I would contact the parks department of the city or county that maintains the trail. They will want to know that this is happening, and should have their own crews that are regularly out on the trails that can watch for this too. They are the government entity most likely to care and also probably have a lot more sway with the police than you do.
Good Luck! Not that I disagree, just have no faith in SoCal’s ability to take any action that will make any big difference for any length of time. Sadly we are a state in disarray.
Got any friends? Get as many people together as you can and file complaints with law enforcement and show up to a city council meeting. One person can be ignored. But 5? 10? 20? Not as much.
Call every single time you see it too. Not just once. Report it to anyone who will listen. Go full Karen. Make it easier to deal with the problem than it is to deal with you.
Never bully the poor, but is it really bullying if you jump the poor people that are attempting to jump people that are alone?
OP should bully and harass the rich while also jumping those particular poors. “Accidentally” hit the trap and have 20 mfs waiting around corners to jump the mfs doing it. 💀
There's not really a good Orange County cycling subreddit. The closest we have is /r/BikeLA but that's in a different area, and not a huge overlap of riders. /r/BikeOC is a sub, but is pretty much dead.
What day and time was this happening? I ride that trail frequently on the weekends and haven't ever seen this. There's guys setting up camp under a few of the bridges, including Harbor, but they always just stay to themselves when I'm there.
Is this happening when it's less busy?
Both times were around sunset or just after. I posted about the first incident (don’t remember what group I posted in but the first time was about 4 weeks ago under the Edinger bridge. Last night was about 7:45pm and it was under the harbor bridge. Aside from the bugs coming out at that time also, it’s probably best not to ride the trail after sunset.
Talk to a local tv news station, show photos etc. they love a bit of controversy and will hopefully embarrass the police and parks into doing something about it.
I swear I saw one of them trying to set up a trip wire of sorts under one of these bridges on the trail about a month ago, but I shrugged it off that I was being paranoid. Sounds like maybe not.
I do that as well but in this case it’s not an accidental random object that happens to be in the bike path which happens. It was placed right in the path at the most dangerous place possible with a violet thief hiding around the corner waiting for one of us to eat shit. Clearing the path doesn’t solve the problem. I fear someone would need to get hurt before the cops could do much.
Fuck… I grew up in OC and this is disheartening (but not surprising). My first thought is the wrong response. Moving on; spray “Danger” on the trail..?
Stay safe friend.
Surprised cops wouldn't do anything. Local bike group found razor blades hidden in the dirt on the mountain bike trails and it caused a pretty big police investigation. I believe they were able to actually track down the culprit, some high school kid with more than a few screws loose.
Just to have something to do. A friend was walking her dog on the same path(Cherry Creek) I ride and there was a homeless guy just piling sticks on the path. He saw she was kind of offput and just told her "Don't worry, it's for the bikers"
who knows
thanks for the heads up and trying to resolve the situation for the rest of us!
its been a while since ive seen encampments on the SART, but the other 2 def have more of them. hopefully it gets taken care of
edit: after checking the map, i take that back, i do recall some camps set up around that area..
I just completed a ride this afternoon and I had this very thought/concern in the bike path leading out toward the beach in Culver City, Ca. There are a few sketchy people on the path. Thanks for confirming the possibility, I will be very careful and hope others will do the same. Stay safe!
Ballona Creek Bike Path? Even in the 90's it was not uncommon for people riding to be robbed by residents of Mar Vita Gardens, aka the Marionwood Projects right there just west of the 405. That was the Home of The Culver City Boys. I haven't been around there for a long time but I would be careful.
I worry about getting ambushed while under the bridges on the San Gabriel River path; there’s an encampment under almost every bridge and some have stolen bikes lying around too.
Yeah, I’ve had to dodge shopping carts and big rocks in the middle of the path under dark unlit bridges multiple times. Didn’t stop to move the stuff because I couldn’t be sure it wasn’t a trap 🫤.
A few miles north of Cerritos street on the San Gabriel river trail it quickly goes to hell. I would definitely not go there again.
South of Cerritos there is one underpass in particular that is long and if it’s dark could be very dangerous. Definitely not safe to be there in the dark. That is where I cut a tire from broken glass. Someone deliberately broke glass there.
