A reader writes in:
"Last night I had locked my bike up to a street sign outside of my place at 747 Buena. I typically take it into my place, but I had a lot of other things to carry. Then this morning when I walk out the front door I am greeted with the attached picture. They had actually removed the street sign from the ground in order to steal my bike. Just infuriating."
That really is terrible, but safety starts at home! I do feel bad about the lost bike, but maybe a fence (wrought-iron) or a something more stable might be called for in the future.
ReplyDelete"Too much stuff to carry" is a lame excuse.
ReplyDeleteYou did lock it to something, that says something on your behalf.
It is unsafe to leave a cherished bike locked like that on the local streets--even most Chicago streets--for more than an hour.
Certainly I wouldnt do it overnight. You'll know better next time.
I am really sorry of the blame the victim game. "I shouldn't park my bike to something stationary because someone might come along and oh, rip the permanent sign right out of the ground"???
ReplyDeleteC'mon.
It is terrible, but I would NEVER leave my bike outside at night attached to ANYTHING - no matter how permenant it looked... I'd be afraid not just of someone stealing it, but vandalizing it.
ReplyDeleteSorry about your bike - although this is a city wide problem. Bikes are hot commodities, although mine was stolen when I lived in Lakeview.
ReplyDeleteI feel bad the bike was stolen, but yes, anyone should know better than to leave their bike out overnight, in any part of Chicago.
ReplyDeleteLots of blaming the victim going on here, but they all have a good point: Dont leave your bike outside overnight, even if it's locked to something.
ReplyDeleteit's actually very common for this to happen in chicago. a lot of signs aren't even bolted down, you can just lift themout of their plate. and if they are bolted, just a wrench couldeasily take the bolts off. much easier than breaking a lock..dont' park your bike to a sign!!
ReplyDeleteSeeing your lock on the ground sums it up.
ReplyDeleteIf you had locked the wheel and frame to the post it may have been left alone. You made it too easy.
Unfortunately bike theft is all too common.
ReplyDeleteNever lock your bike to a street sign.
Get a really good lock or even two. Prowl Craigslist for used ones. Make sure the keys are Flat and not the old round ones which can be picked.
Bike lock comparisons.
I had my bike stolen from the bike rack at Webster Place Mall back in 2002 out in front of Barnes and Noble in broad daylight.
ReplyDeleteDo any of you remember the story about bike locks and how a thief can unlock certain ones using the end of a Bic Pen? Pretty much any lock that uses a circular key hole can be unlocked with this method. My bike was stolen this way and it was the most gut rentching experience I have had in Chicago (other than the 2 times I got jumped by gangbangers and had to fight them off, oh and al the times my van was attacked). I felt so violated and confused. I had no idea at the time how my bike got stolen and the store refused to let me view the security tapes.
I'm a man damit and a man doesn't cry! Although it was hard not to after getting home and feeling like I had just lost an old friend. I got the bike as a high school graduation gift and I took so much care of it that even 10 years later I still got compliments on it at bike shops. Oh well, such is life in a major city.
Sorry about the bike man. I would say the morale of the story is, leaving a bike outside overnight is not the best idea.
To anyone who has a bike, when you lock it up to a bike rack make sure the rack is actually bolted to the cement. Don't lock your bike to a street sign because people can either "pull the sign out of the ground" or un-bolt the sign from the post and lift the bike over the top of the post.
Bikes are a hot commodity in a city, you never run out of a supply and they are relatively easy to steal. I have even witnessed 2 guys stealing a bike before. It happens fast. One guy walks with a bolt cutter conceled in his jaket while another guy walks behind him. Dude #1 uses the bolt cutters than keeps walking, dude #2 grabs the bike and takes off. It was carried out incredibly fast.
If you love your bike or simply depend on it for daily travel get the best lock you can buy.
New York Fahgettaboudit® U-lock
New York Fahgettaboudit® Chain (or as I like to call it The Mr. T)
Definately don't leave a bike chained to a street sign. They even unscrew the sign at the top and lift the bikes up in the air to lift them off the post.
ReplyDeleteThere is another bike tied to a sign over on Montrose along the Graceland cemetary wall that has been stripped of parts.
Take part in the Chicago stolen bike circle of life - head to the next Chicago Police Department stolen property auction on May 31st and bid on a replacement.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.aceauctioneers.com/Chicago_Police/chicago_police.html
Got a nice Trek there last year for under $200 - there were literally more than 100 bikes on auction.
please post your experience to the chicago stolen bike registry so that others may learn from this experience.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.bikechicago.info/stolen.html
sadly, there has been a rash of thefts of this sort recently....
This is also a stripped bike attached to a sign across the street from the Jewel on Montrose.
ReplyDeleteAm I the only one confused by this picture? If the lock itself is not cut (Hard to see in the picture, but it looks like it is in tact and some of it is hidden by the dirt), then why is the lock not still attached to the stolen bike? Either 1) The owner completely missed the bike when he/she locked it. 2) This story is bogus.
ReplyDeleteAnother obvious point I missed, the lock must be in tact, because if the lock was cut, then there would have been no reason to remove the sign. With the lock in tact, I've gotta say I'm pretty skeptical of the story. Anyone with me?
ReplyDeleteHmmmm. Interesting point, confused.
ReplyDeletemaybe an old lock left around the post? it wouldn't be the first one i saw
ReplyDeleteTrue, could be an old lock sitting there, but wouldn't that have been a huge flashing red light and screaming siren to the owner locking his bike up to that pole? "Hey, looks like a bike was stolen here! I think I'll lock it up anyway and leave it overnight!" Sorry, this still doesn't pass by BS-o-meter.
ReplyDeleteMy post regarding that building and its tenants was removed...evidently free speech only applies to those who agree with the editor's agenda.
ReplyDeleteEither that or a responsible blog monitor did not let you flame, which is what responsible blog monitors do on most blogs.
ReplyDeleteevidently free speech only applies to those who agree with the editor's agenda.
ReplyDeleteThe constitutional right to free speech means that the government can't shut down a free press. It doesn't mean any eejit can post anything anywhere.
Your right to free speech means that you have the right to publish your opinions in your own publication. UU is under no obligation to give you a forum for posts he deems deletable.
And remember that UU is bound by the terms of service of Blogger, so he must delete posts that break TOS, or he himself can be shut down.