Do you pack heat on your rides?

[runninboy]

You don't even know me.
Isn't it possible that you could be faced with a situation where somebody wants to kill you to take your bike. Certainly people have been killed before for far lesser reasons.

Excellent point
when i lived in NYC i was told to carry a dummy wallet that had enough money (about 40 dollars) that a strung out junkie could get a fix. and maybe 2.
People were getting shot because people were not carrying enough cash for the junkie to get his fix.

Gun laws are ridiculous, any idiot can make a zip gun that can kill you.
Wash DC was the murder capital of the USA after it made handguns illegal.
When i lived in the UK, the bobbies who had previously been unarmed were starting a program where they were secretly armed on a rotating basis. It was publicised quite heavily at the time so people would know there was a chance the local policeman was armed.
Kind of silly if gun control laws worked. But gosh the criminals dont follow the law
Now the UK has kids shooting each other from bicycles. Where do kids get handguns in a country where they are illegal???

Criminals, by and large follow the path of least resistance. they are not geniuses. They hear on TV Lances bike is worth ten thousand dollars, they see you on the road alone, Now what is easier, trying to rob a liquor store where there is a good chance the clerk has a gun and you will be shot and maybe get 50 bucks? Or kill the guy on the road. throw his bike in your car and get a hundred bucks from the pawn shop?

 

[badboyberty]

Camelbak now do an insulated version of the Podium bottle. Now you can pack heat for longer...

 

[pedaling squares]

Interesting thread. Not sure it's a road racing topic, but then the Schleck photo did kind of make it relevant. Thoughts from someone who cannot carry a handgun (restricted weapon here in CA) so maybe should just stay silent:

- really bad thing to have in a jersey pocket if you crash. Think of your spine falling on a chunk of solid metal. Better to be in a camelbak, but then you have no quick access
- useless against bears. Only the most massive pistol will be effective. I've run into many bears on my bike (one I actually ran into!) and even the grizzlies turn the other way and run. Bears don't want any part of us unless you stumble across a kill or a cub. Noise gets rid of bears before you see them in most cases.
- I know where you're coming from with the dogs, but usually a squirt from the bottle works. If you carry a frame pump... they often work.
- if it's protecting your investment you are after, well no bike is worth shooting someone. If your 'hood is that bad, get insurance.

Did Heston ride a bike?

 

[runninboy]

- if it's protecting your investment you are after, well no bike is worth shooting someone. If your 'hood is that bad, get insurance.

QUOTE]

Not so much protecting your investment as protecting your life.
Not in the hood, crazy people everywhere.
Had a gf who was assaulted before i met her.
She was knocked off her bike & later raped on the border of West Hollywood
& Beverly Hills in the day time...

it can happen anywhere, if i was a woman i would always ride with a handgun
Lady Smith 38 special, five shot probably

 

[wheels55]

You did do the farmer a favour
My team used to encounter several dogs at the bottom of a downhill stretch of our favourite training ride. One teammate tracked down the owner of the dogs, but was just laughed off the property.
A few rides later as he was bombing the downhill the same teammate hit the dog & killed it. He swore he didn't do it on purpose, but then again he said the little road rash was worth it to see the look of pain on the owners face

some guys are pretty sick

Wow - almost thought for a second you were talking about the same story I have...but no. Pretty similar though. In the late 80's I rode with the Texas A&M cycling team and on one of our fave routes there was a pair of dobermans that loved to give chase - also near the bottom of a hill. One afternoon they came charging out and because they had to cross the road to get to us, they both got hit by a car coming the other way - not pretty. One of them was most definitely dead, and the other was hurt badly but got back to the side of the road. Several of us stopped and tried to alert the owner but no luck - we rode home and reported it to the sheriff. All that to say - I don't think a gun would have kept them out of the road - although I did think about taking pepper spray along after that.

 

[lanceismyhero]

In canada you need a permit every time you take your gun out so it is pretty much impossible. Sad because 99 percent of our population are terrorists which is so bloody ironical. They obsess over law abiding people carrying guns but encourage terrorists to immigrate to Canada.

 

[Laszlo]

I've gotten in a number of confrontations where I would have liked to have a gun to help settle things, and knocked off by a car to see the driver continue without a care in the world...there are a lot of times where I wished I had a gun...but, perhaps because I didn't I was able to continue my life to the point where I am here. That is to say, a lot of things happen in the heat of the moment, and justified or not, but it is easier to live with having had someones spit on your face than his blood on your hands.