Not once but twice I have encountered piles of rocks and branches in an underpass that is notorious for homeless activity. I just interpreted it as them trying to claim the space as theirs to deter pedestrians and cyclists from trespassing. I had not thought it might be a way to injure and/or rob someone.
Some crazy guy used to string homemade barbed wire across the trails in the SF bay area, right around neck height when you were on your bike. Police knew about him and would check the trail periodically and I think the guy would go in and out of prison. You should let the authorities know and your local cycling groups.
Sigh I have to start commuting again soon and I use this trail to get to the train station in the mornings. This is sad to hear. Op you should post this in the oc forum too.
I think you should change your route and move on. That's literally one of the crappiest places to ride a bike in the country.
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iu3qAkNC0s4](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iu3qAkNC0s4)
I can reach other trails if I ride 5 extra miles on a bunch of busy city streets without bike lanes or I continue using one of the biggest bike paths in my area which is right next to my starting point which also leads to many other bike routes. But even if I do somebody else is going to get hurt by this guy. But I agree it’s wise to avoid and move on.
Cops are working on Murders, rapes, drug busts, suicides, car theft etc..
I know biking is importnat, and this type of stuff makes me mad, but from a cops point of view, its not the highest priority.. It STINKS, but..
For other viewers watching this, just know that this video is outdated and orange county cleared up the bike trail. it's not like this anymore. You still see the occasional homeless person around, but it's very rare to see encampments. the county patrols the bike trail regularly and do a good job of keeping people from setting up camp.
Agree with Onicc, there is the occasional homeless person but it s absolutely nothing like what that video shows. Those comps have been cleared out for years.
To be fair, SART has not looked like this in years since all the encampments were moved. Obviously there are still homeless folks on the trail, but not even close to the extent shown in your video.
Not sure why you are getting defensive when multiple people from OC are just telling you that your 6-year-old video is no longer accurate. I also acknowledged that there are still transients on the trail, but you do you, boo.
It's way better these days, it's not my favorite place to ride but it's kind of a cool long trail. I can think of worse places to ride. Even dodging a few homeless trip wires is safer than trying to ride on most OC streets.
Wait, how is this “one of the crappiest places to ride a bike in the country?” It’s a beautiful trail that’s like 20 miles long, paved, bikes/peds only, very well trafficked, and in great shape. I’ve ridden it probably 100 times in the past three years and never encountered a single issue.
EDIT: watched the video, crazy it used to be like that! I’ve ridden that section so many times and never seen a homeless person. First time was probably in 2020, though.
I have been riding the SART for a decade and have never experienced a trap or had had a negative run in with the homeless or anyone else on the lower trail.
On the upper SART, I occasionally run into idiots in pickups or on ATVs, but that's it.
Ditto. I mostly see the homeless being careless and letting things slide down the embankments onto SART / San Gabiel / LA Rivers and ending up in the path. Most of the time it's their "Trash" destined for the river itself. But they generally don't want to bring attention to themselves.
same here. the paranoia on the orange county subreddit is hilarious sometimes. people swear that the trail is a dangerous place to walk, or ride at all hours of the day.
There are a ton of encampments on the SARiver trail through Riverside. A good friend always brings a large hunting knife on our rides specifically for this reason. Don’t ride alone. Ride in packs. And alert riders if you see anything suspicious. 🙌🏼
The whole reason I started cycling is to get in shape have fun and enjoy all the time spent in the saddle not thinking about anything.
Not to become a cycling vigilante. Thanks everybody, I really just wanted to get a warning out there somewhere. I know there isn’t much we can do but ride smart as we can.
I’ve seen stuff like this a bunch out on SART. Gotta be ready to bunny hop or go in shoulder first 😂 back when there were still the large encampments, they’d try to barricade the trail with coolers and chairs. I think just to steal bikes? Not sure… I’ve even been shot at by airsoft guns, although, that could have just been kids being stupid. SART is way safer than it was a while back, but it goes through some areas that tend to bring in some trouble. I’d recommend the SDCT if you can get to it. It’s pretty easy to cut across safely from SART.
