Posted on 04/04/2007 7:37:15 AM PDT by SmithL
It was supposed to be a birthday night out for the kids in San Francisco, but instead turned into a Critical Mass horror show -- complete with a pummeled car, a smashed rear window and little children screaming in terror.
The spontaneous Critical Mass bike rides, in which thousands of free-spirited cyclists roam the city, have been a fixture on the last Friday night of the month since the early 1990s. But even bike-weary cops, who have seen their share of traffic disturbances and minor skirmishes, weren't prepared for what happened during the latest exercise of pedal power.
Here's the story:
Susan Ferrando, her husband, their two children and three preteens had come to San Francisco from Redwood City to celebrate the birthday of Ferrando's 11-year-old daughter. They went to Japantown, where they enjoyed shopping and taking in the blooming cherry blossoms.
Things took a turn for the worse at about 9 p.m., when the family was leaving Japantown -- just as the party of about 3,000 bikers was winding down its monthly red-lights-be-damned ride through the city.
Suddenly, Ferrando said, her car was surrounded by hundreds of cyclists.
Not being from San Francisco, Ferrando thought she might have inadvertently crossed paths with a bicycle race and couldn't figure out why the police, who she had just passed, hadn't warned her.
Confusion, however, quickly turned to terror, she said, when the swarming cyclists began wildly circling around and then running into the sides of her Toyota van.
Filled with panic, Ferrando said, she started inching forward until coming to a stop at Post and Gough streets, where she was surrounded by bikers on all sides.
A biker in front blocked her as another biker began pounding on the windshield. Another was pounding on her window. Another pounded the other side.
(Excerpt) Read more at sfgate.com ...
HypoCRITICAL MASSholes are a San Francisco value.
“Japantown”
Is there a Japantown in San Franciso? I’ve heard of Chinatown but never Japantown.
Geez, what a raft load of jerks.
What a bunch of morons. Note my name. I’m a serious cyclist but have absolutely zero respect for these idiots.
Before this devolves into a “I hate Spandex” rant, let me define the crucial differences between a cyclist these critical mass doofi.
A cyclist will be seen riding a good bike, usually on the higher end with a known brand name that does not include Huffy, Pacific or Magna. He will be brightly clad in breathable fabric, will be wearing a helmet and cycling gloves and will generally be connected to the pedals by clelats that are on his cycling shoes. The Spandex shorts are for function, because otherwise, they certainly are not good looking.
The criticl mass moron will be riding a busboy special bike that he got from a garbage dump and doesn’t care if one of his oh-so-enlightened compatriots steals from him. Unkempt hair, dirty smelly, wearing a brown faded T-shirt and grungy tennis shoes.
Please do not confuse good cyclists, who while we may blow through a stop sign once in a while are actually busy enjoying the road and the land that God created and getting a good workout too.
That’s what happens when breeders trespass in Sodom.
Those freaks are terrorists and deserve what they get.
But the cyclists leave no carbon footprint compared to that big mean mini-van. /s
Let jackasses completely flaunt the law for years, and then are suprised when they go violent?
Round all 500 of the jackasses up and toss em in jail.
Just because you are on a bike does not mean you own the road or don’t have to obey traffic laws.
But of course, this would require actually expecting adult behavior and personal responsibility, something San Francisco cannot do.
San Francisco is insane! Too bad she wasn’t armed and could’ve shot a couple of the a-holes. That would have learned them.
Mister 30 lb. bike, meet mister 4,000 lb. van!
She should have just run him over and claimed she was scared for her life
More open minded acceptance and tolerance from your friends on the American left. Don’t like it? F*ck off and keep voting Democrat. :D
Unfortunately, this occurred in San Fransicko, California. The obvious, sane response to an assault by overwhelming numbers (lethal force in self defense: I feared for my life, and my childrens' lives) will likely result in prosecution.
Memo to FReepers: dropping tiddlywinks in front of bicycles = short periods of very concentrated entertainment.
My son is a very serious and very good cyclist in San Fran.
I was thinking the same thing. I live in TX, and carry. But If I felt my live and the lives of my wife and kids were in danger my minivan just became a weapon.
