Keep out of Victoria park, Hackney at night

Shit Em, glad to hear that your OK.

Thank you sorethroat :)
I'm not surprised, I've been assaulted 2 years ago in the same area (Carlton Grove), also been thrown projectiles when passing through Thurlow st a few weeks ago, and so on ... Think it might be a good idea to start a thread where people would share their experience(s) about some dodgy areas in town (this could be useful for new or relatively recent londoners) ...

i dont wanna sound like a cunt but everyone should know to stay out of parks at night (especially parks in hackney) its just common sense

What I find helps if I get a bit tetchy seeing a group of lads in front of me after dark is just speed up and ride really fast straight at them, I think anyone who wants to get in my way will think twice if im going 30k - Probably helps that I'm 6'2" and weigh 85 kg though. Good to hear you're both ok, ride in pairs if possible, or stick to bigger streets after dark...

Oh gosh! I hope everyone's OK...

Thats bad luck, glad your both alright though and managed to get away.

Last week I was cycling home and there was a big group of guys in front of me on the road who saw me coming and split up a bit to kind of let me through but all still stayed on the road. Thought I was maybe going to get a beating but as I went through them they did nothing then one of them shouted at me ' You should be wearing a helmet', the stupid thing I was!

Were you cycling through the park or along the road (that buses use) that spits the park in half?

Sorry to hear this guys, and thanks for the warning. I've been cutting through VP a bit at night - never seen anyone though - guess I'll stop now. Also got bored of having to jump fences when the main gates have been shut earlier than I thought.

On peckham, it really seems to vary - mostly is fine, but I've had a few close calls and VanUden was attacked right by the end of my road.
Maybe we should all start riding around in packs of 15 with polo mallets ;-)
Stay safe people.

Shit! I had no idea Emilie got into some bovver!?! Really hope you're OK dude, healing vibes comin' at ya from the south... And really glad to hear EM got away... Nasty business, stay safe east peoples!

Sorry to hear this...

I live near Finsbury Park, it's a lot better than it used to be and I thought they closed the gates anyway after dark, with a police car, flashing lights and megaphone?!?!

shit EM, glad you got away ok.

bad news, don't let it keep you down. fuck em.. but do it in the safety of well lit streets Emx2

On the canal, I've experienced nothing worse than having a half a breeze block dropped on my foot from off the Packington Bridge as I rode under it...

Isn't this a line from a Smiths song?

Shit, glad you got away Em. I fucking hate it that some people seem to think that they have the right to remove someone elses property (by force if necasary). It makes me sick. They all need a fucking shoeing in the face.

Shit bad luck guys.
Glad you are both okay.

Tasers FTW.

Bad news and sorry to hear...on a positive note, I have had some nasty calls on public transport (assaulted on the tube, mugged on a night bus) and I feel a damn site safer now getting about on my bike

Heard what happened to Em1 the other night and now Em2 with a close call as well!
Glad to hear your both ok.

hope you are both ok
maybe we could try vigilante justice
take the tweed ride through there on saturday night see if we can't lynch a mugger or two

Shit news dudes. Glad to hear you're both alive and relatively well. Always sucks hearing about this sort of stuff. It's just so unnecessary. Heal well and fast the both of you.

...

Other known trouble spots that we have heard about include Kingsbury Road, N1, Northchurch Road, N1 (east of the B102 Southgate Road), the main path through London Fields (plenty of assaults and muggings over the years), and Coppermill Lane east of Springfield Marina. Stay safe.

Kingsbury & Northchurch? What were the details? I ride this way all the time.

Sorry to hear about the Victoria Park troubles.

i used to run a lot in Victoria park in the summer, and would never have the courage to go there after dark without the dog, despite doing some pretty risky stuff sometimes. Honestly Em, lucky that nothing worse happened, look after yourself.

And i heard tens of stories about people being pushed into the canal "for fun" by bunches of kids/youths, so it's better to avoid this as well most of the time when it's dark-ish

Little shits, honestly the cowardice of these people is beyond me. They think they're 'tough' but can only confront people behind the safety of numbers, I've a feeling that the irony of this is somewhat lost on them...

Hope both Ems aren't too badly shaken up :)

I sometimes ride through on Wednesdays around 9:00/10:00.......

Full of cunts with bikes getting beered up.

if you spot a dodgy looking bunch just ride at them quickly they soon step out of the way

just make sure it isn't a group from the local blind school though

Sorry to hear of your troubles, Ems. Big love. Hope you can remain relatively undamaged by these things.

On my way to Easties I almost always use that road that Em (the male one) got jumped on. On my pissing own.

CrazyLegs Crane is right to say we shouldn't use parks at night, full stop. Not sure that Hackney, compared to, say, Tower Hamlets, Islington, or Camden, is really specially deserving of the reputation The Crane gives it - like Gentleman Jonny said, all parts of London are sketchy, given a dark spot and a lone hipster at the mercy of the Terrible Hoody Plague.

Let's keep it in perspective, though. You're much more likely to get a pasting or worse in a regional town that a big city around UnHappy Hour.