I don't get it...

[massbikebabe]

V;

I totally agree, and have expressed my concerns to his mother who told me it "is a boy thing". I think he is about 12 or 13, he is two or so years younger than my son. My husband thinks this kid is responsible everytime a cat or dog is missing, sadly I fear he is right!!



karen

[Veronica]

I wonder if you could have called the cops for attempted assault when he tried to kick out your crutches.

I think his mother is living in Egypt on a big river.

V.

[Lise]

I have a coworker who used to ride his bike through the West Side on his way to work, and the kids would sometimes throw rocks at him. Be careful!

I used to live on Taylor and Racine. It was time to move when the kids from the projects across the street started throwing rocks at us. When I have to run to dodge the rocks being thrown at my head...I'm outta there. Huge irony: They tore down the projects. Now they're condos.

A lot of these kids have nobody to be hauled home to, or nobody who cares, or you'd be killed before you got to wherever you were trying to drag them. Some of those kids wouldn't mind using a cyclist for target practice, not at all.
.............................
Karen, I'm with you, that's not a "boy" thing, that's a sociopath thing. 12 or 13 is not too young to be charged with assault and battery.

[Sheesh]

Lise - I work at UIC and am amazed at the change in the neighborhood just in the three years that I have worked here. I can't even afford any of the condos that are going up where the projects used to be.

[Lise]

Lise - I work at UIC and am amazed at the change in the neighborhood just in the three years that I have worked here. I can't even afford any of the condos that are going up where the projects used to be.

I ran the Marathon last year, which took me right through that intersection. I was stunned to see that the projects were gone, and in their place there were...yuppie housing projects! Starting at 1/4 million $. WOW. How the times change. I lived there when Mayor Washington was first elected. Tense times.

[tulip]

V;

I totally agree, and have expressed my concerns to his mother who told me it "is a boy thing". I think he is about 12 or 13, he is two or so years younger than my son. My husband thinks this kid is responsible everytime a cat or dog is missing, sadly I fear he is right!!



karen

sounds like a call to DSS Child Protective Services to report neglect might be in order.

[betagirl]

Sheesh, I graduated from UIC in 1996 and too am amazed at the transformation of that area. I live in Oak Park, so my ways to get to school and work are limited. Honestly I can go up to Diversey and it's safer in terms of the "hood" element, but it's much more commercial and congested. So instead of kids it's cars. I don't know what's different about that stretch than the loop, where I have no problems riding in traffic. It also adds 3 miles to my commute, which is fine unless I'm in a hurry.

The west side has really changed in the past 5 years. The new condo construction goes all the way out to Homan now. The worst stretch for me is between Pulaski and Austin. I tend to have the most incidents around Central, where there's a stretch of apartment complexes. Thankfully I've never had anyone throw rocks at me! (knock on wood).

I really should take washington in the morning and diversey home. Perhaps this week I'll force myself to not take the "easy" shorter route home. I mean getting down to brass tacks, it is kinda stupid to ride through there

[Lise]

Unless you can perfect that vulture self-defense technique of projectile vomiting... ...now wouldn't that be a surprise on Washington and Central??!

[betagirl]

Well, I do have crohn's so I can projectile many things Ok, that was gross.

So today I took Diversey home. I don't know which is worse. I about got hit by a bus, a limo, and had 3 pedestrians walk in front of me. And that was all on LaSalle I literally said to the 3rd pedestrian "what the f--k?" Maybe it's a bad karma day. Though I don't think I did anything recently to set that in motion.

[Lise]

Well, I do have crohn's so I can projectile many things Ok, that was gross.

So today I took Diversey home. I don't know which is worse. I about got hit by a bus, a limo, and had 3 pedestrians walk in front of me. And that was all on LaSalle I literally said to the 3rd pedestrian "what the f--k?" Maybe it's a bad karma day. Though I don't think I did anything recently to set that in motion.

Hey, man, if they threaten you, I say they deserve whatever you can projectile at that moment!

I know, I had wierd traffic encounters today, too. A car that turned left with me next to him, and then just stopped dead in the middle of the lane once we'd made the turn. A number of near misses with pedestrians and bikes. I've taken to saying loudly, "Do NOT walk in front of me! Do NOT walk in front of me!" as they wander mindlessly into the street. Let's see, is it the moon? Sorry to hear it was a sucky ride home for you.

I tried to ride north on Sheridan, just for fun, but the pavement was so bad that I turned around at the B'Hai temple and rode back on Ridge/Western. I thought I was going to have to tighten every screw on the bike after that bone-jarring jaunt.