 

[56Cinelli]

I've carried when I used to go to rides right after work. Always put it in a camelbak (Lobo). Didn't feel safe leaving it in my truck without a locking glovebox. A whole lot easier explaining the lost radio to the Chief than the lost weapon. Usually just started riding right from work because it was such a pain in the **** to carry, figured it would be safe at the station.

 

[56Cinelli]

As for the loose dog issue, I used to encounter one frequently that I could just barely outsprint at first, in full view of the laughing owners. Kept coming back after the waterbottle blast to the face too. So one day, everytime he was about to give up and go home, I'd slow down and start to egg him on. Took him about 2 miles down the road before he started to look pathetic and I left him. Next time he didn't chase me though.
I guess that could back fire, K9's might respond well to intervals and get faster!

 

[Dekker_Tifosi]

For all you guys in the US, how many of you guys carry a weapon with you while you ride? Do you feel the need to? Why or Why not?

The US is a disturbing country...

At least to us europeans...
damn, carrying guns while you ride? It's bad enough to think people carry guns there or own guns there normally... scary idea here

 

[TRDean]

The US is a disturbing country...

At least to us europeans...
damn, carrying guns while you ride? It's bad enough to think people carry guns there or own guns there normally... scary idea here

Its not scary...I don't think many pack heat when they ride.

 

[pedaling squares]

In canada you need a permit every time you take your gun out so it is pretty much impossible. Sad because 99 percent of our population are terrorists which is so bloody ironical. They obsess over law abiding people carrying guns but encourage terrorists to immigrate to Canada.

This poor person needs help. 99% terrorist eh? We must be awful terrorists, because overall we seem to get along well and enjoy our peaceful nation.

 

[ak-zaaf]

The US is a disturbing country...

At least to us europeans...
damn, carrying guns while you ride? It's bad enough to think people carry guns there or own guns there normally... scary idea here

[fox]only criminals carry guns over here. that is why the dutch homicide rate is so much higher[/fox]

 

[SteveMedcroft]

The US is a disturbing country...

At least to us europeans...
damn, carrying guns while you ride? It's bad enough to think people carry guns there or own guns there normally... scary idea here

TRDean is right - the person who started this thread - if he carries a gun while riding - would be the first person I have ever heard of in all of the riding I've done in the US in the last ten years who did. I have friends who are gun owners. I have a handful of friends with carry-concealed permits. None of them can think of any reason strong enough - any potential risk high enough - to warrant having a gun on hand during a ride.

Not that we haven't all been in confrontations with motorists or pedestrians but you can evade most situations by staying aware of your surroudnings and being defensive by nature, or give up your bike if confronted by a thief, or use a cell phone to call authorities if threatened from a car.

 

[Barracuda]

Sheltered existance

Must be living a sheltered life down here in Australia - Goolwa Beach - Home to the Tour Down Under.

Bout the only thing Ive ever "packed" on a ride is gels and carb bars.

Whats wrong with this planet when we feel the need to carry rocket launchers whilst exercising. If its that bad find somewhere else to ride..... lifes too short to contemplate the alternative. i.e. having to "load up" to go for a sporting event. Move to Australia and enjoy life.

Guns are for the military and law enforcment ... not your sunday bunch ride to the local cafe for a latte and "Winchester shot gun shell".

 

[analo69]

WOOOOW you americans are crazy.

Why are you so proud af a society, where carrying a gun is considered nessesary?????

In Denmark almost nobody would even concider carrying a gun. You can't really own guns unless you are a hunter, and then only weapons for hunting or some ,22 for precision shooting.

In the last year we have gotten some problems with gangs in the Capital Copenhagen. There has been some shootings and a couple of killings. If you carry a gun, you will go to jail. If you carry a knife longer than 70mm, you will get fined almost 1000 dollars. Teargas, tazers and so forth are illegal. You will get fined almost 1000 dollars. If you use them for anything other than self defense, you will go to jail. Note that in the Danish law you are not really allowed to use any weapons in self defense.

In Denmark there is around 50 killings each year, and almost all of them are people who know eachother beforehand. In 2007 all killings except for one was solved by the Danish police, and in all killings the victim knew the offender. The one exception beeing a new born baby found in a river. This case was never solved, and it coudn't be proofed that the baby was even killed.

You don't need to carry guns in Denmark.

