Bikes

[rpeterson]

Will someone please fucking explain to me when you lock up your bike with a cable and someone cuts it and takes the bike, why is that called "Borrowing"?

[Elderberry]

LOL That's pretty ballsy. I haven't heard of anyone actually cutting a lock to 'borrow' a bike before.

We had a friend that had his bike locked with a cable through the wheel. When he went to find his bike it was gone. He went back the next day and found it about 100 feet from where he left it with the lock cable twisted all around the tire.

Obviously someone tried to 'borrow' it an didn't realize it was locked and actually managed to ride it a bit of a distance until the cable got all caught up in the wheel. Hopefully it knocked him/her on his ass.

IMHO anyone that 'borrows' anything without asking, burning man or not, is STEALING.

JK

[Orphan Luna]

Having heard that bikes often go AWOL, I decided to do something I resist doing: I locked my bike with a skinny cable combo lock. I locked it to one of the guy wires going into Center Camp, so it was even more visible than being obscured in the multitude of bikes at the giant bike rack. Other bikes were nearby. I was there for about 90 minutes. Came out to find my bike lock sitting in the empty spot where my bike had been.
Mother f-er.
I brought that bike as it was the perfect bike to share with others: it had a completely adjustable slide seat and articulating and telescoping handlebars too. Someone 5 ft tall could ride it or someone 6ft 5 too.
Not to have some a-hole steal it.

I will try to see if it can be tracked somehow, tho' I tried that night on my long walk home, and the Rangers told me it was probably "Borrowed".
Right.
Maybe if I am extremely lucky and blessed it ended up somehow at weeks end in the Pile of Misplaced Toys, but I have a theory I will throw out there, and would appreciate input from others:
Is there any place easier for a bunch of pro bike thieves to show up with a rental van and pick the hippies and neo-hippies clean than when they're all gazing at the Man burning or stoned and happy dancing on the Playa? The reason I suggest such a thing is the very next day in our camp (which was on the Esplanade) somebody stopped a person ALREADY ON A BIKE, who was rifling through bikes and about to ride off with one, when someone said something to them (like" Hey, dude, I don't think that's your bike") So they moseyed off, probably to the next camp down the line.
I don't know how many bikes really go missing each yr, and yes, I have heard people leave a lot behind, but this was my first year, and I tried to take some precaution. As much as I hate the notion as it implies there are actually a-holes who show up amongst the reasonable folk, perhaps there ought to be some "policing" by the Burning Man Rangers,etc...., like checking out any rental vans leaving "early".
Seriously, it's like taking candy from big happy sleeping babies.
Thanks for letting me get this mini rant out.
It was pretty discouraging.
I would hate to be gathering the karma that guy's accumulating.[b] :evil: [/b]

[mdmf007]

Will someone please fucking explain to me when you lock up your bike with a cable and someone cuts it and takes the bike, why is that called "Borrowing"?

Its not - thats blatant theft.

So - I am working on a remote controlled stun gun bicylce seat. Anyone want one I figure it costs me 80.00 bucks in parts to make. Ill do labor for free. I am going to set up bait bikes in one spot, video tape them and wait for Assholes to steal them. I am letting them get 30-50 feet and going to juice their chode with the full power swooping in with a sign stating "BIKE THIEF"

I feel its fair game at that point. Sure sometimes people make mistakes, but its obvious when someone is looking for a bike to steal, versus confusing their non descript walmart buy for the next one. I figure i can start an entire Youtube account with input from others as well.

One question - Any lawyers out there see liability issues when the perp wrecks and busts out a tooth or breaks an arm? Just curious.

later

[rodiponer]

I locked it to one of the guy wires going into Center Camp, so it was even more visible than being obscured in the multitude of bikes at the giant bike rack.

It's a no-no to lock your bike to the guy wires. I saw an official looking guy in Center Camp (ok, he had neck lanyards and a radio, could have been anyone) with nice hydraulic bolt cutters. So I think They cut your lock and then someone else took your bike.

See here:
http://www.burningman.com/preparation/e ... n_brc.html

[Orphan Luna]

[quote="rodiponer"][quote="Orphan Luna"]I locked it to one of the guy wires going into Center Camp, so it was even more visible than being obscured in the multitude of bikes at the giant bike rack.[/quote]


It's a no-no to lock your bike to the guy wires. I saw an official looking guy in Center Camp (ok, he had neck lanyards and a radio, could have been anyone) with nice hydraulic bolt cutters. So I think They cut your lock and then someone else took your bike.

See here:
http://www.burningman.com/preparation/e ... n_brc.html[/quote]
Well, now I know, HOWEVER, my lock was not cut. It was forced. So doubt seriously it was anybody with BM. (Plus, that just seems so lame...to actually cut people's locks when you could just let them know with a note or a silly "hey dumbass" sticker for godsakes...)
"Very Un-dude."

