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Pro cyclist no longer rides alone after two 'bikejacking' attempts as violent incidents increase

Jennifer George says the two attacks nearly made her quit cycling altogether, with the Met Police and Surrey Police reporting a number of incidents in recent months

A professional cyclist who was the victim of two separate attacks from bike thieves in the space of less than two months has said that she considered quitting cycling altogether, and no longer feels safe riding alone. 

Former Scottish champion Jennifer George was first targeted in April, when she noticed two people on a motorbike watching her during a long ride from her home in South East London out to Surrey: “I’ve never felt so vulnerable in my life. I’ve never felt so terrified in my life,” she told iNews

A chase ensued, with the attackers trying to veer into the 39-year-old. When George asked them to leave her alone, one of the attackers said "no, why should we?" She managed to make it to a busy pub nearby, and collapsed having a panic attack.

Seven weeks later George was targeted by two more would-be attackers on mopeds, and she was forced to wait in a driveway for half an hour until they had gone. She reported both incidents to the police, with Surrey Police filing details of the first incident due to limited lines of enquiry, and Kent Police failing to respond at all. 

George says she was left traumatised by the incidents, and was considering giving up cycling altogether. She told iNews that although she feels "almost lucky" that the attackers didn't pull a knife on her, she has stopped riding her bike alone for the foreseeable as “the thought of it just hurts." 

A Met spokesperson commented: “While London is typically a safe city for cyclists, we have seen a small but concerning number of incidents in recent months where high value bikes have been stolen by opportunist thieves who have used mopeds to catch up with riders. In some of those incidents, violence or the threat of violence was used.”

 

Last month, British Cycling said it was "deeply concerned" by the rise in violent bikejackings across south London, with policy manager Nick Chamberlin publishing a response to outline the issue, telling members what British Cycling is doing and offering advice. 

Chamberlin said: "We have heard from lots of clubs and individuals who are rightly very concerned about going out for a ride. It is extremely hard to discuss these sorts of issues without causing panic and the last thing any of us would wish is to deter people from cycling this summer through a fear of being attacked.

"The sad reality however is that when these spikes in violent crime occur, and while we try to understand the pattern of incidents better, it is prudent for individuals, clubs and groups to discuss these concerns together and think carefully about the rides they have planned.

"As with the incidents that occurred in Richmond Park last year, we know that by working together as a cycling community to quickly pass relevant information to the police we can support them to quickly and effectively tackle the issue." 

While the rise in incidents shows few signs of abating, British Cycling has advised that members in affected areas should plan rides and events carefully, be mindful of privacy settings on devices and contact its incident helpline as well as the police to report incidents and/or threatening behaviour. 

After a spate of similar incidents in and around Richmond Park in October last year, attacks in this area eventually subsided, with British Cycling adding: "...we know that by working together as a cycling community to quickly pass relevant information to the police we can support them to quickly and effectively tackle the issue."

Arriving at road.cc in 2017 via 220 Triathlon Magazine, Jack dipped his toe in most jobs on the site and over at eBikeTips before being named the new editor of road.cc in 2020, much to his surprise. His cycling life began during his students days, when he cobbled together a few hundred quid off the back of a hard winter selling hats (long story) and bought his first road bike - a Trek 1.1 that was quickly relegated to winter steed, before it was sadly pinched a few years later. Creatively replacing it with a Trek 1.2, Jack mostly rides this bike around local cycle paths nowadays, but when he wants to get the racer out and be competitive his preferred events are time trials, sportives, triathlons and pogo sticking - the latter being another long story.  

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7 comments

Avatar
dubwise | 2 years ago
1 like

I wonder if those who made flippant comments below, would be if it was a member of their family?

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RoubaixCube | 2 years ago
2 likes

Being 'mindful' of privacy settings on devices doesnt really help (and to be honest, smells a bit like victim blaming...) Not when opportunist thieves are out with their mates patrolling the area for targets of opportunity.

Even having the sim card out of your phone and the battery run completely dry isnt going to save you from being mugged by these people in such a situation should you be unlucky enough to encounter them while out on a ride.

I have heard of burglars using strava to track potential targets but there are common sense ways around it like always ending a ride a few mins before reaching your doorstep and not entering the information like the make/model of your bike on strava.

Or simply just dont upload to strava.

Avatar
henryb replied to RoubaixCube | 2 years ago
3 likes

Also, it's easy to set up privacy in Strava where any riding you do within a few hundred metres of your home address is hidden from public view, to prevent your address being visible to would-be burglars. As you say though, irrevevant to the problem of opportunist robbers.

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chrisonabike | 2 years ago
0 likes

I don't want to invoke ideas from the leader of the free world (tm) but there was a time when cyclists could equip themselves with protection:

https://cyclehistory.wordpress.com/2015/10/03/guns-wheels-and-steel-cycl...

I'm sure there are a few who would like better protection from footpads (and dogs!) or wish to "fear no tramp".  Obviously if you need protection to go along with your city bike or e-bike then something more substantial might be suitable. I suspect the handling might suffer a bit:

https://www.theengineer.co.uk/content/archive/february-1896-the-gun-bike/

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Sriracha | 2 years ago
0 likes

A bit repetitive at the end...

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Rick_Rude | 2 years ago
0 likes

Such is life these days. I like to cycle into my nearest city sometimes and get a coffee but I know my 'decent' bike would be gone when I get back. Scruffy old Boardman with bottom end groupset it is for town visits.

Avatar
Brauchsel replied to Rick_Rude | 2 years ago
7 likes

This isn't having your "decent" bike nicked when you've left it unattended: this is being threatened with knives to hand over your "decent" bike while you're riding it alone in a fairly isolated location. Life should not be such as that these days, and the police could stop it being as such with little more than a couple of coppers on Pinarellos going out for a spin. 

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