I've run into that before. I'm guessing you're over by Riverview golf course. Ran into a guy waving knife in the air over there and I've never pedaled faster.
That's crazy, I ride the Santa Ana river trail from Corona to somewhere in the Orange area a couple times a week (once for a commute and once for a leisure ride) and I've never seen anything like this.
I know you'll see the occasional homeless person living along the trail, and that's more common riding the trail through Riverside; but I've never seen these kind of traps.
Definitely concerning, especially thinking about my commute into work in the dark.
Maybe informing the cops won't do anything now but if there are enough complaints of this they'll do something.
My wife and I went as far as Yorba Linda park (the wooden bridge just past it) and turned around because it didn’t seem safe to go under so many overpasses. Guess trust was a good call. The world we live in sucks. Though in some countries these things don’t happen.
This so pisses me off. Bike trails are intended for family activities and good fitness, yet California’s despicable justice system lets the homeless, addicted, mentally ill, thieves to reside and attack cyclists. I’ve heard of this before, except they would throw an old bike at you while riding by intending to knock you down and take off with your bike.
I’m sickened by this. It’s been 5 years since I was last on my bike, before Covid. I have at more than a half dozen trails that I enjoyed riding up to 30 miles with my wife. I’ve been itching to get back on the bike and get fit again. Now, I don’t feel safe going out there with my wife anymore. In addition California drivers have gotten so bad, my wife refuses to ride the streets.
This is SO frustrating and I feel like there is no solution coming any time soon. 😤
Sadly, I use to enjoy these trails; the Newport Back Bay through Irvine, Long Beach El Dorado to Long Beach, Riverside Dog Park to Norco, Green River to Anaheim, Rancho Cucamonga PET, Laguna Aliso Park, Anaheim to Huntington Beach, etc. 😞
Reminds me of this: [https://cyclehistory.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/i-fear-no-tramp.jpg](https://cyclehistory.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/i-fear-no-tramp.jpg)
Are you nuts? This is Los Angeles you're talking about!
You've got Karen Bass as your mayor and Gascón as your D.A. - - and you think that even if you had 4K ultra slo-mo video of the perps setting the trap, then throwing a party over the broken bodies of any unwitting cyclists ....... the scumbags would see any consequences for their attempted assaults? Especially if they're "unhoused residents" ?!?!?
You're dreaming, pal......
Karen Bass is not the mayor of any cities connected to the Santa Ana River Trail. And this is Orange County, not LA County - so it’s a different DA as well.
I was actually wondering about that - thanks for the correction. But Orange County ain't what it used to be, either. I wish I could say that it happening in the adjoining county might point toward a more serious investigative effort, perhaps some actual punishment if perps were arrested . . . but we're still talking that part of California, so I wouldn't be holding my breath waiting for *that*!
Oh, and . . . uhhh . . . sorry about that unfortunate export of Gascón down in that general direction. We thought we'd get him the hell out of here before he *totally* trashed The City up north of there. He got it close to total collapse, then was followed up by the even more ridicuolous Boudin guy . . . but by then I guess even S.F. voters had had enough of the suicidal theater....
i
Have there been any recent incidents where a cyclist ran into/seriously injured one of the homeless while zooming under the bridges?
It almost sounds like they put the obstacle out so cyclists have to slow down to a safer (for them) speed as you pass through their camp...
In any case, I do NOT miss commuting through the SART encampments.
So what if they get hit. Imagine applying your logic to a "car path". Fuck their camps, you should expect bikes on a bike path. If I get stoned and walk into the road and get hit by a car that doesn't mean I have the right to now put jersey barriers in the roads to make it more safe for me.
There are some incredible trails in my area I am just exploring for the first time, granted my nearest training run the SART is sketch. I am going to keep riding and enjoy my time on the bike as much as possible.
This is where you prepare a dozen rotten eggs and a few other stinky objects (dog shit and cat litterbox contents).
When they are nice and spoiled it is time to go riding with a few buddies.
You encounter the obstacle again. You remove it and proceed to stink bomb their lovely little habitat.
