Dangerous Bike Trails? 

In my last blog, Bike-able Communities, I discussed the dangers of biking in traffic and my solution to take my bike to a local trail, specifically the Schuylkill River Trail, for a safe ride.  A week later, I noticed the following headline on my local news feed: Shooting on Schuylkill River Trail.  As I had just recommended this trail, I felt that I should also present this new information! 

To summarize, two teenagers on bikes seemingly assaulted a man on a bike.  The man had a gun and shot toward the teens, missing them but hitting a bike tire.  The man called the police and was arrested.  The teens, at that point, were not. 

The really unfortunate news is that this occurrence is not an isolated incident of violence on this trail.  When I looked into it, I found that there have been other assaults on bikers in particular areas of the trail.  There is even a web site that a bicyclist developed to report incidents on the Schuylkill River Trail called Trail Reporter. 

I am not going to get into trying to understand why these crimes are occurring and how to prevent more.  I will say that I am saddened to think that even riding your bike on a trail, away from traffic, may still put you in harm’s way.  I am going to keep riding, but with a few new precautions.  I am going to be more aware of the people around me, ride with others, and check online for crime reports.