# San Gabriel River Trail-Warning!



## hecbom

need to let everyone know that a section of this Bike Trail is not safe so let me tell you all what happened yesterday Saturday 2nd. First of all, I have been riding this trail for more than two years starting at the Pico Rivera Golf Course to Azusa so I can go up hwy39. I usually do Christal Lake or the GMR loop back down to the Golf Course parking lot. Yesterday om my way back from Christal Lake I met up with a rider past Valley Blvd heading south so we started to chat about some knuckle head who was not keeping a straight line but instead was swinging right to left. No sooner I said that we looked in front of us and two Neanderthals wearing hoodies and bandannas covering there face were blocking our path. Upon seeing this and quickly preparing for the worst, I drew a line for this guy saying to myself if I hit this punk hard enough he might fall and I can recover and hit the pedals but instead I turned towards his left faking him to think that I was trying to go between him and his buddy but at the last minute I darted to his right. I barely escaped but as I looked to my right to see what was going on with the other rider, the two punks tried to block him and knock him off his bike. One of the punks kicked the rider in the knee, knocking his water bottle of the bike as well as his bike pump. What freaked me out was as soon as he was kicked the guy pulled a pump shotgun at the other rider and that is when I freaked out! For a minute I though we were both dead but fortunately the rider hit the pedals in pain and we both got away from these two. I pulled my cell phone out and I dialed 911. To make a long story short, 5 police cruisers showed up as well as a helicopter looking for these two criminals. No luck they ditched the cops and I am sure they will be around for another day to harass another cyclist. So be warned! I am going to look for a way around this neighborhood on my way up as usual.:thumbsup:


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## Joe Dirte

Thanks for the heads up. Typicaly a safe place to ride with isolated occurences,but this may be serious enough to keep me away for a while. Glad you guys got away unharmed. Fock thieves!


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## Scott D

I usually ride the SGRT in the AM. It seems like you get some shady characters hanging out in the afternoons. What time did this happen?


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## hecbom

Scott
This happened around 2:00-2:15 pm. This was an unfortunate timing because 20 min after this incident a group of 4 or 5 I had ridden past at the Santa Fe dam came over to where we were stopped to see what was going on; The police was already there so we explained what had happened. One of the guys in the group said, he had seen the two thugs walking over by the High School on the right as you head south pass Valley Blvd. So again, not sure if this will scare off these guys or they will continue to prey on riders-not sure what to think my friend. I am making plans to avoid at least 1 to 2 mile section of the trail, I will probably get off at some point and ride the streets. Further down I can get back on the trail and ride home.


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## SFTifoso

Crap! I hate these losers! I'm glad you and your buddy are okay though. I ride this all time, and when I reach valley blvd on my way back, i'm usually pretty tired. I don't know if I would have the strength to fight scumbags. Wouldn't it have been better to make a quick U turn as soon as you saw them and call the police and/or a ride from a safe distance?


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## Scott D

Thanks for the info hecbom. I rode there Friday at about the same time, with my son (22 years old). He commented that there were a lot of sketchy people hanging around. There just seems to be less people hanging around in the mornings.


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## Erion929

You guys did see this OTHER thread started just last FEB.....no? I hope everyone gets the word out and the PD steps up in a meaningful way. All they have to do it run some twosomes of undercover police bikers and it should produce something.

http://forums.roadbikereview.com/so...ta-ana-river-trail-theft-beatings-272490.html


**


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## datruuz

Thanks for the heads up. I'm normally on this route on any given weekend morning, from bellflower to the dam. Coincidently I haven't rode up that way in three weeks, but the last time I was up there there were some sketchy guys I saw on the trail, including what looked like a homeless guy with long hair in a hoodie. I was on alert when I saw guys like them after hearing the reports like that of SART. Strangely enough, that was the first time I saw 2 police/ranger patrols on quads up near the chicken farms. hopefully there will be more patrols in the area.


