People in the Wyndham area are being warned to be on the lookout for a cycling creep who has been harassing women along a popular walking and cycling path.
At least three people have come forward to report being approached by a cyclist who stopped to speak to them while they were walking alone on the Skeleton Creek trail, which runs from Hoppers Crossing to the Cheetham Wetlands at Point Cook.
One woman described the male rider as being a teenager or young adult, who came up behind her as she took an evening stroll.
“He said ‘excuse me’ then stopped,” the woman posted on social media.
“He asked for the time which I told him,” the woman continued, “then he started asking me for a hug because he was cold.
When she refused the man followed her, riding in circles around her and demanding to see her phone.
“I kept saying no, so he said at least give him a high five.
“He said other strange things to me which I feel (were) not appropriate. He was very pushy and wouldn’t leave me alone until I said I would run to the closest house and call the police.”
The woman said the man then rode away, although she could still see the lights on his bike.
Two other women responded with posts detailing their experiences with what is believed to have been the same male. Both said the man initiated a conversation by asking for the time, before demanding they check their phones.
One said the man became agitated and began circling her on his bicycle in the same manner as described by the initial victim.
“I told him I didn’t have a phone, so he rode off, (but) he returned and started circling me again, raising his arm and asking for a high five.
The terrified woman said she began “freaking out” and yelled out to the man to leave her alone.
She said the rider took off and she managed to run to nearby Bellbridge Drive.
A third woman wrote that she had been accosted in a similar fashion as she walked on the Hoppers Crossing drainage reserve.
She said the man was wearing a black jacket with a large white logo on the back.
All three victims described the male’s bike as having thick tyres, with a phone or something similar mounted to the top.
Anyone who feels uncomfortable while being approached by a stranger is encouraged to call the 000 (triple zero) emergency hotline immediately.