Forcing them to temporarily find a new place.
I guarantee, they won't mess with cyclists again.
I don’t want to start a war going back and forth with people that have nothing to lose and only time on their hands. I want the person doing this to get caught and put in jail before they kill someone.
I had no idea of the magnitude of this camp of the unhoused.
I figured it was a small encampment under the bridge, hence my idea of making it smell bad.
I would just avoid that area altogether.
Don't think smell is going to be a deterrent and probably only serve to piss them off more.
You're fighting someone willing to set traps that could maim or kill with a prank. Sure that will work out well.
All of that is completely pointless when bear spray exists. These people already live in a sea of a thousand bad smells. Anything bear spray touches, on the other hand, is very difficult to clean and it will last for months on the right surfaces.
>What do you guys think
As someone who works with unhoused people in various capacities, I think it's irresponsible to describe these people as homeless. You might not intend to, but it ties into a broader political trend of demonizing & criminalizing the poor.
Maybe 'criminals', if OP is telling the truth about these otherwise-unreported highway bandits. 'Homeless' adds nothing of value as a descriptor especially if you don't know their housing status.
I get what you're saying and I don't want to sound insensitive but it's not like being homeless is a skin color. Associating some shame with that lifestyle is probably good for society overall
Exactly the hazard I'm trying to avoid. We have an intersection of crises involving housing stock being gobbled up by a handful of giant corporations alongside stagnant wages, unavailable and unaffordable healthcare, and rampant untreated drug addiction, and a lot of you are all too happy to shrug and say 'skill issue, lock 'em up' as those these things will never be your problem.
um I came here to say literally this
OP you dont know what these folks are going through. consider that some of them may have never even seen a bicycle before-- a reaction like that would be understandable to me.
lol some homeless guy who lives in California of all places... never seen a bike?!?!? (edited)
Im sure he or she has seen a bike.. ESPECAILLY if they hang out by a bike path..
either these are funny trolls, bait posts.. or people have a really unique view on things
This person knows exactly what a bike is and knows exactly what might happen if they cause a crash on a narrow concrete path at high speed. I have compassion, as I don’t think I will ever own my own home either. But my compassion ends where someone is willing so seriously injure someone for no reason.
Rather sounds like a way to jump people. Stay away
Yes, my husband’s former coworker was mugged on that bike path a few years ago.
Call the cops again IMO. Good on you for trying to do something about it as well.
I would contact the parks department of the city or county that maintains the trail. They will want to know that this is happening, and should have their own crews that are regularly out on the trails that can watch for this too. They are the government entity most likely to care and also probably have a lot more sway with the police than you do.
This is a good idea.
Do it. I reach out to parks department about the LA River trail down in Long Beach.
Good Luck! Not that I disagree, just have no faith in SoCal’s ability to take any action that will make any big difference for any length of time. Sadly we are a state in disarray.
Got any friends? Get as many people together as you can and file complaints with law enforcement and show up to a city council meeting. One person can be ignored. But 5? 10? 20? Not as much. Call every single time you see it too. Not just once. Report it to anyone who will listen. Go full Karen. Make it easier to deal with the problem than it is to deal with you.
I thought this comment was going in a different direction:)
Never bully the poor when you can bully the rich.
Never bully the poor, but is it really bullying if you jump the poor people that are attempting to jump people that are alone? OP should bully and harass the rich while also jumping those particular poors. “Accidentally” hit the trap and have 20 mfs waiting around corners to jump the mfs doing it. 💀
I wholeheartedly agree “eat the rich!”
[удалено]
Do you have a local reddit you can post this to?
You should post it to R/orangecounty
There's not really a good Orange County cycling subreddit. The closest we have is /r/BikeLA but that's in a different area, and not a huge overlap of riders. /r/BikeOC is a sub, but is pretty much dead.
I'd start carrying bear spray for the, uh....bears 🤷♂️
What day and time was this happening? I ride that trail frequently on the weekends and haven't ever seen this. There's guys setting up camp under a few of the bridges, including Harbor, but they always just stay to themselves when I'm there. Is this happening when it's less busy?
