Check out this story I just read from KATU-TV:
“Two cyclists said they were attacked by three teenagers near a north Portland bus stop on Wednesday.
The women, Ashley Gorman and her co-worker Heather Moles, were riding their bikes home from work when the attack occurred near Legacy Emanuel Hospital.The cyclists said the teen girls were standing in the bike lane waiting for the bus and they had to steer their bikes around the group. The teens may have thought the cyclists rode too closely.
The next thing she knew, one of the teens kicked out Moles’ tire, causing her to fall…That’s when the beating began. Three teens punched both cyclists in the head and dislocated Moles’ shoulder…One witness heard a racial slur aimed at the cyclists, who said they didn’t hear it. The teens were black while the cyclists were white.
The cyclists wonder whether race had anything to do with the attack. They can’t understand what caused it…one witness claimed
“I got bruised up pretty good,” Gorman said. “I got my behind handed to me.””
KATU says the attackers scattered by the time the police arrived.
This really hits home for me. I live in North Portland and I ride by the same bus stop all the time. I’m aware of racial tensions that might exist in the rapidly changing neighborhoods and I always try and make eye contact, smile, and ring my bell at the kids in the neighborhood.
Regardless of why this happened, it’s clear that as cyclists — without a thousand-pound steel cage to protect us — we are much more vulnerable to stuff like this.
Does anyone know these ladies?
Have you ever had a similar experience?
Do you take precautions while riding at night?