Bicycle Path Danger

I was shocked when i read this because i have cycled many times across that exact same path.
I hope you are much better and it doesnt keep you out of the saddle for long. Also hope karma is served in spades to those that set up this trap.

This is totally unacceptable. It was a planned and deliberate attempt to cause injury or worse to cyclists. it is just as bad as throwing a cement block into oncoming cars the outcome is serious injury or death
Please if you walk/jog and see something like this snap a photo on your phone, remove it and report it to police
maybe the govt via our lobby group pedal power can act on this and change the type/height of railing to prevent items being strung across
bloody disgusting

I’m now looking to buy a good LED for my Bike….

Oh and that’s shocking what happened to you Messner. I hope you recover quickly.

Any reasonable person would remove something like that if they came across it, unfortunately you were probably the first after it was put there 🙁

These losers might not care about the random person they could harm – but if they were in jail for manslaughter (murder?) they would think twice.. I don’t think they’re capable of thinking that far ahead, though.

I rode with my son to school a bit last term and the footpath (which every kid uses as the bike path as otherwise it’s the road of course) leading to Miles Franklin in Evatt pretty much looked like the bottom of a (mostly beer) glass recycling centre in lots of areas. I would spend my trip back home again kicking as much to the side as I could, the next time you rode it would be much the same again.

It definitely put me off after a while and only ride now if we have to.

cosiety = society – Its only early….

Someone said it in another thread… Can not safely ride on the roads, now it is evident we can not safely ride on the bike/shared/whatever you want to call them pathes.

Seems the only way is to take to the skies

Absolutely pathetic behaviour by what is meant to be a civilised cosiety we live in.

As a fellow daily commuter, my condolences go out to you messer.

Hi everyone, first post here.

What sort of pole was used, as in, how big was it? I saw a guy (his little child watching on) trying to pull out a big sign pole earlier that day, or might have been the day before. However that was further towards tuggeranong, near the underpass just before Fincham Crescent.

The swinger hill bike paths, just after the bridge, was also vandalised by a bunch of kids a couple of weeks ago. My friend saw them pulling big tree branches across the path, and there was a broken bottle lying upright.

And what’s with all the broken glass on the path, is that there deliberately???

luther_bendross said :

…bringing this to the attention of the surrounding high schools?

+1 – if it was school kids one of them will have blabbed, or will start feeling guilty. I was always amazed how the teachers in my neighbourhood seemed to find this stuff out.

MrPC said :

This is going to happen a lot more now that shared paths are being equipped with pairs of curved steel barriers… Stringing fishing line or something similar between the pairs of barriers…

Thanks, MrPC, I think! Now I’m paranoid!

Actually, having come close on two occasions to a run-in with one mouth-breating Skyline driver in the Ginninderra Dr underpass near Kaleen, I’m very happy to see them going in. However, in some places it’s possible to just drive straight around them.

I good flogging may fix them nothing else seems to at the moment.

Messer. Sorry to hear that you are a victim of a crime.

Although, those prosecuted would probably like to differ when they’re called crims with their “it was just for fun” excuse, it would only have been a matter of time before there would have been a fatality.

The rock-throwing-off-the-bridge-onto-a-speeding-car crimes have been reported extensively and due to that it appears that they have become lesser in numbers. But that is probably because of the death it had caused. These hoons would probably have started with pebbles, for fun, and then gradually increase to a large rock that shattered through a windscreen that ended up KILLING an innocent.

I hope it’s not going to have to be a first fatality of a cyclist before the hoons realise that it might be a bit more than beyond a joke.

DEATH ain’t a joke, hoons. Your short-minded fun can really f**k up someone’s life and their family. All because you thought it was F**K’n FUN.

Kids putting little thought into their actions no doubt. Good reason for investing in a good bright LED light for the bike instead of one of those pissy little things I see most cyclists getting around with.

This is going to happen a lot more now that shared paths are being equipped with pairs of curved steel barriers that are there to discourage hoons and locals from driving their cars down said paths. Stringing fishing line or something similar between the pairs of barriers would take no effort and cause substantial injuries.

