|
|
|
Thread Tools | Display Modes |
#1
|
|||
|
|||
Bicycle Light Theft & Bicycle Parking Infrastructure
Yesterday morning I was up in San Francisco for an ABAG (Association of
Bay Area Governments) meeting as part of my city council duties. The main topics, as always, were housing and transportation. There is this dream by many that if only we build high-density housing very close to major employers, that the employees will choose to live there and ride a bicycle to work, solving the traffic problems without building any transit or roads. LOL. One representative brought up the issue of safe bicycle parking and said that in many place if you leave your lights, or other accessories, on your bicycle, parked outside, if the whole bicycle isn't stolen your lights are certain to be gone. I think that security is one issue people won't even bicycle to a local store. I know that when my daughter went to UC Santa Cruz and parked her bicycle in town, she'd come out and pieces were gone. Odd pieces like half of a mirror. Someone walking around with an Allen wrench stealing halves of Mirrycles?! Personally I always remove my headlight when going into a building, but the tail light would be difficult to remove every time unless it's attached to a piece of rear luggage. I took Caltrain up to San Francisco (the "Baby Bullet" ha-ha). Since the trains are now extremely crowded, and bicycle space is limited, I took a Brompton on the train, which fits neatly into a space in the bike cars, and rode to the meeting which was only about a mile from the train station. A Brompton is not well suited for San Francisco's awful streets. But with the Brompton, I just folded it up and took it into the meeting room. The return ride on Caltrain was in the middle of the day on an agonizingly slow train that makes every single stop. |
Ads |
#2
|
|||
|
|||
Bicycle Light Theft & Bicycle Parking Infrastructure
On 3/8/2017 1:00 PM, sms wrote:
Yesterday morning I was up in San Francisco for an ABAG (Association of Bay Area Governments) meeting as part of my city council duties. The main topics, as always, were housing and transportation. There is this dream by many that if only we build high-density housing very close to major employers, that the employees will choose to live there and ride a bicycle to work, solving the traffic problems without building any transit or roads. LOL. One representative brought up the issue of safe bicycle parking and said that in many place if you leave your lights, or other accessories, on your bicycle, parked outside, if the whole bicycle isn't stolen your lights are certain to be gone. I think we can guess which representative brought up the worries about lights being stolen! He posts here pretty frequently! I think that security is one issue people won't even bicycle to a local store. I know that when my daughter went to UC Santa Cruz and parked her bicycle in town, she'd come out and pieces were gone. Odd pieces like half of a mirror. Someone walking around with an Allen wrench stealing halves of Mirrycles?! Personally I always remove my headlight when going into a building, but the tail light would be difficult to remove every time unless it's attached to a piece of rear luggage. Personally I've never removed by headlights when going into a building. But then, mine are bolted on, just like my saddle, derailleur, brakes, etc. etc. I understand that some locations involve higher risks. For long term parking at work, I took my bike into the building, and in general I try to find relatively safe places to leave my bike. For example, when parking it at the mall, it's in a place where it's out of sight and cable locked to secure pipes. All I've ever had stolen were two cyclometers. (That's in 45 years of avid adult riding and utility biking, in something like 12 countries and 47 U.S. states.) But if accessory theft is a problem, there are secure fasteners or other tricks to dissuade thieves with allen wrenches. -- - Frank Krygowski |
#3
|
|||
|
|||
Bicycle Light Theft & Bicycle Parking Infrastructure
On 3/8/2017 11:51 AM, Frank Krygowski wrote:
snip I think we can guess which representative brought up the worries about lights being stolen! He posts here pretty frequently! And you would be wrong. It was not me. Personally I've never removed by headlights when going into a building. But then, mine are bolted on, just like my saddle, derailleur, brakes, etc. etc. Unfortunately, in California, many thieves have mastered the operation of Allen wrenches and adjustable wrenches. There's a big market in stolen bike parts. http://www.sfweekly.com/news/putting-a-stop-to-chop-shops/ |
#4
|
|||
|
|||
Bicycle Light Theft & Bicycle Parking Infrastructure
On Wed, 8 Mar 2017 14:51:14 -0500, Frank Krygowski