For me, vacationing in San Francisco ranks right up their with, oh, I’d say Detriot.
Even in SF, a mother protecting her children would never be convicted by a jury that a good defense lawyer would select.
It would be a blessing if San Francisco did fall into the ocean with all these Creeps going down with it. It’s no longer a part of the United States anyway.
SF's version of the brown-shirts.
Sgt. Ed Callejas — the lead cop on the scene and a veteran of Critical Mass rides since their inception — said he’d never seen anything like it before.
“I’ve seen the bikes swarm cars, and scratch them as they go by. I’ve seen guys get out of their cars and start fighting with the bikers, but if you had seen the faces on those little girls in tears,’’ Callejas said. “All I could do was apologize for what they had been through.”
This is from the article. This officer admits he has seen property destruction by these riders, He admits that he has seen them start scuffles with drivers and admits that officers ignore riders who go through red lights.
What good is a police force that allows criminal behavior to go on right in front of them and they do nothing.
They should change the signs on their police cars.
“To Serve and Protect Hoodlums”.
Still another verification that my decision years ago not to visit SF at all for any reason, business or private, was the correct decision.
That’s why an SUV is so essential these days. Pack all the violent bike riders around it you like, it doesn’t matter...drop the transfer case into 4L and punch it, and you WILL break free.
Oh, and while you’re there, don’t go wandering around offsite. Right across Geary Street from Japantown, is San Francisco’s lovely Western Addition, where gangs of scum roam unmolested by San Francisco’s finest. Seems like at least once a year you’d read about some poor unwary Japantown tourist or two being brutally murdered in the Western Addition. The WA is a true tourist trap.
That was hitting below the belt, my apologies.
You will break free after going over some bumps. Then you could always back up just to see what the bumps were.
Don’t like it? Send a letter to Mayor “Screwing your daughters and best friend’s wives” Newsome.
Message to suburbanites wanting to drop a few bill’s in the city: “San Francisco is not safe for children and other living things.”
I’ve been to San Franciso one time as a tourist. We hit all the top touristy spots. I just didn’t remember a Japantown though. I’ll have to get a map out and see where it’s at.
That's what I would have done.
Also, it goes hard on you in court if your actions are malicious...not that anyone in such a case would have a prayer of pleading self-defense in San Fran anyhow.
OK-
Correct synopsis...
ping
San Franfreako is one sick town in every meaning of the word.
I hope he wasn’t part of the critial mass group.
Absolutely not.
I'd suggest high-pressure water, delivered via hose courtesy of the SF Fire Department. As Travis Bickle put it, "Someday a real rain will come and wash all the scum off the streets".
I’d I’d been the cop.....I would have pulled my gun and started threatening to shoot....and if they didn’t stop....the shooting would have begun......
Several cases of this happening to older persons. The gas peddle “stuck”. Oooops, the car malfunctioned, brakes didn’t work.. On and on.........
"All I could do was apologize for what they had been through."
Do San Fran cops NOT have the power to arrest perpetrators of vandalism, assault, or terrorism??
Are they not armed??
Do they have ANY CAJONES?? (NOT!)
They are certainly NOT IN CONTROL of the cit streets!
The sergeant suggested that Ferrando write a letter to the mayor.
The Ferrando family should have their ATTORNEY write a letter to Hizzoner Newsom...
I am sure the mayor would be interested in reading about the coming FEDERAL CASE against his police department and all the perps: John Doe's #1 thru #1999
The rest of us should post on as many websites as possible that San Francisco is a hazardous travel experience --- much like the state department warns travelers heading abroad...
Where's Karl Malden and Michael Douglas when you really need a cop?!?
at least it wasn’t the world naked bike ride,
those kids would be further traumatized
Good.
I’ve only been there once but it seemed that there were some good places to ride.
One guy said "Yep, it's a great ride and we get to commune with our bikes".
I thought he was joking..."Commune with the bikes. Hilarious!! HaHaHa..." Then I realized that I was the only one laughing.
These people (as described by one of the earlier posters) are dangerously strange.
Because it’s all about us, and when someone else stumbles into our self-appointed self-important event, they have to be punished for not knowing about and deferring to us.
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