[*BCM*] back bay thefts

[Tom Revay]

On 9/19/07, Lee Peters <leepeters at gis.net> wrote about foiling the
theft of his bike, at great personal risk, from a woman and a man
armed with bolt cutters.

WELL DONE, LEE!

Then Lee Peters added:

> I use a cable lock.  I like it because I can lock anywhere and stretch it to get the wheels secure in one shot.  Perhaps more bike racks would make it so we can use u-locks.  whatever.  Based on the past thefts, it doesn't seem to matter.  Weren't the others Kryptos?

A few years ago, I wrote a pamphlet entitled, "How to lock -- and
keep! -- your bike," that was also a clever disguise for a MassBike
sign-up brochure.  You can view it at
http://users.rcn.com/trevay/articles/BikeLockingBrochure.pdf

(Since that time MassBike's offices have moved, so if you want to join
-- and you should, if you aren't already a member, because we need you
and because it's worth 10% discounts at many bike shops, as well as
offering other perks and bennies -- you should go to
http://www.massbike.org and click on the "Join / Renew" link at the
left.)

The brochure is available at
http://users.rcn.com/trevay/articles/BikeLockingBrochure.pdf .  Its
advice:

-------
1. Always lock your bike! It takes only seconds to pedal away on an
unlocked bike.

2. Use two different locks, with separate locking mechanisms. Thieves
carry tools that will either snip cables, or pry-apart U-locks -- but
rarely both. A cable-lock and a U-lock together are very secure.

3. Each lock should have its own built-in locking device (a key-lock
or combination lock, but not a padlock). Don't use a cable that's
secured by a U-lock -- once the thief gets through the U-lock, he's
got your bike!

4. Pull your cable lock through both wheels, and lock it around a bike
rack or other closed loop stand. Open-top posts (like parking meters
or traffic signs) let thieves lift bikes over them. If you use a cable
lock and a U-lock, you don't need to remove your front wheel to secure
it.

5. Wrap your U-lock around a secure post. Then pass it around your
rear wheel rim inside the bike's rear triangle. It's not necessary for
the lock to secure the frame -- if the U-lock locks the rim inside of
the frame triangle behind your seat-tube, the bike cannot be stolen by
removing the rear wheel.

6. A small U-lock is better than a large one. Small locks are much
harder to pry open with a  crowbar than a wide U-lock.
-------

I use a Kryptonite Mini Evolution 2000, the smallest of the better
quality locks they make, and I use it as described, locking the rear
wheel rim only but within the rear triangle, and secured around a
fixed object.  Then I use an OnGuard 15mm cable lock, not coiled
(which I think is easier to manage than the coiled lock), passing it
through both wheels and through an object that preferably isn't open
at the top.

If it is open at the top, like a street sign is, I'll give the cable
lock one or two wraps around that post to take up enough slack in the
cable that it would be nigh impossible to lift over the device.  Also,
be aware that mini-locks are too narrow to pass around the dumb
added-on collars that Boston, and apparently, only Boston, puts on its
parking meters.  (I found that out the hard way.)

The Kryptonite lock is about $60.  The cable lock is around $30.  And
yeah, that's some money to spend on locks, but even if your bike is
only worth fifty or seventy-five bucks, it's money you won't have to
spend again if you get to keep it.

For the record, I have never had a bike stolen, and I've locked mine
all over the Boston area since 1983 ... and in New York city,
Washington DC, Richmond and Charlottesville VA, and lots of other
places.  I've had stuff stolen *from* my bike -- pumps, lights, and so
on, when I got lazy and didn't remove them, and that tells me that
some thieving someone still gave my bike a look-over, but no one's
ever taken the bike.

Finally, Eric Stratton <estratton.apple at gmail.com> added:

> If only the defense "they shot horse thieves, right?" worked in the
> case of bicycles.

Well, Otter -- mind if I call you Otter? -- I live in Dedham, and
Dedham has what calls itself   "The Society in Dedham for Apprehending
Horse Thieves."

I once had a conversation with a member of this tax exempt
organization -- no kidding! see
http://www.taxexemptworld.com/organization.asp?tn=19675 -- and asked
him if he might persuade his esteemed fellow members to turn their
attentions to the problem of bicycle thefts.

Looking me over in my jersey and ankle-gathered athletic pants, such
as I use for commuting, this gent replied, "I understand why you would
want us to do that, and I recognize the need, too.

"But," he added, "I don't think it would go over very well.  After
all, stealing a bicycle has never been a hanging offense."

So I guess we need to work on restoring capital punishment ...!

Tom Revay
Dedham, Massachusetts