BEING ATTACKED WHILE
DOING YOUR SPORT?
Author: Peter Nieman
Date: 22 October 2009In the last couple of months
we have heard and read in various publications of people being attacked,
mugged or even shot at while riding their mountain bikes, off road
motorbikes and even while walking. The latest incident was a chap who
was riding his off road bike in De Wildt. According to sources he was
riding with a friend and they were on a section of the trail called Butch's
Rocks. It is a very technical piece of the trail as you have to climb
a koppie which is very rocky. Very often the local boys stand and
watch as you work your way up or down this trail and when you get stuck they
lend a helping hand. On this specific occasion the rider's chain came
loose and he needed to do a repair. He was able to fix it and carried
on with the ride, but not 5m further he had to stop to choose which path to
take. It was at this point that he was shot in the left leg by one of
the local boys. They then ran up stole his bum bag with all his
personal possessions and ran away. The riders friend was ahead of him
on the trail and heard the gunshot. He quickly went down the path to
investigate, and came across his friend who was shot. The medical
services were immediately summonsed and the airlift the rider to hospital.
I believe the rider is on his to a full recovery.
The reason for this article is to make riders and for that matter anyone
aware that these type of incidents can happen at any time. Many riders
in the off road community have been outraged by this incident and have
voiced their concerns on a very aggressive manner. Some have even gone
as far as to boycott the area because they feel that it will have an impact
on the local communities in the area. Lets not forget that many people
have worked hard to maintain a relationship with these people so that we are
able to enjoy our riding in this area. Basically, I think we need to
remember that all communities suffer from criminal elements and that the
majority of all people want to have peaceful times.
I would say the best way to deal with these type of incidents is to
identify hotspots where potential danger may arise. Riders need to be
made aware of these areas so that they may choose whether to ride there or
not. If you do decide to ride there then make sure you have enough
people in your group so that you have support amongst yourselves. Even
better, hotspots should be avoided for a couple of months till the criminal
element can see that riders know what is going on in the area. By
being kept up to date with the latest information about the area you ride in
will ultimately save your life and make far more difficult for the criminals
to practice their crime.
I would like to touch on the fact that some off road riders think that by
boycotting the area will have an impact on the local communities. If
anything this must be one of the most sinical attitudes yet. These
riders forget that these areas are the homes of people who work in the
cities during the week. When they come home on the weekends the last
thing they want is to have some noisy bikes and quads running around in
their back yards. Off road riding has grown exponentially and De Wildt
has become a very popular place to ride off road bikes and quads. By
deciding not to ride there is only going to please the person who's house
you race by and dirtying his laundry. Even more so it would probably
please many riders as well, then it is less traffic to deal with and the
chance of having a head on with another rider is so much smaller.
The point I am trying to make is, go have fun and ride like you always
do. But be aware of what goes on in your surrounding area. If
you are in a very secluded place make sure you do not get caught in an
unfortunate situation. When you ride get your group to be at least 3-4
riders. If you know about hotspot then I would stay away from them.
Stay respectful towards the locals and the environment. They also have
something to deal with and no one likes to hear that you have a criminal
element in your area. I am sure if the criminal is caught he will be
dealt with accordingly. If you see something that appears to be
suspect then report your findings to the appropriate people, publications
and websites dedicated to the off road rider.
Lastly, do not attempt to take the law into your own hands. Think
about yourself and your family and deal with the situation in a calm and
mature way. If you walk away from the situation alive then you are the
hero, and it is better to be a live one then a dead one.
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