Please lock yer bikes

sugaree77 · Post by **sugaree77** » Wed Aug 30, 2006 7:56 pm

The Specialized HardRock Sport I bought 14 years ago when I moved to CA, which has seen me thru 5 previous BMs with nary a problem, was stolen from the rack in front of Center Camp Monday betw. 3:30 and 4:30.. Altho I had a lock with me I was hot, tired, and thought I'd only be there for a few minutes, so I didn't bother. Learn from my mistake.

Steve

Remark · Post by **Remark** » Tue Sep 05, 2006 10:17 am

bummer deal....sorry for you

Question: did you have your "address" on your bike? (9:00 & Brave, ect.). Luckly no one bother my bike this year, but twice in 2005 I had my bike returned to me (one guy returned it and said it looked like his...sorry. The other time it was left by the street sign and campmate saw it.

btw no I don't lock my bike and yes I should

brayandtrill · Post by **brayandtrill** » Tue Sep 05, 2006 2:39 pm

Seems like a bad year for bike "thefts". For the first time our bikes (2 matching decorated mtn. bikes) were snagged from in front of a theme camp on Esplanade at night. No locks, no "I belong here" tags. Our loss.
Must have been a good Karma year too though...our friends spotted them the next morning on the other side of the playa.
I wonder if the good people who "borrow" our bikes to get around understand how difficult it is to find them in a city with 36,000 or so people and other bikes. We were lucky. But yes, in the future we will always lock our bikes and keep an identifier tag on them. It helps to have them decorated too...in our case we would not have found them if they hadn't been recognized.
You can also report your loss to Burning Man in case the bike turns up after the event.

sugaree77 · Post by **sugaree77** » Tue Sep 05, 2006 5:22 pm

Epilogue: I made a swing by the Center Camp bike racks on Mon AM, and sure enough there it was. A liitle the worse for wear and tear (grips and lock mount messed up), but otherwise okay.

So now I can't decide what I think is sleazier - having it stolen outright, or having someone ride off on it for the week and then just bring it back when they're done. At least they returned it to CC rather than abandoning it out on the playa somewhere. I dunno, maybe you gotta admire their ingenuity - no cost, no transport hassles, no maintenance, and you get a new bike every Burn.... I do think things were worse this year, one of the guys at Jub Jub had his bike stolen right out of their camp.

The idea of putting your camp location on your bike is a very good one.

Steve

s5 · Post by s5 » Tue Sep 05, 2006 6:15 pm

Sad but true, if you want to keep your bike, you need a lock. I don't think it's malicious theft, either. It's just people walking up to a big pile of bikes and grabbing whatever looks easiest at the time. Even locking your wheel to the frame is good enough.

I noticed a pilot bike share program this year, and I think that will go a long way towards cutting down on thefts, as long as there are enough pick-up stations to cover the popular spots. I'm still going to lock up my bike anyway.

timburly · Post by **timburly** » Wed Nov 15, 2006 1:38 pm

The yellow bikes they had around this year was a wonderful idea, but don't have a yellow bike for yourself. One of the guys i was volunteering with at medical had a yellow bike and many people tried to ride off on it thinking it was up for grabs.

MikeVDS · Post by **MikeVDS** » Wed Nov 15, 2006 2:17 pm

This year I will be locking my bike with handcuffs. One side around the handlebar fork and the other around a tire to lock it. It's quick and easy (especially if you use cuffs with a quick release that you don't really need a key for). They can also be used for other purposes.

I know it's not very secure, but if you're low enough to fiddle around with a handcuff lock just to steal a junky old bike then you probably need it more than I do. The main purpose of locking for me is to avoid accidental bike taking or the drunken and just need a ride bike taking. I hope that covers about 99% of the reason people take bikes at BM. Maybe I'm being hopeful in thinking that most burners would not intentionally steal a bike when they aren't completely drugged out of their mind.

Ugly Dougly · Post by **Ugly Dougly** » Wed Nov 15, 2006 3:27 pm

When I was in Amsterdam, I asked about why everyone rides an ugly black bike.

The answer was: If you ride something fancy and expensive it will get stolen.

Perhaps we can have an Ugly Bike Derby next year?