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 Doug Haynes on November 1, 2013 at 11:40am

Sorry but leaving a bike free-locked somewhere you cannot see it is pretty much giving it away.

A six foot privacy fence is not much of a deterrent to a thief, it is quite easy to get over and private property means very little to somebody willing to steal.  You may not be able to lift a bike that size but I can carry a Big Dummy no problem and am pretty confident I could lift one over my head and toss it over a fence; I can raise a tall bike over my head easily.  If the police told you your bike was locked appropriately they are stupid and spreading bad info around.

I'm sorry if you don't like to hear it but you did totally set yourself up on this; a bike not locked to a solid object is not going to last long in Chicago.  Ignoring that fact and telling you that the theft was not your fault when you left a bike unsecured is not supporting anyone or anything beyond your own ego...

Permalink Reply by Liz W. Durham on November 1, 2013 at 11:52am

Not a bleed-over from Facebook. Although there are posts on FB regarding keeping an eye out for thsi stolen bike.

The insensitivity and lack of complete situation in the words of others has come back to me from those in the chainlink community.

Permalink Reply by Anne Alt on November 1, 2013 at 11:56am

Sorry to hear it. Hope you're able to recover your bike. I'll be watching for it.

Permalink Reply by Doug Haynes on November 1, 2013 at 11:58am

How is acknowledging that a bike that is free-locked outside unattended not a sufficient lock job to prevent theft insensitive?

It sucks you lost your bike and you *should*, in an ideal world, be able to leave a bike in your yard and not have in stolen but the fact is if you leave stuff unlocked (as in not to a solid object) in Chicago you are not going to have it very long.

Liz W. Durham said:

Not a bleed-over from Facebook. Although there are posts on FB regarding keeping an eye out for thsi stolen bike.

The insensitivity and lack of complete situation in the words of others has come back to me from those in the chainlink community.

Permalink Reply by Liz W. Durham on November 1, 2013 at 12:00pm

Like I said...not so cool to be judging me as if you know a thing about me. Clearly you don't. Perhaps taking some time to know more about others you choose to judge before doing so might make some sense. You been by my place? You checked out the context of this? You ever sat down for a drink or chatted on a ride with me?

I have been riding and locking my bikes in Chicago for 17-18 years. This is the first time I have ever had a bike stolen. Every once in a while a bike ends up not locked the most secure way. Nobody is perfect. Not even you. Truly, there is no need to be talking bad about others in such a way. We are all people trying to get along in this world.



notoriousDUG said:

Sorry but leaving a bike free-locked somewhere you cannot see it is pretty much giving it away.

A six foot privacy fence is not much of a deterrent to a thief, it is quite easy to get over and private property means very little to somebody willing to steal.  You may not be able to lift a bike that size but I can carry a Big Dummy no problem and am pretty confident I could lift one over my head and toss it over a fence; I can raise a tall bike over my head easily.  If the police told you your bike was locked appropriately they are stupid and spreading bad info around.

I'm sorry if you don't like to hear it but you did totally set yourself up on this; a bike not locked to a solid object is not going to last long in Chicago.  Ignoring that fact and telling you that the theft was not your fault when you left a bike unsecured is not supporting anyone or anything beyond your own ego...

Permalink Reply by Marcus Moore on November 1, 2013 at 12:18pm

Do you need it spelled out?  How about a little tact next time you critique?  You know how it feels to have your bike stolen.  Please be a little more sensitive, especially right after someone is victimized.

notoriousDUG said:

How is acknowledging that a bike that is free-locked outside unattended not a sufficient lock job to prevent theft insensitive?

Permalink Reply by Drewbacca on November 1, 2013 at 1:25pm


It's along the same lines as correcting someone's grammar in the middle of an argument... rubbing salt in the wound. I agree that it is insensitive. 

Let the girl vent, there was no reason for you to chime in. It's your right, but not in good taste. It's possible to be technically correct and unhelpful simultaneously. 

notoriousDUG said:

How is acknowledging that a bike that is free-locked outside unattended not a sufficient lock job to prevent theft insensitive?

Permalink Reply by Doug Haynes on November 1, 2013 at 2:05pm

I get that it sucks but I feel that leaving this thread where it implies that the way the bike was locked is acceptable is a disservice to anyone who reads it. 

I'm not very good at tact but that doesn't change the fact that people need to be aware free-locking a bike is never a secure method of locking it.

