverage in the matter.

By: Gnome

Gnome — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 03:42:44 +0000

Lance Armstrong and the Doping Clown blows most doors off @ 112 comments. I think there are a few others with more but I doubt they are any better. Big Kitchen might now.

By: pirata

pirata — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 03:17:43 +0000

littlejar – I recall seeing a few posts go in excess of 100, think the election fueled a few of them. probably too much agreement, in general on this one.

Maybe I can spark a little more debate.

Will carrying a gun really make you feel safer on a bike ride? Not really for me. I fear the driver that in an inattentive moment gets just a little too close as they pass. That scares the shit outta me. No bullets going to stop that. How many cyclists have been killed by gunshots/stabbings/assaults? How many just run over by some texting/drunk/careless dumbfuck? Just don’t see guns doing much to decrease the cyclist mortality rate. In fact, it may increase it. Probably safe to say guns don’t mix well with 1) stupid people 2) alcohol 3) anger/rage.

I’m all for guns (ask Mikey) but think they have a place, and that probably isn’t strapped next to your Gu packs. There are certainly exceptions to that, but I’ll contend they are the minority.

What are you going to do, be the first to draw anytime a confrontation arises? I am sure the law would love that–lycra clad douchebags flashing iron. We have seen how balanced the law has been with motorists/cyclist confrontations historically.

If you already have a gun pulled in your face you probably aren’t going to go reaching for yours, unless you have been seriously practicing your old west quick draw and feel quite lucky.

I have known two specifics incidents where guns were pulled on cyclists. Both ended without injury and both resulted in prosecutions/convictions. Adding an armed cyclist to either of these situations would certainly not have made things any better than they turned out.

This is something I have personally given some consideration to, carrying while riding, particularly when I used to commute across Tucson and was notified I was riding through some sketchy areas. Again after encountering some pretty spooky folks out in the middle of the desert while mountainbiking alone on a few occasions. Ultimately, for various reasons, I opted not to.

And after many years of riding in all sorts of terrain, I have yet to have an encounter where a gun would have made things turn out better for me. (other than the satisfaction of making somebody shit their pants after pulling a jackass move–and ultimately I probably couldn’t feel good about that either)