Beware of Bike Jackers

Yes, Bike Jackers. 

Chainlink member and all-around awesome guy, Michael Wollpert, had his bike stolen right out from under him last night outside Penny's Noodles on Damen. He unlocked it and was knocked down and kicked by two guys who ran off with his Canondale cross bike. This was in front of people on a relatively busy street. 

I'm not sure if he's very active on this forum, but thought I would post 1. in case anyone comes across the bike and 2. to warn you that criminals will stop at nothing to get what they want.

Please be careful. If you know anything about what went down or see a Canondale cross bike (not sure of model) please leave comment or contact me or him directly.

Thanks,
Dawn  

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Permalink Reply by Kevin C Dormant on December 21, 2011 at 4:30am

Sounds terrible and I hope he's OK. This is, as of yet, a fairly rare method of bike theft in Chicago. I would hate to see it become more "popular." Thanks for posting it.

Permalink Reply by Shay on December 21, 2011 at 4:37am

Scary and awful.  This is bad news...and I often ride to Wicker Park from Logan Square, since it's so close and easier even than taking the L.

My thoughts go out to Michael.  

Permalink Reply by Doug Haynes on December 21, 2011 at 6:10am

As much as it sucks this is nothing new.

It's not quite as bad as the kids who will knock you off your bike just to hurt you or to mug you.

Permalink Reply by Dawn on December 21, 2011 at 6:15am

This was the first incident of bike jacking I'd heard of so I was surprised and thought there might be others who hadn't heard of it who should know. But I guess if people will steal your car from you, there's no reason for them not to steal your bike. :(

Permalink Reply by Mike Zumwalt on December 21, 2011 at 6:58am

Yeah not fun. That happened to me.

notoriousDUG said:

As much as it sucks this is nothing new.

It's not quite as bad as the kids who will knock you off your bike just to hurt you or to mug you.

Permalink Reply by Dawn on December 21, 2011 at 7:12am

Not sure on location. Going by his facebook post. I asked him to post to the stolen bike registry. Wonder if anyone ever gets their bike back that way. Thanks for the info..

h' said:

Thanks for the report, and glad he's apparently not injured.

This is just south of the Blue Line Damen stop?

Wish we had a site to record/map these incidents. Not something Chicago police are going to devote much resources to.

Can you ask him to post a report at http://stolenbike.org?

Permalink Reply by April on December 21, 2011 at 8:07am

This is extremely stressful news. I would like to express my heartfelt sympathies to the victim! I often visit that area, alone and in the early evening. I will be more vigilant.  Perhaps we should organize some kind of neighborhood watch thing for our fellow cyclists.  If we all look out for each other, maybe by lingering and watching while others unlock their bikes, joining up to ride together for a while if we are heading in the same direction, and just keeping our eyes open in general for other cyclists we can create a more difficult theft atmosphere. I am always astounded by the strength of the community of cyclists in the city. Surely together we are stronger than a couple of thieves!    

Permalink Reply by April on December 21, 2011 at 12:22pm

What if people who were willing to help wore an armband, (maybe a one of those reflective ankle straps or just a bright piece of cloth) that way when cyclists see it they know they can ask that person to watch out while they unlock or find out what direction they are traveling and (if they are going the same direction) ask to ride along for a while.  Not that we wouldn't do it for one another anyway, but the symbol of the armband will make it clear who is willing to help. That way a shy cyclist doesn't have to feel like they are imposing when asking for help. Who knows, the thieves might even take notice and start feeling like there's eyes everywhere. :-)

Permalink Reply by S.Presley☠ on December 21, 2011 at 12:55pm

I have a "chainlink" sticker on my helmet...and on my bike fender...that could be a start.

Maybe a sticker to show solidarity would work because it would always be with us and we wouldn't forget to wear it.

Permalink Reply by dan brown on December 22, 2011 at 8:14am

I like the idea of some kind of reflective symbol to show the larger community - I have always liked reflective stickers (the ones from Urban Assualt Ride are nice) because they are pretty durable and

permanent (I have them on both the bike and the helmet). But arm bands are cool too since they

would likely stand out more.  good ideas

Permalink Reply by Tim S on December 22, 2011 at 9:49am

How crazy, sorry to hear about his loss happy to hear he was not seriously injured. I will make sure to slow down a little when in the area if I see someone unlocking there. It's my hood and really ticks me off that people have stooped to this level. Amazing how brazen this attack was.

Permalink Reply by David P. on December 22, 2011 at 3:23pm

I first heard about this when something similar happened to a friend in Caracas in the '90s (in his case he was actually riding the bike), but I'd not heard of it happening here. Hopefully it will remain rare.

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