Permalink Reply by Doug Haynes on November 1, 2013 at 2:34pm

I'm not judging you nor am I talking bad about you.  We have all made bad locking choices; I have locked up poorly myself.  You told us the bike was outside locked only to itself, there is really isn't anything else to it.  I am not sure what more context or knowing anything personally about you would change my opinion of how the bike was locked up.

You can be upset about the mistake and I really do feel bad about you loosing your bike but it's important people realize that is not an OK way to lock up.

 



Liz W. Durham said:

Like I said...not so cool to be judging me as if you know a thing about me. Clearly you don't. Perhaps taking some time to know more about others you choose to judge before doing so might make some sense. You been by my place? You checked out the context of this? You ever sat down for a drink or chatted on a ride with me?

I have been riding and locking my bikes in Chicago for 17-18 years. This is the first time I have ever had a bike stolen. Every once in a while a bike ends up not locked the most secure way. Nobody is perfect. Not even you. Truly, there is no need to be talking bad about others in such a way. We are all people trying to get along in this world.



notoriousDUG said:

Sorry but leaving a bike free-locked somewhere you cannot see it is pretty much giving it away.

A six foot privacy fence is not much of a deterrent to a thief, it is quite easy to get over and private property means very little to somebody willing to steal.  You may not be able to lift a bike that size but I can carry a Big Dummy no problem and am pretty confident I could lift one over my head and toss it over a fence; I can raise a tall bike over my head easily.  If the police told you your bike was locked appropriately they are stupid and spreading bad info around.

I'm sorry if you don't like to hear it but you did totally set yourself up on this; a bike not locked to a solid object is not going to last long in Chicago.  Ignoring that fact and telling you that the theft was not your fault when you left a bike unsecured is not supporting anyone or anything beyond your own ego...

Permalink Reply by Liz W. Durham on November 1, 2013 at 4:28pm

I appreciate your toned down response. If you look back you will see that I originally posted about people not being hateful and spreading inaccurate information. At no time was I advocating for how one should lock a bike.

I do disagree with the assertion that this was all my "fault". I do not advocate for victim blaming in any situation. Insisting that the victim of a crime bears full responsibility for the crime is rather ridiculous. Not to mention devoid of helpfulness.

It also seems you are the only one who has taken this thread to be about how to lock up a bike.

That being said, I do appreciate you toning down your response and maybe seeing what the original post was more about.

Permalink Reply by Doug Haynes on November 2, 2013 at 4:32am

You said right in your original post that the police did not think your bike was locked inappropriately; I STRONGLY disagree with that.  By saying the police think your lock job was OK you are implying that how the bike was locked had nothing to do with the theft when it was a key factor.

Nobody is blaming you for the theft; the only person to blame is the person who felt they had no need to respect personal property.  However, you did make it easier for them to disrespect your personal property by not securing the bike well.  Let me ask you this: are you ever going to leave a bike outside not locked to something again? 

Rather than being concerned about blame how about spreading the word that a free-locked bike is not safe from theft to prevent things like this from happening again?

Liz W. Durham said:

I appreciate your toned down response. If you look back you will see that I originally posted about people not being hateful and spreading inaccurate information. At no time was I advocating for how one should lock a bike.

I do disagree with the assertion that this was all my "fault". I do not advocate for victim blaming in any situation. Insisting that the victim of a crime bears full responsibility for the crime is rather ridiculous. Not to mention devoid of helpfulness.

It also seems you are the only one who has taken this thread to be about how to lock up a bike.

That being said, I do appreciate you toning down your response and maybe seeing what the original post was more about.

Permalink Reply by Laura on November 2, 2013 at 6:21am
Liz. I sorry about your bike. I have had two bikes stolen in Chicago. Each at the time, I thought they were appropriately locked. I now know that they were not. One of my bikes that was stolen was properly locked with a Ulock. What I did wrong in this situation is that I left it locked up overnight outside in Wrigleyville.
After each of these times, I realized that all though it was not my fault, I could have prevented this from happening. Instead of insisting that it was not my fault I used my loss to educate others. I also took my anger to help with bike recovery. I am NOT saying thay this is your fault. But it could be helpful to our community to instead change this into more of a way to warn others that even a bike that seems safe, is not. I even advocate locking up your bike if it is stored in a garage.
I hope you can recover it. Hit up the swap on ashland.

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