Two-wheeled worries
How many times have you heard someone say their bike was stolen? Many times, in my experience. Our former morning show editor had just purchased a sweet new bike for her teenaged son when it was stolen from her front porch. Bikes that are locked and ostensibly secured get carried away by enterprising thieves with bolt cutters.
The return of hundreds of stolen bikes by police to their owners this week has highlighted the extent of the problem. And it is huge, being done by professionals, and police claim one of the kingpins of the latest theft ring they broke up was orchestrating everything to gather bikes for resale.
There’s been a push by environmentalists for quite a while to get us out of our cars and if not on transit, then onto a bicycle. But if you’re just entering the bike world, the price of a decent set of wheels isn’t cheap and hearing that so many are routinely taken, makes them a potentially dodgy investment. Some companies are bike-friendly. Others, not so much. No one’s too thrilled with black tire marks on the hallway carpets.
So what have we learned?
Well, if you buy a bike, keep the receipt. Forever. Also, have a photo or two taken of you with your two-wheeler. You’ll need this info if your bike is stolen and you need to prove its yours to claim it.
What is the city doing?
The chairman of the Toronto Cycling Committee is starting talks about an anti-theft plan that would see bikes registered with the city, but there’s no guarantee that would return a stolen bike.
This fall, a storage facility is due to open at Union Station where for $15 or $20 a month, a cyclist can store their bike.
Some transit stations under construction will also be outfitted with bike storage areas.
Theft is always a risk in this city, no matter how many wheels you ride.