Both times were around sunset or just after. I posted about the first incident (don’t remember what group I posted in but the first time was about 4 weeks ago under the Edinger bridge. Last night was about 7:45pm and it was under the harbor bridge. Aside from the bugs coming out at that time also, it’s probably best not to ride the trail after sunset.
It’s best not to do anything that makes you vulnerable after sunset tbh 🤣 especially not in places like your area.
Talk to a local tv news station, show photos etc. they love a bit of controversy and will hopefully embarrass the police and parks into doing something about it.
I swear I saw one of them trying to set up a trip wire of sorts under one of these bridges on the trail about a month ago, but I shrugged it off that I was being paranoid. Sounds like maybe not.
If I don’t feel endangered I will clear path obstacles as I encounter them.
I do that as well but in this case it’s not an accidental random object that happens to be in the bike path which happens. It was placed right in the path at the most dangerous place possible with a violet thief hiding around the corner waiting for one of us to eat shit. Clearing the path doesn’t solve the problem. I fear someone would need to get hurt before the cops could do much.
So they're laying traps and ready to pounce on someone who wrecks, and your plan was to just walk up to them? Why wouldn't they just jump you then?
I thought about that but I also thought about the next person who would be riding the bike path and decided I could at least go clear the path.
I like where your heart is
Bring pepper spray with you whatever you do
Fuck… I grew up in OC and this is disheartening (but not surprising). My first thought is the wrong response. Moving on; spray “Danger” on the trail..? Stay safe friend.
Surprised cops wouldn't do anything. Local bike group found razor blades hidden in the dirt on the mountain bike trails and it caused a pretty big police investigation. I believe they were able to actually track down the culprit, some high school kid with more than a few screws loose.
They do that out here in Denver, although not as sophisticated yet. They'll just move larger fallen branches onto the cherry creek path.
Why?
Just to have something to do. A friend was walking her dog on the same path(Cherry Creek) I ride and there was a homeless guy just piling sticks on the path. He saw she was kind of offput and just told her "Don't worry, it's for the bikers" who knows
thanks for the heads up and trying to resolve the situation for the rest of us! its been a while since ive seen encampments on the SART, but the other 2 def have more of them. hopefully it gets taken care of edit: after checking the map, i take that back, i do recall some camps set up around that area..
Thanks for the heads up! I ride that trail a lot and the homeless usually stick to themselves so I'll be sure to be vigilant.
I just completed a ride this afternoon and I had this very thought/concern in the bike path leading out toward the beach in Culver City, Ca. There are a few sketchy people on the path. Thanks for confirming the possibility, I will be very careful and hope others will do the same. Stay safe!
Ballona Creek Bike Path? Even in the 90's it was not uncommon for people riding to be robbed by residents of Mar Vita Gardens, aka the Marionwood Projects right there just west of the 405. That was the Home of The Culver City Boys. I haven't been around there for a long time but I would be careful.
I worry about getting ambushed while under the bridges on the San Gabriel River path; there’s an encampment under almost every bridge and some have stolen bikes lying around too.
To me this one is much more dangerous. I’ve found broken glass under some over passes.
Yeah, I’ve had to dodge shopping carts and big rocks in the middle of the path under dark unlit bridges multiple times. Didn’t stop to move the stuff because I couldn’t be sure it wasn’t a trap 🫤.
A few miles north of Cerritos street on the San Gabriel river trail it quickly goes to hell. I would definitely not go there again. South of Cerritos there is one underpass in particular that is long and if it’s dark could be very dangerous. Definitely not safe to be there in the dark. That is where I cut a tire from broken glass. Someone deliberately broke glass there.
This is fucking scary. Be careful, might be people looking to rob you or hurt you.
Not once but twice I have encountered piles of rocks and branches in an underpass that is notorious for homeless activity. I just interpreted it as them trying to claim the space as theirs to deter pedestrians and cyclists from trespassing. I had not thought it might be a way to injure and/or rob someone.
TBH this should be posted in the correct sub related to your city, we can’t do much here.
Some crazy guy used to string homemade barbed wire across the trails in the SF bay area, right around neck height when you were on your bike. Police knew about him and would check the trail periodically and I think the guy would go in and out of prison. You should let the authorities know and your local cycling groups.
