Trolls on the bridge.

Late at night as I was crossing on the north side of the Lake street bridge, two young punks, one with a gun, tried to pull me off of my bicycle.

I was aware of something amiss before they approached and managed to quickly turn around and head the other way to call the police.

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1zt7hr8qm0y90Permalink Reply by 1zt7hr8qm0y90 on April 8, 2013 at 3:09pm
Were they eating doughnuts?
1zt7hr8qm0y90Permalink Reply by 1zt7hr8qm0y90 on April 8, 2013 at 3:29pm
I gotta tend to disagree being wary with an observer paying close (more than casual) attention to someone else on a bike. What if the bike impressed you, like a '55' Chevy or the rider was "hot," or both. We all look at art forms whether anamite or inanamite.
Permalink Reply by yai danche on April 8, 2013 at 3:37pm

i get the sense that i don't look very attractive while pedaling on a bike.  when i'm on foot, i admire how serene some people look on their bikes.  i probably don't look like that, because i can't say i feel very serene while pedaling in traffic.  

Douglas Iverson said:

I gotta tend to disagree being wary with an observer paying close (more than casual) attention to someone else on a bike. What if the bike impressed you, like a '55' Chevy or the rider was "hot," or both. We all look at art forms whether anamite or inanamite.
Permalink Reply by Juan 2-3 or more mi. on April 9, 2013 at 4:12am


Sometimes before leaving work, I pop a piece of chocolate in my mouth to sweeten my disposition and give me some energy for the commute home.


yai danche said:

i get the sense that i don't look very attractive while pedaling on a bike.  when i'm on foot, i admire how serene some people look on their bikes.  i probably don't look like that, because i can't say i feel very serene while pedaling in traffic.  

Douglas Iverson said:

I gotta tend to disagree being wary with an observer paying close (more than casual) attention to someone else on a bike. What if the bike impressed you, like a '55' Chevy or the rider was "hot," or both. We all look at art forms whether anamite or inanamite.
Permalink Reply by El Dorado on April 9, 2013 at 2:33pm

They always say on the news that these types of problems are caused by "urban youths".  Descriptions are important & necessary.  I've started to carry Bear spray that I ordered from Alaska to defend myself. This city is getting dangerous.

Permalink Reply by Juan 2-3 or more mi. on April 9, 2013 at 3:40pm

This is an example of how these trouble makers all seem to look alike somehow, with thier baggy pants and hoodies. It was dark, they looked like they were dressed all in black. They both were Black though. But still, I am always wary of anybody, especially two or more.

El Dorado said:

They always say on the news that these types of problems are caused by "urban youths".  Descriptions are important & necessary.  I've started to carry Bear spray that I ordered from Alaska to defend myself. This city is getting dangerous.

Permalink Reply by Haddon on April 10, 2013 at 3:47am

Spring is top bike theft season.  (in economic terms if you steal a bike now you get the most utility out of it before winter.)  A bus driver said 'now' is the time bikes get ripped off the front racks of the buses -so if your that type put on a lock. Now more than any other time of year lock up your ride.

Someone tried to do the knock-me-off-my-bike thing 8-9 years ago in philly and rather than trying to dodge I steered into him and totally decked the guy.  Your instinct is to dodge and turn away but really, once you get pushed down that is the end of since your ride will be gone before you get your wits about you.

But thanks for the alert, will watch for stairwells and the like, thanks, stay safe everyone - as if all the cars weren't bad enough.

Permalink Reply by Haddon on April 10, 2013 at 4:33am

Data no, for the bus swipe thing have had 2 drivers say as much and it may depend on the neighborhood you take the bus through.

There probably is some stronger data but at the moment I'm short on dig time, I thought this was a known occurrence (spring=prime theft time)

http://elevennews.byu.edu/2013/04/35-increase-in-provo-bike-theft/

https://corinthcycling.wordpress.com/2013/02/14/bicycle-theft-and-p...

This may well be more of opportunity (more bikes out in warmer weather than in cold) than anything. Unknown.  Either way stay safe.



h' 1.0 said:

I keep my ear to the ground in terms of bike theft, ride a lot of buses, and talk to a lot of drivers, and I can't say I've heard more than one first-hand account of a bike being stolen off a bus in the decade or so we've had the racks.

When I ride with my bike on the rack I certainly make an effort to stay close to the front door, stay awake, and eyeball my bike constantly, but I don't have a strong sense that this is a very likely occurrence.

 

Can you say more about spring being top bike theft season? Is there some data to support that?