[Monkeypoo]

I want a bike like this...

[gyre]

Someone tried to steal my bike by the second stop on monday night at the booby bar.
And I had a U-lock on it.

All cables can be cut.
Use a chain and lock for best results.

Security chain, not hardware store stuff.
FYI, I could not find any good stuff in reno at all.
Only some short chinese stuff.
Anyone wanting to do a group buy on chain or locks, let me know.
Cost, of course.

U-locks are vulnerable to jacks.
Otherwise okay.
The motorcycle sizes are pretty tough.

[rpeterson]

I have a theory it is capitalism at it's best. I went out to Gerlack Wed. I think it was and there were guys selling bikes to people just coming in, so I figure they come in steal bikes take them to Gerlack and sell them to people just coming in....they they go back in steal some more and go back out and sell them.....what a deal .....low life bast..ds, wish I had thought of that......but again that would have spoiled the week for me, thinking of the people that I left walking instead of riding.....karma will always get you in the end....so watch the f..k out next year...my name is Karma and i agree with the entrapment idea...got a year to work on it....

[Ugly Dougly]

Rule !: Don't spend any more on a playa bike than you are prepared to lose.

[rpeterson]

It wasn't that, my bike didn't cost much, got it at a pawn shop for hardly nothing, but it was a good mountain bike....the problem was from wed. on I was walking and mooching a ride on others bikes.....I was walking and the asshole that stole my bike was riding....something wrong with that, maybe just my attitude, I guess I should have been happy that the bastard, he gets to ride, hell I guess i need an attitude adjustment.

[MikeVDS]

I use fuzzy-cuffs with the quick release on them to "lock" my bike.

First off-I make my bike weird, and a little weird to ride. so if someone takes my bike it's not an accident and I know they are asking for an ass-kickin'. Every bike I've known to be stolen, was ordinary looking.

Next I do "lock" it with fuzzy cuffs to itself. It's hard to see them in the other fur and crap on my bike and prevents my bike from being a quick grab. Most people won't bother to mess with a bike if they can't just grab it and it's going to be obvious theft. In the original posters case I don't think this would work, but it's good enough for me. If they still get my bike, oh well, I'm not willing to go much further and worry about keys and that crap.

This year I actually know two people who got their bikes stolen. One out of our camp, and the other was at a gathering I was at and I think I actually saw the guy take the bike, but I had no idea that it wasn't his. He avoided all the funky ones and likely would have got a bruisin' if he'd tried for any of those ones. None were locked or had anything obviously unique.

[rpeterson]

ok, I give, what are fuzzy cuffs?

[professorzed]

I think fuzzy cuffs are handcuffs with fake fur on them.

Ordinary handcuffs work well as bike locks, but some handcuffs used for kinky sex have fake fur on the outside just for looks. In this case they might actually be hidden by the fake fur on the bike frame.

http://www.kk.org/streetuse/handcuffs-as-bike-lock.jpg

Actually, leg cuffs are better than handcuffs because they have a longer chain in the middle.

When I rode an Indian rickshaw in Toronto, they had locks like this:

http://www.hobotraveler.com/136dharwad/0010.JPG

They are pretty effective because a bike thief just doesn't expect them. Bike thieves are looking for U-locks, cables, chains, etc.

Also, taking your bicycle seat off goes a long way to preventing bike theft.

[Rusted Iron]

We ended with four more bikes than we started with. All of them dumped at our camp, some time during the last night. They all have a variety of bent, broken and flat parts. Probably borrowed, then abandoned when they became problematic. We decided we'd take them back with us, since the DPW has enough garbage to deal with.

They are being repaired and will be given away. If the original owners want them back, they'll be listed in the Found section of L&F.

[calamityjane.ie]

I like bikes!!

[rpeterson]

You know I have one last thought on this subject. When my bike was stolen, the thought went through my head "hey I will just borrow someone else's bike".....then I realized does someone stealing my bike make it alright for me to steal someone else's bike?
But when you think about it, is that what BM is all about? One bad act elicits another bad? What a great community that would make. :?:

[Gizmostarr]

Will someone please fucking explain to me when you lock up your bike with a cable and someone cuts it and takes the bike, why is that called "Borrowing"?

Out of 43,000 there will be a few misfits.

[rpeterson]

Sounds like more than a few if you look at the bikes blog, and the list of missing bikes etc. and the encouragement to always lock your bike, why, because this is a big problem.

[octoboi]

My partner and I purchased semi-inexpensive beach cruisers (a little less than a hundred dollars each from Walmart) for burning man. We got horns, and lights, and baskets, repair tools and supplies, locks and cables as well as oil and such for the bike so that we would be fully prepared. We had read a lot of posts and such prior to going (this being our first burn) and had some worries about bike theft. It's not like the bikes were expensive, but we did not want to walk everywhere if they were stolen.