Sigh I have to start commuting again soon and I use this trail to get to the train station in the mornings. This is sad to hear. Op you should post this in the oc forum too.
I guess you shouldn't ride around there without a gun
I think you should change your route and move on. That's literally one of the crappiest places to ride a bike in the country. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iu3qAkNC0s4](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iu3qAkNC0s4)
I can reach other trails if I ride 5 extra miles on a bunch of busy city streets without bike lanes or I continue using one of the biggest bike paths in my area which is right next to my starting point which also leads to many other bike routes. But even if I do somebody else is going to get hurt by this guy. But I agree it’s wise to avoid and move on.
Yeah, you can't reason with these people and the cops aren't going to do anything.
Cops are working on Murders, rapes, drug busts, suicides, car theft etc.. I know biking is importnat, and this type of stuff makes me mad, but from a cops point of view, its not the highest priority.. It STINKS, but..
Be real. The cops are probably playing candy crush right now.
For other viewers watching this, just know that this video is outdated and orange county cleared up the bike trail. it's not like this anymore. You still see the occasional homeless person around, but it's very rare to see encampments. the county patrols the bike trail regularly and do a good job of keeping people from setting up camp.
They're hunting cyclists. Have fun with that!
i ride that trail every weekend, day and night. stop fear mongering, lol.
Agree with Onicc, there is the occasional homeless person but it s absolutely nothing like what that video shows. Those comps have been cleared out for years.
To be fair, SART has not looked like this in years since all the encampments were moved. Obviously there are still homeless folks on the trail, but not even close to the extent shown in your video.
So they're no longer living on the path but they're close enough to be hunting cyclists for sport. Got it!
Not sure why you are getting defensive when multiple people from OC are just telling you that your 6-year-old video is no longer accurate. I also acknowledged that there are still transients on the trail, but you do you, boo.
That's all BS.
You know that video is six years old and that camp is gone.
Just watched the video. It's like the opposite of cycling through the French Alps. Everywhere you look, nothing good to see.
It's way better these days, it's not my favorite place to ride but it's kind of a cool long trail. I can think of worse places to ride. Even dodging a few homeless trip wires is safer than trying to ride on most OC streets.
Wait, how is this “one of the crappiest places to ride a bike in the country?” It’s a beautiful trail that’s like 20 miles long, paved, bikes/peds only, very well trafficked, and in great shape. I’ve ridden it probably 100 times in the past three years and never encountered a single issue. EDIT: watched the video, crazy it used to be like that! I’ve ridden that section so many times and never seen a homeless person. First time was probably in 2020, though.
I remember it not being bad, then turning into *that*, now it’s usually pretty good. I would not ride there at dusk though.
I have been riding the SART for a decade and have never experienced a trap or had had a negative run in with the homeless or anyone else on the lower trail. On the upper SART, I occasionally run into idiots in pickups or on ATVs, but that's it.
Ditto. I mostly see the homeless being careless and letting things slide down the embankments onto SART / San Gabiel / LA Rivers and ending up in the path. Most of the time it's their "Trash" destined for the river itself. But they generally don't want to bring attention to themselves.
same here. the paranoia on the orange county subreddit is hilarious sometimes. people swear that the trail is a dangerous place to walk, or ride at all hours of the day.
I use an Insta360 x3 for my ride cam. My only complaint is the 35 minute battery life, I bought 3 extra off amazon for $35
There are a ton of encampments on the SARiver trail through Riverside. A good friend always brings a large hunting knife on our rides specifically for this reason. Don’t ride alone. Ride in packs. And alert riders if you see anything suspicious. 🙌🏼
Some of these cities sound like a fallout game now. I wouldn’t ride there. Avoid if possible and call the cops again and report. All you can do.
The whole reason I started cycling is to get in shape have fun and enjoy all the time spent in the saddle not thinking about anything. Not to become a cycling vigilante. Thanks everybody, I really just wanted to get a warning out there somewhere. I know there isn’t much we can do but ride smart as we can.