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## SFTifoso

A lot of you are mistaken though. Malnourished homeless people are probably not going to steal your bike, or run after you at 30 MPH. The people you need to be on the look out for are gang members. That's what the OP described. Hoodie, covered faces, shotgun; definitely gang members. Probably some young punks looking to work their way up the hierarchy by bringing in some pricey bikes. They see us as easy pickings.

Honestly, the best thing to do is to ride in the mornings. These scumbags don't wake up till noon anyways. Also I'm gonna keep a look out for guys that match this description, by looking far ahead into the path. If I see two guys, dressed in black standing in the middle of the path, I'm making a U-turn. So what if they notice, is not like they can sprint at 35 MPH.

Honestly the motorcycle cops need to include the bike path in their patrols. They need to stop fattening their ticket quota, and bellies, and do something that actually protects the public! Bike cops are best for high pedestrian areas, the motorcycle guys can cover a lot of ground, plus they can put a stop to those idiots who bring their mini-bikes, go-karts, and actual cars onto the path.


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## hecbom

SFTifoso The officer that interviewed me said exactly what you are proposing. He and his wife ride road bikes and he told me they are going to step up the patrolling of this area. I hope they do and it is not just BS from him. As I said, I hit the trail around 7:30 and I rode up to Chrystal Lake but unfortunately on my way down hwy 39 there was a wreck. A small pickup hit the barrier and the dude was hurt. I had to hang around for about 35 min for the road to clear. So by the time I got to Valley it was around 2:00 to 2:15 and that was the time these two scumbags showed up. You are absolutely correct that these parasites probably don't get up until noon and they do their dirty work in the pm!


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## arai_speed

wow - that is pretty brazen! I always felt safe riding this trail in the past. Not worth the risk it seems.


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## Kuma601

What also scares me are the copycats who will make similar attempts.


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## red elvis

thank you for the warning. i rode there a couple of times. i even went solo once.


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## hecbom

I hit the send key before I had a chance to proof read my post Sorry!


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## hecbom

All! I have a bad feeling that these two parasites live in the neighborhood and probably attend the local High School about a block away from the attempted highjack. So if these Juvenile Delinquents are part of the "inner circle", chances are they are talking about it in school so the copy cat theory is not that farfetched IMO. I am now looking at ways to avoid this section of the trail by using the main streets like Durfee Ave.


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## charlox5

problem is, if everyoen starts riding in the morning, they'll wake up earlier to do their dirt?

ugh, really don't want to have to stash the 9mm in a jersey pocket to go ride.


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## Erion929

hecbom said:


> All! I have a bad feeling that these two parasites live in the neighborhood and probably attend the local High School about a block away from the attempted highjack. So if these Juvenile Delinquents are part of the "inner circle", chances are they are talking about it in school so the copy cat theory is not that farfetched IMO. I am now looking at ways to avoid this section of the trail by using the main streets like Durfee Ave.



You give these thugs too much credit. School? No, they talk about it in their gang OTAs...organized team activities. It's not a high school thing, it's a gang thing or a neighborhood thing. The "copycat" thing would likely be DIFFERENT gangs doing the SAME thing to us.

**


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## charlox5

Erion929 said:


> You give these thugs too much credit. School? No, they talk about it in their gang OTAs...organized team activities. It's not a high school thing, it's a gang thing or a neighborhood thing. The "copycat" thing would likely be DIFFERENT gangs doing the SAME thing to us.
> 
> **


pretty sure these guys got the idea from the knuckleheads terrorizing SART.


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## drum4joy68

*the other rider*

Hey everyone, I'm new to road cycling and to this forum. I was actually the second rider that met up with hecbom right before the attack outlined above. I just ran into this thread after searching for "crime on SGRT". I read the link to the previous thread on the same topic to see what the M.O. was for the muggings on SART and LART. After reading them, I've started thinking that my experience this Saturday on SGRT was different from the others in that these guys were A LOT more brazen. This attack didn't happen in an underpass. It was out in plain view!! Also, a pretty visible firearm was involved. I don't know if that makes these guys crazier or just dumber, but neither scenario plays out well for the victim. 