Far out. I noticed the pole in the drain while I was out taking my young fella for a ride on Saturday. It would seem they’ve ripped it out of the newly cemented hole right near the bridge.
F#ckwits. I hope you have a speedy recovery and the culprits found. Won’t hold my breath for any meaningful punishment for them if they are.

That is awful; wishing you a speedy recovery.

Jesus, sorry to hear that, some people are morons. Have you thought about bringing this to the attention of the surrounding high schools? Not wanting to place blame on anyone, but it does seem to be a good starting place. Hopefully the idiots who did this get their come-uppance.

messner – sorry to hear about the bones. Wouldn’t it be nice if someone confessed to this?

Now you need to drink lots of milk for the next few weeks .. preferably chocolate. Mmmm.

jeeze messner, godspeed in your road to recovery (as one getting over twelve fracture to nine ribs from a collision with a car, know aaaa-llll about that pain!)

this is appalling behaviour of homicidal morons who need some swift surgery to their corpus callossum – one hopes [though despairs] they will see justice…

Hope you recover well and the buggers that did this get caught before anyone else gets hurt.

If anyone notices anything suspect around bike paths it’s time to pay attention, a sly pic of those who might be up to no good on your mobile isn’t much effort. If you hear later of an incident the police will appreciate the help.

Is there such thing as attempted manslaughter?

I’ve often seen rocks placed in the middle of underpasses where they can’t be seen – and these are big head sized rocks that will knock you off if you hit one. But have never seen anything like this.

Old Canberran, I remember a story like that in western Sydney where a guy strung up the wire to stop the local trail bikers and it ended up almost killing a young girl on her bicycle.

All I can say is: that’s f-cked.

All the best in mending those broken bones.

Canberrans, please be on the lookout and report these hazards to the police immediately.

It sounds like you were lucky to get away with some broken ribs Messner. It could have been a lot worse and thankfully it wasn’t. I hope you have a successful recovery.

There was a similar incident years ago on Mount Majura when an adult type person who was sick and tired of kids on trail bikes roaring around in the foothills behind his house, strung a wire between two trees about neck height. Fortunately a bike rider spotted it first and took it down but he reported it and the guy was charged.

Kids, older people, opportunistic kids from a nearby high school, whatever, how could anyone not have any idea of the dreadful potential of such an act!

Get well soon Messner.

That sucks man. If it had of been at head height it could have been fatal.

I’m sorry to hear about this, and furiously disgusted as well. What kinds of people are doing this? Are they kids? Older people? It’s bloody disgraceful, whoever is doing it.

Sorry to hear it messner.

All the best and get well soon

Jebus there are some f–king idiots around. I’d hope this is just the result of unfortunate (and opportunistic) stupidity from kids at the nearby high schools, and not a deliberate attempt to maim/injure cyclists, but who knows. Guess you can only just keep your eyes peeled, and of course, you should only ride as fast as your available light allows – in other words, make sure you can come to a complete stop within the distance of your headlight/s. Low powered lights = low speed, high powered lights = faster speed.

@messner: All the best for a speedy recovery (I know how much broken ribs hurt) and getting back on yer treadly as soon as you can.

considering that if you had been on the drops, as you put it, it would have been at head height, what about a younger rider, who, whilst sitting up at full height would have been a candidate for a serious head injury?

the people who do this kind of thing sicken me. I am not a cyclist, but i would never wish harm on someone who rides a bicycle. I have a daughter who is learning to ride, she occasionally belts off in front of us on her bike. I would be horrified if she was hit by one of these dangerous obstacles, whilst looking back at us. I really hope that the oik that did this is found and punished.

But, I have learned to expect that this probably won’t be the case.

it is simply abhorrent that someone would do this – it is as bad as those idiots who throw rocks off bridges onto roads, do they really not think that someone could be killed??

it is a real fear of mine as a cyclist to have something like this happen – in fact i am so fearful of it that or just being attacked as the paths are poorly lit (if at all!) – i do not ride along them in the dark.