Hey! Don't be hatin' and spreading inaccurate info!

So, it seems that some feel it is my fault my bike was stolen. They believe my bike was locked only to itself in a courtyard apartment building. Here is a bit more info:

My bike was on private property. Inside a 6 ft high wooden privacy fence. It was underneath the building overhang in an unlit spot. Evolution Series U-lock.

Yes, it was outside in the backyard and true, it was locked to itself. Keep in mind this is a very heavy bike...not possible to carry by one person. Also, the addition of a cable that could have been cut with basic bolt cutters would not have prevented this.

Police do NOT feel my bike was locked inappropriately.

Most importantly.....supporting others in our community seems a better way to go about things. For those who do know me, they know that I am not reckless and unsafe. Ask them yourself. For those who do not....no need to be making assumptions and judgments.

Mild rant over.

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Permalink Reply by KayCee on November 3, 2013 at 12:32pm

Liz- my condolences.  We rely on our cargo bike for everything as well, it's so much more than just a bike. Luckily, it (barely) fits in our elevator, so we keep it in our living room- talk about being part of the family! Big Dummys are still pretty rare, and since the community has been alerted here, I hope someone finds yours- I don't know if you have an insurance policy that can help you with replacing it? We've lost three of my husband's bikes in the past few years- each an awful lesson learned.  Take care!

Permalink Reply by yai danche on November 3, 2013 at 12:44pm
Agree to disagree on reasonable expectations. Will just say my current storage situation is pretty close to Liz. I rent and this is the only option I have short of riding a folder (haven't found one I like) or buying my own home (not any time soon). I believe we can all agree that a crime was committed.
Permalink Reply by David P. on November 3, 2013 at 2:44pm

Doug, It is one thing to be right but another to be sensitive to someone. Yes, you're right in the point you're making - and you've made it several times just in this thread - but it is sort of boobish and being right is beside the point. You almost make Liz's point for her. I'd look to Kevin's response as a guide to making the same essential point but doing so sensitively. I do understand myself what it is like to sort of put a stake in the ground on being right about something, to the detriment of sensitiveity - it's something I've worked on improving myself.

Permalink Reply by dan brown on November 4, 2013 at 6:08am

this is really three separate threads :

 

1) Liz - I am really sorry bout your bike. it's very hard to deal with a bike being taken the way yours was. especially since it was (basically) the family 'car' so to speak.

2) yes we all need to be vigilant about locking. I am very very careful and picky about how and where I lock.but just last thursday (I was in a hurry and distracted) I locked my bike to nothing ... at the luquor store at augusta and rockwell. luckily it was rainng and probably that prevented it from being spotted as a F- in locking

3) yes , dug is dug. we all have reputations to uphold. on forums such as these one needs  thick skin and a short memory,

DB

Permalink Reply by El Dorado on November 4, 2013 at 4:07pm

This is Chicago. The bike theft capital of the country. Locking the bike to itself is just not prudent no matter how "heavy" it was. The worst part though is calling the police and expecting them to give a $hit. Chicago police have never cared about these thefts & probably never will. Lock up next time.

Permalink Reply by Michelle Loomis on November 5, 2013 at 1:44am

"We all make decisions every day about how much of the pleasure of our lives we are going to sacrifice (by carrying heavy locks, etc.) in order to defend ourselves against theft.  Sometimes our choices don't work out.  That doesn't mean they were the wrong choices for our priorities"

 

^This. My roommie and I lived in Bridgeport and kept our bikes under the porch stairs in front of the apartment for a whole year unlocked (nothing to lock to) and not stolen. From the outside you could not tell anything would be stored under there. We had both gotten these bikes for free through family and made them working again so $$ amount on them was not much. We understood the risks of having them stolen but that was weighed against keeping two 'crap' bikes in our tiny living room. We got lucky and I am guessing Bridgeport is not a place where thieves think people have anything worth stealing. Our neighbors knew the bicycles were there but we were friends so no chance of them stealing from us.

Permalink Reply by Davo on November 5, 2013 at 5:41am

Wrong probably isn't the best word to use. I would replace that with risky. 

Permalink Reply by yai danche on November 5, 2013 at 7:55am

Yes, sometimes this is the only locking/storage option available to people.  And Michelle, I also have a small apt so I don't really have room inside either (although I would make room if my landlord would let me).  I'm not going to let that keep me from riding a full-sized bike. 

Permalink Reply by Andrew Bedno on November 5, 2013 at 8:02am

I know Liz's place, and that bike, well.  And I can testify that the idea that someone would steal that bike, even just locked to itself, from even the most minimally enclosed area, is absurd on sight to any reasonable person.  The thing is enormous.  It's as absurd as thinking that any parked scooter or motorcycle is asking for it.  That aside, victim blaming is fundamentally wrong.

Permalink Reply by Doug Haynes on November 5, 2013 at 10:56am

A Big Dummy is not a scooter or motorcycle...

It's still a bike and something one person can pick up fairly easy and two could do no problem.

Andrew Bedno said:

I know Liz's place, and that bike, well.  And I can testify that the idea that someone would steal that bike, even just locked to itself, from even the most minimally enclosed area, is absurd on sight to any reasonable person.  The thing is enormous.  It's as absurd as thinking that any parked scooter or motorcycle is asking for it.  That aside, victim blaming is fundamentally wrong.

Permalink Reply by Liz W. Durham on November 5, 2013 at 1:29pm

For those of you who get it...that blaming and judging victims is not helpful or productive...thank you.

I did not speak well in venting my frustration and that likely contributed to some of the direction this post has taken; I apologize for that. Being caught up in frustration and freak-out does not always lead to clarity in words. 

To some degree that does not matter though and also kinda proves the point as to the desire to bash others. And to continue to misinterpret things. Ah well, c'est la vie. At least I got my venting out.

The one thing that perhaps all of us cyclists should remember as to locks. The one thing that nobody has even brought up here:

IF THEY WANT IT, THEY WILL FIND A WAY

My case is a good example. Although it was not locked in the most secure of ways, it was out of sight to the street, it was much less visible than the totally unlocked sitting out in the open bikes, it was inside a high privacy fence on private property (not in a courtyard). I could walk down my block and identify numerous bikes significantly less secure than mine...they are still there today.

IF THEY WANT IT, THEY WILL FIND A WAY

(No one lock, no combination of locks, is 100% impervious)

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