The other thing I've been pondering is whether the cyclist both hecbom and I encountered just prior to the incident (the nut weaving and zig zagging across the path) was actually PART of the setup, in place to slow an unsuspecting victim to a more manageable speed. It's worth thinking about the possibility that he may have been involved, as this could be a warning sign or a red flag to those of you out there who (unlike me from now on) will continue to ride this trail alone.


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## hecbom

drum4joy68 I am glad you found the thread! I responded to your Face book invitation so let's keep in touch! BTW I have been looking at alternative routes to avoid the area where you and I ran into these criminals but I am still debating if it’s worth it. Come to think of it, I did not connect the two events, the guy weaving (zig zagging across the road) and the attempted highjack! Now that you mentioned it, I can see a more sinister plot by these thugs! So bottom line, no way I am going to go down that trail by myself unless I ride with a large group.


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## drum4joy68

For sure keep me posted on your alternate route. I'd be interested in knowing how to bypass this sketchy chunk of the trail. I don't want to give the trail up entirely because I would like to eventually ride down to the beach, but I could go a lifetime without reliving that incident.


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## bigxclumzy

can you guys describe the person or the bike that was zig-zagging. i was on the path that day too, and was riding with a friend that was going super slow. at times i was treating the broken lines on the path as a slalom to allow my friend to catch up. i live in the el monte area and exited on ramona around 3pm.


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## drum4joy68

He was about late 20's to mid 30's, Latino, thin, and had a mustache. He was wearing baggy blue work pants and a t-shirt. He was riding an older bike, more of a hybrid looking thing (flat handle-bar, thicker tires). He had a plastic bag, either in the front or back of the bike. That's all I remember. Again, that he was involved is just a theory. He could have just been a random, honest citizen who didn't consider trail etiquette and was really close to the crime scene without realizing it, but it seems a little too much of a coincidence.


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## Allthatflash

DAmn are we gonna have to start strapping ourselves just to get in a good bike ride without trying to get jacked,,,,,this is BS I also live in El Monte and have never had any problems but I ride after work 6 or so......but I ride this trail on weekends


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## arai_speed

I think the incident is terrible but having ridden that place many times I've seen my fair share of 1/2 drunk Latinos swerving all over the road. That part of the incident does not seem unique to me.

When I first read it I thought that maybe the zig-zaggin rider was trying to get away from the same situation that the two of you were about to encounter.


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## Allthatflash

I think the zig zag rider was part of the group......to slow other riders down imo......thats why I never slow down when coming up to people on bmx bike or walkers...I just yell LEFT! lol


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## Scott D

Maybe if we wore GoPro cameras while we ride the SGRT it would deter the thugs. Especially if there was a way to stream it live to the net.


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## alien4fish

Scott D said:


> Maybe if we wore GoPro cameras while we ride the SGRT it would deter the thugs. Especially if there was a way to stream it live to the net.


I think that having a 300.00 Go Pro might be a more of an incentive for these thugs to try to jack you IMO
But with being said it is a good idea
When im on the trail down here in San Diego and I see a........lets say an unsavory charachter wandering down the path I speed up and take the Hole shot and get past them as quickly as I can, I whistle at them sometimes too if they are walking in the middle of the path and then when they turn around to look ......lets say to thier right I will shoot past them on their left. Good luck Catching me at 20-25 mph!
But glad you guys didnt get hurt or jacked or worse, any updates from the police on this ?


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## SFTifoso

The thing is, this could happen at any time on any bike path. These parasites don't go to school, and don't have jobs, so all they do all day is plan their next crime. They live off selling drugs, stealing, and extortion. Just watch "Gangland" on the History channel.

Yesterday I rode to Long Beach and back from Downey, and all I could think about was this thread. I'm sick and tired of these hearing about these parasites. I've decided I should start packing. I seen quite a few a interviews with thieves and their number one fear is their target/victim fighting back. These scum want easy pray and quick payoffs. Well they won't get either of these from me. And I'm not about to let fear change my life either.