 

Haddon said:

Spring is top bike theft season.  (in economic terms if you steal a bike now you get the most utility out of it before winter.)  A bus driver said 'now' is the time bikes get ripped off the front racks of the buses -so if your that type put on a lock. Now more than any other time of year lock up your ride.

Someone tried to do the knock-me-off-my-bike thing 8-9 years ago in philly and rather than trying to dodge I steered into him and totally decked the guy.  Your instinct is to dodge and turn away but really, once you get pushed down that is the end of since your ride will be gone before you get your wits about you.

But thanks for the alert, will watch for stairwells and the like, thanks, stay safe everyone - as if all the cars weren't bad enough.

Permalink Reply by Justin B Newman on April 10, 2013 at 5:17am

It happens I have the CSBR's still-in-beta stats generator handy. For 2012, monthly report counts to the Chicago Stolen Bike Registry were as follows.

Jan: 26

Feb: 31

Mar: 42

Apr: 56

May: 84

Jun: 144

Jul: 191

Aug: 155

Sep: 154

Oct: 103

Nov: 62

Dec: 33



h' 1.0 said:

Can you say more about spring being top bike theft season? Is there some data to support that?

Permalink Reply by Haddon on April 10, 2013 at 5:34am

Good data, nothing like your anecdotal evidence getting burnt out by hard facts. I was always believed there was a spike in early spring but there seems, rather, to be a very high correlation between warm days and theft and, in fact, none to support my early-spring-high-theft notion, alas.

Does anyone want to line this data up with an average temperature graph? My guess is there is a close to relation between temp and theft.

h

Justin B Newman said:

It happens I have the CSBR's still-in-beta stats generator handy. For 2012, monthly report counts to the Chicago Stolen Bike Registry were as follows.

Jan: 26

Feb: 31

Mar: 42

Apr: 56

May: 84

Jun: 144

Jul: 191

Aug: 155

Sep: 154

Oct: 103

Nov: 62

Dec: 33



h' 1.0 said:

Can you say more about spring being top bike theft season? Is there some data to support that?

Permalink Reply by Anne Alt on April 10, 2013 at 5:49am

Warmer weather usually means more people riding, which one would assume to relate to more bikes being locked up outside -> more thefts. 


Justin B Newman said:

It happens I have the CSBR's still-in-beta stats generator handy. For 2012, monthly report counts to the Chicago Stolen Bike Registry were as follows.

Jan: 26

Feb: 31

Mar: 42

Apr: 56

May: 84

Jun: 144

Jul: 191

Aug: 155

Sep: 154

Oct: 103

Nov: 62

Dec: 33

Permalink Reply by Far'arned Retrogrumpalunkus #63 on April 10, 2013 at 6:05am

Bike theft is fueled by the reselling of stolen bikes.  Only a few stolen bikes are kept by the thieves for personal use (although a few are, reading stories here and elsewhere about recovered bikes.)

It stands to reason that the high-demand months for bikes in general are when thieves are most motivated for stealing bikes for resale.  The CSBR data posted above seems to jibe with my seat-of-the-pants feel for "movement" on craigslist of legitimate bikes.  The more people want bikes, the more the prices go up and the market heats up.  It stands to reason that thieves are also on the pulse of this.  Supply & demand.  

Most thieves want to turn around the bike as soon as possible.  Best case scenario is to sell it within minutes or hours for whatever price they can get so they can go steel another one and do it all over again.  The risk of stealing a bike is pretty low in this city.  The risk of getting caught with one or two is not a big deal.  Getting caught with a whole bunch is a bit more dire.  Warehousing bikes might be OK for larger pro-theft organizations and higher end bikes but this takes what is originally a VERY LOW RISK endeavor and turns it into a much more risky business keeping lots of hot merchandise around.  I'm not saying it doesn't happen, but thieves want to move the stuff out fast and steal more -not screw around storing bikes, renting storage, keeping track of what they have...

If they wanted to do that they could be in a legitimate bike business rather than in a criminal one.  Those in the legitimate side of things know how tight the profit margins are and how expensive it is holding onto too much stock on hand.  Steal and sell right away is the way these crooks operate.  Low risk, low profit, but a LOT of turnover. 

Also, during these months there is more supply of bikes available as more people are riding and there are more newbies leaving bikes out that are not as well locked (or not at all locked.)   One would think that the time when these folks start getting bikes out to ride would also cause a spike in theft as it became even easier to snatch them. 

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