wrote: when parking it at the mall, it's in a place where it's out of sight and cable locked to secure pipes. I, on the other hand, look for a place where dozens of people have a clear view of anyone who might feel like messing with my bike. I've never had a bike part stolen. Well, not that I remember -- I was born with chronic amnesia -- but once I came out of Aldi to find that someone had affixed a five-dollar bill to my handlebars. Since this was shortly before I gave up trying to find a replacement for my worn-out Avocet WII and bought the only women's saddle at the Trailhouse, I suspected that the donor thought that I needed the money, so I passed it on to someone who did. -- Joy Beeson joy beeson at comcast dot net http://wlweather.net/PAGEJOY/ |
#5
|
|||
|
|||
Bicycle Light Theft & Bicycle Parking Infrastructure
On Wed, 08 Mar 2017 23:55:23 -0400, Joy Beeson
wrote: On Wed, 8 Mar 2017 14:51:14 -0500, Frank Krygowski wrote: when parking it at the mall, it's in a place where it's out of sight and cable locked to secure pipes. I, on the other hand, look for a place where dozens of people have a clear view of anyone who might feel like messing with my bike. I've never had a bike part stolen. Well, not that I remember -- I was born with chronic amnesia -- but once I came out of Aldi to find that someone had affixed a five-dollar bill to my handlebars. Since this was shortly before I gave up trying to find a replacement for my worn-out Avocet WII and bought the only women's saddle at the Trailhouse, I suspected that the donor thought that I needed the money, so I passed it on to someone who did. I locked my keys in the pickup one day. Parked on a fairly busy street and was sort of peering in the window trying to figure out if breaking the window was the only option. A guy walking down the sidewalk says, "Locked your keys in the car, huh?" I said yes and he popped into a hardware shop (apparently knew the shop owner) came back with an 18" steel ruler and popped the lock. I thanked him profusely and got in and drove away wondering, "could I get a new pickup that way?" I'm not sure whether being in a crowd is really any protection for a bicycle :-) -- Cheers, John B. |
#6
|
|||
|
|||
Bicycle Light Theft & Bicycle Parking Infrastructure
On 3/9/2017 1:41 AM, John B. wrote:
On Wed, 08 Mar 2017 23:55:23 -0400, Joy Beeson wrote: On Wed, 8 Mar 2017 14:51:14 -0500, Frank Krygowski wrote: when parking it at the mall, it's in a place where it's out of sight and cable locked to secure pipes. I, on the other hand, look for a place where dozens of people have a clear view of anyone who might feel like messing with my bike. I've never had a bike part stolen. Well, not that I remember -- I was born with chronic amnesia -- but once I came out of Aldi to find that someone had affixed a five-dollar bill to my handlebars. Since this was shortly before I gave up trying to find a replacement for my worn-out Avocet WII and bought the only women's saddle at the Trailhouse, I suspected that the donor thought that I needed the money, so I passed it on to someone who did. I locked my keys in the pickup one day. Parked on a fairly busy street and was sort of peering in the window trying to figure out if breaking the window was the only option. A guy walking down the sidewalk says, "Locked your keys in the car, huh?" I said yes and he popped into a hardware shop (apparently knew the shop owner) came back with an 18" steel ruler and popped the lock. I thanked him profusely and got in and drove away wondering, "could I get a new pickup that way?" I'm not sure whether being in a crowd is really any protection for a bicycle :-) Last night in Chicago a Dodge Challenger was stolen, recovered, then stolen again from the police station lot. http://chicago.cbslocal.com/2017/03/...n-parking-lot/ -- Andrew Muzi www.yellowjersey.org/ Open every day since 1 April, 1971 |
#7
|
|||
|
|||
Bicycle Light Theft & Bicycle Parking Infrastructure
John B. writes:
On Wed, 08 Mar 2017 23:55:23 -0400, Joy Beeson wrote: On Wed, 8 Mar 2017 14:51:14 -0500, Frank Krygowski wrote: when parking it at the mall, it's in a place where it's out of sight and cable locked to secure pipes. I, on the other hand, look for a place where dozens of people have a clear view of anyone who might feel like messing with my bike. I've never had a bike part stolen. Well, not that I remember -- I was born with chronic amnesia -- but once I came out of Aldi to find that someone had affixed a five-dollar bill to my handlebars. Since this was shortly before I gave up trying to find a replacement for my worn-out Avocet WII and bought the only women's saddle at the Trailhouse, I suspected that the donor thought that I needed the money, so I passed it on to someone who did. I locked my keys in the pickup one day. Parked on a fairly busy street and was sort of peering in the window trying to figure out if breaking the window was the only option. A guy walking down the sidewalk says, "Locked your keys in the car, huh?" I said yes and he popped into a hardware shop (apparently knew the shop owner) came back with an 18" steel ruler and popped the lock. I thanked him profusely and got in and drove away wondering, "could I get a new pickup that way?" I'm not sure whether being in a crowd is really any protection for a bicycle :-) Sometimes it is. Years ago, when I was a gradual student, I was walking across campus with my girlfriend. She told me to go back the way we had come -- she had seen someone stealing a bicycle. At first I did not believe her, because I had noticed nothing. It was the middle of the day, and there were many people around. She said she had seen him trying to cut the cable with a pair of dikes, so we turned around, just in time to see a small and bedraggled looking guy being frogmarched authority-ward by two burly students. I assume justice was served. While one can't rely on bystanders protecting your bicycle, it's a better bet than imagining that some secluded spot is unpatrolled by thieves. -- |