The bike locks/cables sit in a pile of stuff that we brought back from burning man, and they were never opened.

We didn't seem to have any bike issues the entire time, and we left our bikes outside of our tent at night, parked at various tents throughout the event, or in massive crowds of people where they couldn't be seen at all while we were watching some burns.

It could be that they were cheap, and not unique, that they were not a target. It could just be luck or randomness that they weren't touched. But in the end, I didn't feel uncomfortable leaving them around and just enjoying the event. I don't think it would have diminished the feeling of the event had we actually gone through the trouble of locking them each time, but I feel better afterwards knowing that we didn't have to do so.

D. (playa name 2010 in transit)

[Gizmostarr]

Will someone please fucking explain to me when you lock up your bike with a cable and someone cuts it and takes the bike, why is that called "Borrowing"?

Out of 43,000 there will be a few misfits.

When I say "a few", I would guess maybe 10 or at the most 20 (out of 43,000) have a criminal heart that is cold enough to take someone's bike.
If it's more than 20, then all hope is lost.

[gyre]

You must be delusional.
I had a bike stolen at a burn while I was close to it and didn't lock it.
While I was searching for it, I ran into many people also searching for their just stolen bikes.
And this was at a fairly small event.
Either an organized theft ring was at work or a large group that planned to pick up their bikes at the same time, once they got there.

This year, I think someone attempted to steal my bike the first time I parked it.
I know someone tried to take it the second time I parked it.
This was at the Booby Bar on sunday night parked in front of the door and very visible.
I hadn't been on the playa long at all.

Always lock your bike.

[rpeterson]

Out of 43,000 there will be a few misfits.[/quote]

When I say "a few", I would guess maybe 10 or at the most 20 (out of 43,000) have a criminal heart that is cold enough to take someone's bike.
If it's more than 20, then all hope is lost.[/quote]

You are delusional! there is more than 20 posts for stolen and lost bikes my friend..........

[gyre]

I'm happy anyone was able to leave their bikes unlocked and still has them.
Seems like luck though.



Rpeterson, if you enable bbcode and smilies on your profile. things should work.
You can check in preview.
Enabling email gives you that option too.

[rpeterson]

thanks for the help, and I agree, from the people that I talk to if you leave your bike unlocked you have a better chance of loosing it than keeping it. I locked mine and it still didn't help, the lock was cut. Cheap cable lock but still............

[Elderberry]

thanks for the help, and I agree, from the people that I talk to if you leave your bike unlocked you have a better chance of loosing it than keeping it. I locked mine and it still didn't help, the lock was cut. Cheap cable lock but still............

Now that is truly disheartening. I've always chocked up bike theft on the playa more to drugs, booze, inconsiderate people and more 'crimes of convenience' where someone unconscionably "borrows" a bike to get where they want to go.

Then there are the "free spirits" that just believe an unlocked bike was provided for them to use by the universe.

JK

[rpeterson]

Maybe if BM management would take a harder stance on "borrowing bikes" and say it is not tolerated, it would have some effect on the problem. At present it is all on the bike owners to lock their bikes but nothing is said to those that steal bikes. If they would take a stance that you get caught stealing a bike you are out of here maybe our bikes would be somewhat safe and we wouldn't have to hassel with the locks.

[buckycat]

There is special circle in hell reserved for bike thieves.

A couple years ago at BRC, I was unlocking my standard coily-type cable lock for my bike, and the key snapped off in the lock. So I went back to camp, and got my cable cutters, and snipped my cable to free my bike. Damn, one wasted bike lock, I thought. Plus, I got no extra lock. And no way was I gonna ride around with no lock. (My wife has over the years had 2 bikes stolen/borrowed on playa. They were unlocked on both occasions. )

Standing there with a snipped lock in one hand, it occurred to me that if I just wrapped the now-snipped lock around the bike, and snug it up a bit so the coils are clustered together, it sure looked locked. Because all the coils make it difficult to actually see that the lock had been snipped. The coily cable lock kinda wraps back around on itself, so the cut part can easily be hidden in the nest of coils, can ya picture it?

So for the past few years on playa, I just use that same snipped coil lock with my bike. I like that, cuz then there's no key to carry around, no combination to forget.

I realize that my bike could still be easily stolen, as it is not actually locked. But I feel like the vast majority of thieves (at BRC, at least) looking for a bike will pass mine over, cuz they see a lock, and grab the next bike over that has no lock. They know there's easier pickins.

YMMV. I suppose MMMV too, if I get the bike ganked from me. But I'm a gamblin man.

[Fire_Moose]

way to give the secret away to all the bike thieves reading buckycat....

[Gizmostarr]

Well maybe I am delusional! (no surprise) Let's see.... if 99% are completely honest and loving and generous, that would leave 1% who aren't. 1% of 43,000 is 430..... 430 assholes !!
All hope is lost.
(But that still leaves 42,570 who are basically good people)