How many of you carry a gun as part of your cycling equipment?

SharonNeedls

im from savannah ga and it is a very dangerous town, i have bin heldup
at gun point and also know many other people that have... plus in ga you
can carry guns anywhere you want.. and i ride my bike so i dont have to
carry a gun it gets me too and fro faster then walking and i dont know
anyone oh ever got mugged on a bike... but most of all i would rather
give someone 30$ then take their life or hurt them.. just my opinion?

teton explorer

I carry a gun when I ride . . . through the worst parts of Detroit. If you are needing to carry a gun when you ride, ride in a different neighborhood.

IEatRice4Dinner

it seemes funny how one person who posted earlier made a coment about americans and guns. i dotn know how europe or other countries are but in america (depending on city) u accidently take a wrong turn you can get killed (if wrong race). i live in a nice middle class area and there is a few new street gangs full of 10-15 year old kids that travel in packs of like 10-15 kids and find ppl riding a bikes. they have already clubbed a few adults/kids (i think 10 ppl this month) to the point of gettin knocked out. just to steel a bike.

im 18 so i cant carry a hand gun but a nice large smith&wesson knife might come in handy.

ccurry007

I'd like to apologize to the international readers of this thread. I've not read most of it (too ridiculous), only enough to know that to many folks around the world it must seem barbaric. I'll just mention that many of us in America are globally aware, and are grappling with the reality that America is now often not the cure for the world, but the problem. Truly, most of us here still pin our spirit on hope, just like you. I'm American. I love America. I believe it will take us a bit longer, but we will eventually come around and be the promoter of good we portray ourselves as, and not the evil that much of the world sees in us.

ProfTournesol

thank you for the first thoughtful post on this thread:-)

__________________
Regards Michael

Never argue with an idiot. They drag you down to their level then beat you with experience.

Fletch1

You know, I believe I qualified myself on my earlier post that I carry as an off duty LEO. I respect other person(s) rights to carry as long as it is done responsibly and with discretion.


I do not however, want anyone apologizing to "international readers" on my behalf. Do not stereotype people who carry or imply that they are any less reasonable or compassionate that those who do not.

rsheard

I read parts of this thread a few days ago and at the time I couldn't imagine carrying a gun when I rode.

Then on Wednesday, doing a hill climb through a "respectable" neighborhood, I was hit in the back of the head by a full can of soda, thrown from a car which was flying by me doing at least 60 mph.

Today I can imagine carrying a gun when I ride.

mitosis

So your going to shoot someone for throwing a soft drink can at you? Could you explain the logic to me?

robkit

i imagine carrying a gun is like having nuclear weapons. its not the firing that makes the difference, but it sure as hell buys you respect.

(this from an english guy who could get 10 years in prison for carrying one, and i dont mean a nuc)


i would not shoot someone for throwing a soda can, nor would 99% of people, but i would sure as hell make them sorrry about it. because for all they know i could be part of the 1%....

__________________
I am my favorite rider.

rsheard

Don't put words in my mouth. I didn't say I would have shot a weapon even had I been carrying one. I said I would now consider carrying a weapon after seeing first hand the extent to which assholes will harass cyclists.

It wasn't an empty can. And at the speed he was going when he launched it, had it hit me a few inches higher or to the left I might be in the hospital rather than just bruised. What he did is a felony offense--aggravated assault.

Who's to say what the next asshole will attempt?

I hazard to guess if someone hit you in the back of the head with the impact equivalent to a baseball bat, you might consider carrying a weapon, too. If not, you're either a far more tolerant person than I am or you can't really imagine what it was like to be hit like that.

EoinC

What will you do with that gun? When will you use it and how will you use it? If you have to use it, was it worth going on that bike ride?

EoinC

I've worked and lived in quite a few Countries, spreading from the Pacific, through Asia, Africa and, for a short time, Europe. The only 2 places I have been in where carrying a weapon (with the primary purpose being protection against attack from other human beings) was considered normal were the Tribal Regions of the Northwest Frontier Province of Pakistan and across the border in Afghanistan.
I work for a US-based company, with many US personnel. I have not been to the United States of America and so my information on life there is, at best, secondhand. I do find this view that packing a piece equates to normality, rather disturbing. It is reflected in those I work with, whose greatest pride is to produce a license allowing them to carry a concealed weapon.
Why is it that the law-abiding people of the United States of America have a greater need for self-protection within their own society than the people of most other Nations? I am not trying to be facetious here, but it seems to me that there is something wrong and it is being treated as being normal. Looking from the outside, I'm not sure that having everyone walking around packin' heat is the way to correct the problem.

rsheard

I haven't got a gun, nor do I have any plans to get one because I don't know that I WOULD use it. All I said was that after such an attack, I could see myself considering carrying one. My decision is not to, but I certainly won't fault anyone else who carries one legally.

As for whether such a ride would be worth it, who knows that ahead of time? How could I have predicted Wednesday's ride would have turned out the way it did when I left? Most people who carry weapons do so precisely because they CAN'T predict the future. If everyone knew what was happening next, avoiding a bad situation would be the obvious path.

All that said, when the bastard who hit me has his karma turn, my only regret is that I won't be there to witness it.

southwind

I was recently shot 7 times with an automatic paintball rifle at close range by a motorist while on a ride. The paint balls did not break as they were frozen. Had I been carrying a gun on that ride I probably would have used it, which would have been excessive force considering my attacker's weapon. I'll take the hits while on a ride without using a weapon and remain a free man to enjoy many more rides.