#8
|
|||
|
|||
Bicycle Light Theft & Bicycle Parking Infrastructure
On 3/9/2017 9:45 AM, Radey Shouman wrote:
John B. writes: On Wed, 08 Mar 2017 23:55:23 -0400, Joy Beeson wrote: On Wed, 8 Mar 2017 14:51:14 -0500, Frank Krygowski wrote: when parking it at the mall, it's in a place where it's out of sight and cable locked to secure pipes. I, on the other hand, look for a place where dozens of people have a clear view of anyone who might feel like messing with my bike. I've never had a bike part stolen. Well, not that I remember -- I was born with chronic amnesia -- but once I came out of Aldi to find that someone had affixed a five-dollar bill to my handlebars. Since this was shortly before I gave up trying to find a replacement for my worn-out Avocet WII and bought the only women's saddle at the Trailhouse, I suspected that the donor thought that I needed the money, so I passed it on to someone who did. I locked my keys in the pickup one day. Parked on a fairly busy street and was sort of peering in the window trying to figure out if breaking the window was the only option. A guy walking down the sidewalk says, "Locked your keys in the car, huh?" I said yes and he popped into a hardware shop (apparently knew the shop owner) came back with an 18" steel ruler and popped the lock. I thanked him profusely and got in and drove away wondering, "could I get a new pickup that way?" I'm not sure whether being in a crowd is really any protection for a bicycle :-) Sometimes it is. Years ago, when I was a gradual student, I was walking across campus with my girlfriend. She told me to go back the way we had come -- she had seen someone stealing a bicycle. At first I did not believe her, because I had noticed nothing. It was the middle of the day, and there were many people around. She said she had seen him trying to cut the cable with a pair of dikes, so we turned around, just in time to see a small and bedraggled looking guy being frogmarched authority-ward by two burly students. I assume justice was served. While one can't rely on bystanders protecting your bicycle, it's a better bet than imagining that some secluded spot is unpatrolled by thieves. Depends on the spot. My parking place at the mall is not even recognized as a "place" by most people. It's completely inconspicuous. And if a thief decided to start checking it - what? daily? hourly? - for parked bicycles, he'd starve before he found one parked there. AFAIK I'm the only one who ever uses that spot, and I don't go to the mall very often. About protection by passers-by: One bike shop employee once told me about having to "steal" his own bike. He'd locked it in place behind the library using a thick cable or chain lock (I forget which), but somehow lost the key. He walked to the bike shop, returned with tools, and hacked away for quite a while before getting it cut. He mentioned that several people passed by saying nothing. One young kid told his mom "He's trying to steal that bike!" The mother said "SSSHHH!" and kept on walking. But as I say, I've had no problems. My most frequent longish-term parking places are the library and the grocery store. I don't even bother with a cable lock there. I jam a little wedge into the front brake lever to lock that brake on. In some other places, I use a thin, homemade cable lock. It all depends on the environment. -- - Frank Krygowski |
#9
|
|||
|
|||
Bicycle Light Theft & Bicycle Parking Infrastructure
On Thursday, March 9, 2017 at 6:29:09 AM UTC-8, AMuzi wrote:
On 3/9/2017 1:41 AM, John B. wrote: On Wed, 08 Mar 2017 23:55:23 -0400, Joy Beeson wrote: On Wed, 8 Mar 2017 14:51:14 -0500, Frank Krygowski wrote: when parking it at the mall, it's in a place where it's out of sight and cable locked to secure pipes. I, on the other hand, look for a place where dozens of people have a clear view of anyone who might feel like messing with my bike. I've never had a bike part stolen. Well, not that I remember -- I was born with chronic amnesia -- but once I came out of Aldi to find that someone had affixed a five-dollar bill to my handlebars. Since this was shortly before I gave up trying to find a replacement for my worn-out Avocet WII and bought the only women's saddle at the Trailhouse, I suspected that the donor thought that I needed the money, so I passed it on to someone who did. I locked my keys