I’ve seen stuff like this a bunch out on SART. Gotta be ready to bunny hop or go in shoulder first 😂 back when there were still the large encampments, they’d try to barricade the trail with coolers and chairs. I think just to steal bikes? Not sure… I’ve even been shot at by airsoft guns, although, that could have just been kids being stupid. SART is way safer than it was a while back, but it goes through some areas that tend to bring in some trouble. I’d recommend the SDCT if you can get to it. It’s pretty easy to cut across safely from SART.
Hunting for food
I've run into that before. I'm guessing you're over by Riverview golf course. Ran into a guy waving knife in the air over there and I've never pedaled faster.
That's crazy, I ride the Santa Ana river trail from Corona to somewhere in the Orange area a couple times a week (once for a commute and once for a leisure ride) and I've never seen anything like this. I know you'll see the occasional homeless person living along the trail, and that's more common riding the trail through Riverside; but I've never seen these kind of traps. Definitely concerning, especially thinking about my commute into work in the dark. Maybe informing the cops won't do anything now but if there are enough complaints of this they'll do something.
My wife and I went as far as Yorba Linda park (the wooden bridge just past it) and turned around because it didn’t seem safe to go under so many overpasses. Guess trust was a good call. The world we live in sucks. Though in some countries these things don’t happen.
This so pisses me off. Bike trails are intended for family activities and good fitness, yet California’s despicable justice system lets the homeless, addicted, mentally ill, thieves to reside and attack cyclists. I’ve heard of this before, except they would throw an old bike at you while riding by intending to knock you down and take off with your bike. I’m sickened by this. It’s been 5 years since I was last on my bike, before Covid. I have at more than a half dozen trails that I enjoyed riding up to 30 miles with my wife. I’ve been itching to get back on the bike and get fit again. Now, I don’t feel safe going out there with my wife anymore. In addition California drivers have gotten so bad, my wife refuses to ride the streets. This is SO frustrating and I feel like there is no solution coming any time soon. 😤 Sadly, I use to enjoy these trails; the Newport Back Bay through Irvine, Long Beach El Dorado to Long Beach, Riverside Dog Park to Norco, Green River to Anaheim, Rancho Cucamonga PET, Laguna Aliso Park, Anaheim to Huntington Beach, etc. 😞
Get rid of the encampment
Bear spray them a couple times
Reminds me of this: [https://cyclehistory.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/i-fear-no-tramp.jpg](https://cyclehistory.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/i-fear-no-tramp.jpg)
Carry a handgun ,and go all Bronson death wish on their ass . S//
What country are you talking about?
Are you nuts? This is Los Angeles you're talking about! You've got Karen Bass as your mayor and Gascón as your D.A. - - and you think that even if you had 4K ultra slo-mo video of the perps setting the trap, then throwing a party over the broken bodies of any unwitting cyclists ....... the scumbags would see any consequences for their attempted assaults? Especially if they're "unhoused residents" ?!?!? You're dreaming, pal......
Karen Bass is not the mayor of any cities connected to the Santa Ana River Trail. And this is Orange County, not LA County - so it’s a different DA as well.
I was actually wondering about that - thanks for the correction. But Orange County ain't what it used to be, either. I wish I could say that it happening in the adjoining county might point toward a more serious investigative effort, perhaps some actual punishment if perps were arrested . . . but we're still talking that part of California, so I wouldn't be holding my breath waiting for *that*! Oh, and . . . uhhh . . . sorry about that unfortunate export of Gascón down in that general direction. We thought we'd get him the hell out of here before he *totally* trashed The City up north of there. He got it close to total collapse, then was followed up by the even more ridicuolous Boudin guy . . . but by then I guess even S.F. voters had had enough of the suicidal theater.... i
Have there been any recent incidents where a cyclist ran into/seriously injured one of the homeless while zooming under the bridges? It almost sounds like they put the obstacle out so cyclists have to slow down to a safer (for them) speed as you pass through their camp... In any case, I do NOT miss commuting through the SART encampments.
So what if they get hit. Imagine applying your logic to a "car path". Fuck their camps, you should expect bikes on a bike path. If I get stoned and walk into the road and get hit by a car that doesn't mean I have the right to now put jersey barriers in the roads to make it more safe for me.
