Advice needed on riding at night.

Hey guys, I just joined the subreddit. I’m from the South LA area in California. In case any of you are familiar with Los Angeles, I live in the Paramount/Compton area right now, and I’m looking for some advice.

I commute to work at around 2-4 in the morning, depending on my shift. I work in logistics at Target. The path I go down is usually very suspect and sometimes vilified with homeless people and tweakers. That is, until I get to the main road and cars are buzzing (because the freeway exit is around the corner).

So last Thursday, I clocked out early. Mind you, Target (for us) opens at around 7:30 am. I clocked out at 6:00 am to head home. It was still dark. My parents needed me at home to watch my siblings, because they weren’t going to be at home.

So, I got out of Target, still dark. Began walking over to the bike rack and I called my dad to ask him what was happening and why they weren’t going to be at home. (I will not go into the specifics of that, since this isn’t the topic of the post). So while I unchained my bike and talked to my dad on the phone, I saw someone clad in black, riding in circles around the parking lot. Looking in my direction. I had to be at least 20-30 ft from him. Couldn’t see the details of his face (I was not wearing my glasses).

I noticed so I kind of nonchalantly stopped unchaining my bike and began walking around the rack. Stalling, I guess. I tried to not make it look obvious though. I was looking at him I just didn’t have my whole body or head faced towards him, more like, I was watching him in my peripheral vision. I was still very aware and vigilant.

He had to be riding his bike around the parking lot for a solid 6+ mins. While I was talking to my dad on my phone, really, I was just waiting for him to do something. Eventually, he leaves. And I’m just…so fucking confused. I get on my bike, and I haul ass back home. I didn’t see him again. But I rode my bike back home very paranoid.

I was paranoid because this guy obviously didn’t work there. I don’t what he could have had on him or what he wanted from me to have been looking at me for so long. Especially at night when no one was around. If he would have tried to attack me, all I had was a box cutter in my pocket. But I was ready to defend myself if he tried to charge me or something. I couldn’t even get back into the store because I buzzed myself out & no one was in HR to buzz me back in.

So I guess my question is, how can I avoid a situation like this? Have you ever been in a similar situation? How would I defend myself? I’m still very young, so I’ve been learning how to drive. Although I think I’m going to invest in some pepper spray now.

Submitted November 06, 2021 at 04:21PM by TTPTRIP https://ift.tt/3mQdCPU