Cross posted from the Albany Bicycle Coalition mailing list…

On Thu, Aug 28, 2008 at 1:22 PM, Peter Herrig wrote:
> On a side note there are signs in the park about “Albany Bike Lock Program”
> “Visit any APD station for information” “Stop bicycle theft”. Are these
> just about registering your bike??

Alright, I have info!

I stopped a bicycle cop Downtown and he didn’t know anything, but he
told me to call Community Services. So I did.

It IS a bicycle registration program. It’s free.

You can pick up a trifold pamphlet with an index card at police
stations, City Hall, or community events where Community Services has
a tent. This gives you information about the program and allows you to
sign up.

What they do is take your personal info (name, address, phone) and
info about the bike, like serial number and make/model and any
distinguishing characteristics. They put this into their computer. You
get a little (1″) sticker that goes on your front fork. It’s blue and
reflective and has a picture of lock on it. It is supposed to be
nearly impossible to remove.

If your bike is stolen, the police know what your bike looks like,
know it has a sticker, and it will be easier to identify.

Any police officer can stop anyone on a bike with a sticker. The rider
is asked to verify that they own the bike, or that they have
permission to ride the bike.

Here’s my version of what I’d like News 10 NBC to do (yes, I’m on a bit of bike theft rant these days).

Dear News 10 NBC Editors:
On 18 August 2008, News 10 NBC ran a story about Mayor Robert Duffy’s “Zero Tolerance” crime policy. Part of the story featured footage of a Rochester police officer nearly running into a cyclist on a street in the 14621 neighborhood. Reporter Ray Levato cited this as an example of “zero tolerance” for crime.

To use this incident as an example of zero tolerance is destructive to safe and congenial use of the roadways for motorists and cyclists alike.

In this specific scenario, both used poor judgment; the cyclist by not wearing a helmet and not being more aware of the car on his left; the police officer by not signaling or looking back and fulfilling his legal responsibility to exercise “due care.” While both used poor judgment, only the police officer committed a crime; unfortunately, the cyclist could have paid with his life. As a regular bike commuter and occasional driver, I am all too aware that she with the heavier vehicle wins, regardless of who is breaking the law.

As to zero tolerance, I’d like to see the police address the rings of bike thieves roaming our city neighborhoods…three bikes were stolen from my neighborhood this weekend alone, including my own.

Instead of presenting cyclists as criminals, I urge News 10 NBC to explore two related issues: 1) bike theft–who’s committing it, how to prevent it, and information about R Community Bikes (http://www.mpnnow.com/lifestyle/x1542100972), where people in need can get free bicycles rather than buy stolen ones; and 2) safe and courteous procedures for sharing the road between drivers and cyclists.

Sincerely,
Julie White
Rochester, NY
writer for www.rocbike.com

Isn’t that a beautiful bike? Here’s the story…it’s a follow up to my previous post. Tanya was driving down Plymouth Avenue in Rochester, thinking…”You know, I’ve NEVER seen a GT Nomad…if I see one, I will know that it’s mine.” A few blocks later, she saw someone on a GT Nomad, a young man, stopped in a parking lot talking to a woman in a parked car.

Tanya pulled in to the parking lot, got out of her car, looked him straight in the eye (not an easy feat, since she’s 5’4″ and he was over 6′), and said, “You’re on my bike. Get off my bike.” He got kind of flustered, and said that he paid for it, it’s his bike. This exchange continued for a few minutes, with him getting more agitated and saying, “I didn’t steal your bike…it’s my bike.”

She decided to try another tactic (this was her most prudent moment of the interaction). She said, “Let me start over. My name is Tanya (extending hand). What’s yours?” He reluctantly shook her hand and told her his name. She told him that she’s had the bike for over 10 years, and it means a lot to her, then asked him how much he paid for the bike…the answer, $20. She said, “I’ll give you $40 for it. Get off the bike and follow me home, where I have the money.” He did so, she put it on the bike rack, and in her least prudent moment of the interaction, invited him to get in her car.

His female friend said, “No, he’ll ride with me.” Was she protecting him from Tanya? I don’t know, but I’m glad she did it, for whatever reason.

They followed Tanya home, got their $40, and Tanya had her bike back. This whole thing makes me simultaneously proud and terrified.

But wait…there’s more. Tanya took the bike to Full Moon Vista to get a wheel (since the thieves had replaced her nice one with a cheap one), lights, etc. While there, she noticed a Trek that she had been researching. She called me to come down and try it out.

Kyle sweet-talked me into buying it (perhaps that’s because I practically begged him to give me reasons to buy it). Seriously, I tried it out and I love it! By the way, philosophically I’m totally with Adam on buying from Craig’s list…but there are two factors against such an approach. First, I’m not so patient as to wait until just the right bike comes along. Second, I did not inherit the lesbian mechanical-skills gene (maybe that’s because I’m bi, but that’s another story), and would feel totally overwhelmed at having to make major repairs/parts replacement.

One more thing…perhaps you noticed how well the water bottle matches the bike (come on, you can admit it!). Here’s a closer picture just in case you missed it…
I bought that water bottle on Saturday, the day before my Specialized was stolen. All I can say is that I must have been meant to have this sweet blue Trek.

I brought it home last night, where it is being kept in an undisclosed location…bike thieves, don’t even think about it! Like I said, you don’t want to mess with my butch girlfriend.

You can take my car, my computer, my TV (if I had one), heck, even my wallet. But not my bike! I have a bad history of bikes being stolen, and each time I have learned from the previous theft. But this most recent time really gets me. The first time, it was stolen from the parking garage next to my workplace. The solution? Bring my bike up and put it in a storage area (thanks to my very bike-friendly supervisor). The second (and third) times, it was stolen from my own garage, which had a bum lock. The solution? Fix the damn lock (yes, I’m a slow learner sometimes).

This, the fourth time? It was a beautiful Sunday afternoon, my partner and/or I had been outside in the backyard nearly all day, and the garage door was open since we were going in and out of it to get tools for gardening and chicken-keeping related work. Our bikes were in the garage, not visible from the driveway, unlocked.

Thinking that no one would ever dare come into our yard while we were home, with lots of visibility from adjoining lots where other neighbors were around doing their own yard work, we didn’t worry about the bikes. When we came outside after a half hour inside, both our bikes were gone. As we looked around, we realized that they had come through our neighbor’s back yard, trampling the fence, and into our garage. There was a small kid-sized bike abandoned in the neighbor’s front yard.

We think they were looking for bikes and were tipped off by the bike rack on our car in the driveway. We always close and lock the garage when we’re not home, but I never would have thought someone would be so bold to come into our yard and garage when we’re obviously home. Several of our neighbors who can see our backyard were in and out all day, but somehow the thieves found this window of opportunity.

Funny, I grew up in a small town where most people never locked their houses or cars or garages. There were a lot of not-so-great things about growing up there, but that level of trust is something I really miss. Obviously I need to be a lot more distrustful…we are already discussing solutions to prevent this type of theft.

Anyway, that’s my bike above, before the existing fenders were added, and my partner’s was a GT Nomad, silver-grey, with fenders, kick stand, water bottle holder, and front pack.

Well, I was planning on getting a second bike this year, but now I’ll just get ANOTHER first bike. It’s hard to believe, though, how attached I was to that bike. I don’t believe in heaven and hell, but there should be a special hell for bike thieves.

p.s. any suggestions on other theft deterrent strategies to consider (so I don’t have to keep learning the hard way)?
p.p.s. new bike suggestions encouraged–under $1,000, hybrid, good for commuting, able to tow a small trailer, lighter than the previous Specialized I had.