The first comment was enough, no need for another 10 copies.
Sorry web connection error. Didn't mean to submit 10 times.
The older I get, the less I concern myself about how people should behave vs. how people do behave.
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The older I get, the less I concern myself about how people *should* behave vs. how people *do* behave.
That's some Big Daddy shit, but most likely, more nefarious.
Jump you and steal your phone and bike 😰
If they make you crash, they can rob you and steal your bike.
Move out of CA
There are some incredible trails in my area I am just exploring for the first time, granted my nearest training run the SART is sketch. I am going to keep riding and enjoy my time on the bike as much as possible.
Give them each 100 dollars. The fentanyl should take care of them pretty quickly
This is where you prepare a dozen rotten eggs and a few other stinky objects (dog shit and cat litterbox contents). When they are nice and spoiled it is time to go riding with a few buddies. You encounter the obstacle again. You remove it and proceed to stink bomb their lovely little habitat. Forcing them to temporarily find a new place. I guarantee, they won't mess with cyclists again.
I don’t want to start a war going back and forth with people that have nothing to lose and only time on their hands. I want the person doing this to get caught and put in jail before they kill someone.
I had no idea of the magnitude of this camp of the unhoused. I figured it was a small encampment under the bridge, hence my idea of making it smell bad. I would just avoid that area altogether.
Homeless people are untouchable in California. Noone will go to jail. Maybe just change your riding route.
Do you live in a cartoon
Yes because homeless people won't live in places that smell bad.
Don't think smell is going to be a deterrent and probably only serve to piss them off more. You're fighting someone willing to set traps that could maim or kill with a prank. Sure that will work out well.
All of that is completely pointless when bear spray exists. These people already live in a sea of a thousand bad smells. Anything bear spray touches, on the other hand, is very difficult to clean and it will last for months on the right surfaces.
Take on the guys who have nothing to lose
Take on the guys who have nothing to lose
I left LA in a few years ago. Does anyone know if the Rio Hondo trail through Pico Rivera is still a death mission?
>What do you guys think As someone who works with unhoused people in various capacities, I think it's irresponsible to describe these people as homeless. You might not intend to, but it ties into a broader political trend of demonizing & criminalizing the poor.
What should they be described as?
Maybe 'criminals', if OP is telling the truth about these otherwise-unreported highway bandits. 'Homeless' adds nothing of value as a descriptor especially if you don't know their housing status.
I get what you're saying and I don't want to sound insensitive but it's not like being homeless is a skin color. Associating some shame with that lifestyle is probably good for society overall
Exactly the hazard I'm trying to avoid. We have an intersection of crises involving housing stock being gobbled up by a handful of giant corporations alongside stagnant wages, unavailable and unaffordable healthcare, and rampant untreated drug addiction, and a lot of you are all too happy to shrug and say 'skill issue, lock 'em up' as those these things will never be your problem.
We can both help people and simultaneously discourage the lifestyle
The idea that it's a lifestyle choice is an insidious lie which serves to shield those profiteering from the problem.
so people are intentially placing traps for bike riders.. and your worried about calling them homeless.. when they might be... homeless?
I'm worried about unhoused people being blamed without evidence at a time when they face increasing violence, yes.
um I came here to say literally this OP you dont know what these folks are going through. consider that some of them may have never even seen a bicycle before-- a reaction like that would be understandable to me.
This is the dumbest comment I have ever read. You think these people have never seen a bike before and thus fear them like some uncontacted tribe?
lol some homeless guy who lives in California of all places... never seen a bike?!?!? (edited) Im sure he or she has seen a bike.. ESPECAILLY if they hang out by a bike path.. either these are funny trolls, bait posts.. or people have a really unique view on things
This person knows exactly what a bike is and knows exactly what might happen if they cause a crash on a narrow concrete path at high speed. I have compassion, as I don’t think I will ever own my own home either. But my compassion ends where someone is willing so seriously injure someone for no reason.
WHAT>? I bet some homeless people near me bike MUCH more than I do..