 

[fatandfast]

Nobody carries a permitted gun on their bicycle .You get jailtime without an approved holster,jersey pocket or the water bottle cage don't count to an moron thinking about an already stupid thought from wing nut.In the early 90's while on a training ride,going with the flow of traffic a truck came by and his side view mirror hit me on the upper leg ,lower back and the mirror broke but remained attached to the car.I stayed upright and came to a stop as the *** drove away.I lifted up my jersey and saw a big red mark and a couple of tiny scratches.No real damage.In an instant I became enraged and went down a one way street trying to catch the guy.There he was sitting at stop light in all his redneck glory.Lots of things went through my mind but getting even was 1st on the list,I threw a full water bottle at his head and hit him in the jaw,then made a you turn and rode against traffic for a couple of blocks to get away.Somebody called the cops and he and I both got stopped.The call that the police where responding to was from a motorist that said a bicycle was hit by a truck.When all the facts got sorted I had to pay 2600 in legal fees because I changed emotions from scared to angry.He had to pay legal fees,300 fine and 15 day suspention of his license.The cops told me had I just made the call instead of going postal I would have walked with some cash for my trouble of being hit.It is very hard for a Motorist to convince anybody that a cyclist wearing lycra and tap shoes,riding a 20 pound bike was the aggressor,but if you work at it you can try.Don't do it call the cops every time somebody so much as yells.Aggressive driving,texting/electronic challenged driving kills just as many cyclists as drunks do.A gun is what the police will have when they arrest the ****head who tried to kill you.

 

[mivarone]

no guns but you have to be sharp and know how to read traffic and know exactly how to go when you need to go. I noticed euro drivers understand cyclist more but that transllates to more aggressive driving towards the cyclists. in the states there no so quickk to understand cyclist so it apperas that there not such good drivers..we have so many different cultures here behind the wheel and with cell phones were all doomed!!!

 

[uphillstruggle]

In 2007 all killings except for one was solved by the Danish police,

Dam that Danish bacon is good

 

[Irish2009]

Man only in the good ol USA. I can see it on your Sunday club run " You half wheelin Mother F@@ker, i'm gonna pop a cap in your @ss " . Guns and people just don't mix.

 

[Paul64]

About 20 years ago I carried my Glock 17 for a couple of months. Because as I was riding on a country road, I was hit square in the back with a bottle from some guys riding in an Audi(I can see it like yesterday). Next day I was telling a friend about it and he said that they were some local crackheads/drugdealers. I was not going to risk seeing these guys in the middle of nowwhere without some protection.

Today I have a CWP, but in the current conditions I ride in, I would not dream of carrying. Fact is I have the right to carry 'if" I need too. I hope I never need to carry, as it adds extra weight to the bike.

 

[nz-tim]

I'm confused

About 20 years ago I carried my Glock 17 for a couple of months. Because as I was riding on a country road, I was hit square in the back with a bottle from some guys riding in an Audi(I can see it like yesterday). Next day I was telling a friend about it and he said that they were some local crackheads/drugdealers. I was not going to risk seeing these guys in the middle of nowwhere without some protection.

Today I have a CWP, but in the current conditions I ride in, I would not dream of carrying. Fact is I have the right to carry 'if" I need too. I hope I never need to carry, as it adds extra weight to the bike.

As I see it you had two options:
1) Choose to ride on a different road/in a different area
2) Carry a gun and take your chances in a shootout with a car full of drug dealers, and potentially get locked up for murder
Did you like, flip a coin to decide that one ?

 

[RightWingNutJob]

I love when one of my threads rises from the ashes like a phoenix.

 

[RightWingNutJob]

TRDean is right - the person who started this thread - if he carries a gun while riding - would be the first person I have ever heard of in all of the riding I've done in the US in the last ten years who did. I have friends who are gun owners. I have a handful of friends with carry-concealed permits. None of them can think of any reason strong enough - any potential risk high enough - to warrant having a gun on hand during a ride.

Not that we haven't all been in confrontations with motorists or pedestrians but you can evade most situations by staying aware of your surroudnings and being defensive by nature, or give up your bike if confronted by a thief, or use a cell phone to call authorities if threatened from a car.

It doesn't mean that they aren't carrying, you just may not know about it. Judging from the responses from some people in this thread, it's not surprising that many people would wan't to keep it quiet.
I'm not understanding why your friends who carry concealed would feel a need to carry sometimes, but not at all times. Would seem to me that you either carry or you don't.

 

[runninboy]

It doesn't mean that they aren't carrying, you just may not know about it. Judging from the responses from some people in this thread, it's not surprising that many people would wan't to keep it quiet.
I'm not understanding why your friends who carry concealed would feel a need to carry sometimes, but not at all times. Would seem to me that you either carry or you don't.

I agree. If there is a reason for a permit, i would imagine that reason exists at all times. Off duty law enforcement are usually encouraged to carry at all times from what i understand.