in the pickup one day. Parked on a fairly busy street and was sort of peering in the window trying to figure out if breaking the window was the only option. A guy walking down the sidewalk says, "Locked your keys in the car, huh?" I said yes and he popped into a hardware shop (apparently knew the shop owner) came back with an 18" steel ruler and popped the lock. I thanked him profusely and got in and drove away wondering, "could I get a new pickup that way?" I'm not sure whether being in a crowd is really any protection for a bicycle :-) Last night in Chicago a Dodge Challenger was stolen, recovered, then stolen again from the police station lot. http://chicago.cbslocal.com/2017/03/...n-parking-lot/ That's the Chicago car-share program. -- Jay Beattie. |
#10
|
|||
|
|||
Bicycle Light Theft & Bicycle Parking Infrastructure
Frank Krygowski writes:
On 3/9/2017 9:45 AM, Radey Shouman wrote: John B. writes: On Wed, 08 Mar 2017 23:55:23 -0400, Joy Beeson wrote: On Wed, 8 Mar 2017 14:51:14 -0500, Frank Krygowski wrote: when parking it at the mall, it's in a place where it's out of sight and cable locked to secure pipes. I, on the other hand, look for a place where dozens of people have a clear view of anyone who might feel like messing with my bike. I've never had a bike part stolen. Well, not that I remember -- I was born with chronic amnesia -- but once I came out of Aldi to find that someone had affixed a five-dollar bill to my handlebars. Since this was shortly before I gave up trying to find a replacement for my worn-out Avocet WII and bought the only women's saddle at the Trailhouse, I suspected that the donor thought that I needed the money, so I passed it on to someone who did. I locked my keys in the pickup one day. Parked on a fairly busy street and was sort of peering in the window trying to figure out if breaking the window was the only option. A guy walking down the sidewalk says, "Locked your keys in the car, huh?" I said yes and he popped into a hardware shop (apparently knew the shop owner) came back with an 18" steel ruler and popped the lock. I thanked him profusely and got in and drove away wondering, "could I get a new pickup that way?" I'm not sure whether being in a crowd is really any protection for a bicycle :-) Sometimes it is. Years ago, when I was a gradual student, I was walking across campus with my girlfriend. She told me to go back the way we had come -- she had seen someone stealing a bicycle. At first I did not believe her, because I had noticed nothing. It was the middle of the day, and there were many people around. She said she had seen him trying to cut the cable with a pair of dikes, so we turned around, just in time to see a small and bedraggled looking guy being frogmarched authority-ward by two burly students. I assume justice was served. While one can't rely on bystanders protecting your bicycle, it's a better bet than imagining that some secluded spot is unpatrolled by thieves. Depends on the spot. My parking place at the mall is not even recognized as a "place" by most people. It's completely inconspicuous. And if a thief decided to start checking it - what? daily? hourly? - for parked bicycles, he'd starve before he found one parked there. AFAIK I'm the only one who ever uses that spot, and I don't go to the mall very often. More likely than a purposeful bike thief is someone who knows your spot as a likely place to shoot some drugs or hide while skipping school ... He encounters a "free" bike. About protection by passers-by: One bike shop employee once told me about having to "steal" his own bike. He'd locked it in place behind the library using a thick cable or chain lock (I forget which), but somehow lost the key. He walked to the bike shop, returned with tools, and hacked away for quite a while before getting it cut. He mentioned that several people passed by saying nothing. One young kid told his mom "He's trying to steal that bike!" The mother said "SSSHHH!" and kept on walking. I suspect that passers by are much less likely to intervene than thieves fear they are. But it can, and does, happen. But as I say, I've had no problems. My most frequent longish-term parking places are the library and the grocery store. I don't even bother with a cable lock there. I jam a little wedge into the front brake lever to lock that brake on. In some other places, I use a thin, homemade cable lock. It all depends on the environment. -- |
|
Thread Tools | |
Display Modes | |
|
|
Similar Threads | ||||
Thread | Thread Starter | Forum | Replies | Last Post |
A small bicycle infrastructure victory in my city, thanks to me. | sms | Techniques | 86 | April 9th 16 10:20 PM |
"Bicycle Infrastructure Promotes Observance of Bicycle Laws" | sms | Techniques | 97 | January 27th 14 12:55 AM |
Bicycle Infrastructure and Safety: Death in PDX | Jay Beattie | Techniques | 20 | May 26th 12 02:30 AM |
Early bicycle theft | [email protected] | Techniques | 0 | January 12th 10 04:14 AM |
Bicycle theft | Leo Lichtman | General | 17 | May 28th 06 11:14 PM |