I never considered owning a firearm, 'till now. Even though this is California, I'll go through all the necessary steps to own a gun. I don't care. I work too damn hard for my things to let these scum bags just take it from me.

Anybody got any suggestions on lightweight firearms?


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## charlox5

SFTifoso said:


> The thing is, this could happen at any time on any bike path. These parasites don't go to school, and don't have jobs, so all they do all day is plan their next crime. They live off selling drugs, stealing, and extortion. Just watch "Gangland" on the History channel.
> 
> Yesterday I rode to Long Beach and back from Downey, and all I could think about was this thread. I'm sick and tired of these hearing about these parasites. I've decided I should start packing. I seen quite a few a interviews with thieves and their number one fear is their target/victim fighting back. These scum want easy pray and quick payoffs. Well they won't get either of these from me. And I'm not about to let fear change my life either.
> 
> I never considered owning a firearm, 'till now. Even though this is California, I'll go through all the necessary steps to own a gun. I don't care. I work too damn hard for my things to let these scum bags just take it from me.
> 
> Anybody got any suggestions on lightweight firearms?


Buying a firearm in california is easy, relative to attaining a concealed carry permit in LA County. Lee Baca reserves his right to grant CCW's (carry permits) for political donors and friends, but the average joe has a better chance of getting away with hiding the body :mad2:

With this in mind, some people still carry illegally, but are at risk of prosecution in any incident where that gun is actually needed. While that may preferable to being dead, it's still something to weigh should you decide to carry in spite of the law. 

People are working to leverage CA's "may issue" (according to the discretion of local law enforcement) against the supreme court's ruling on Heller vs. DC, but i don't expect immediate progress on that front. 

Anyway, there are "pocket pistols" that are low profile and lightweight. The Ruger LCP is available in 9mm and would easily fit in a jersey pocket.


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## SFTifoso

charlox5 said:


> Buying a firearm in california is easy, relative to attaining a concealed carry permit in LA County. Lee Baca reserves his right to grant CCW's (carry permits) for political donors and friends, but the average joe has a better chance of getting away with hiding the body :mad2:
> 
> With this in mind, some people still carry illegally, but are at risk of prosecution in any incident where that gun is actually needed. While that may preferable to being dead, it's still something to weigh should you decide to carry in spite of the law.
> 
> People are working to leverage CA's "may issue" (according to the discretion of local law enforcement) against the supreme court's ruling on Heller vs. DC, but i don't expect immediate progress on that front.
> 
> Anyway, there are "pocket pistols" that are low profile and lightweight. The Ruger LCP is available in 9mm and would easily fit in a jersey pocket.


That is absolute BS. I'm about as left wing of a person you'll find, but that is total BS. So basically the average joe is not worthy of defending themselves. I guess I'll have to look into the less than lethal stuff, if that's even allowed. Any suggestions?


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## Erion929

Pepper spray, maybe fastened with a dot of Velcro on the top tube, might give a simple start against hooligans or dogs.


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## charlox5

SFTifoso said:


> That is absolute BS. I'm about as left wing of a person you'll find, but that is total BS. So basically the average joe is not worthy of defending themselves. I guess I'll have to look into the less than lethal stuff, if that's even allowed. Any suggestions?


I'm a "gun-totin' Liberal" too, and it angers me that this system of pay-for-play exists. And Lee Baca is about as unscrupulous a public official that's ever held public office. But, it's always been this way--in the 70's while Dianne Feinstein was working to restrict CA gun rights, she applied for, and was granted a carry license and carried a .38 pistol in her purse. It's just another case of do as I say, don't do as I do and the hubris is staggering. 



Erion929 said:


> Pepper spray, maybe fastened with a dot of Velcro on the top tube, might give a simple start against hooligans or dogs.


yeah pepper spray might be a good deterrent--though, it's windy out there sometimes, it may effect the efficacy of the spray?


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## SFTifoso

I don't like mace, it will hit you as much it does the guy you're aiming at. Maybe I should carry a big hunting knife, but that would look silly.


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