Reversed
As someone who thinks of their bike as a car, sometimes I really wish bikes were a little more like cars. Because most drivers I know would not put up with this sort of thing…
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This cracked me up totally. Now if only my dang lights wouldn’t fall off or disappear at some point during a ride. I’ve been through three sets in one year!
So true! I’m looking for the perfect light setup for my bike. I love the look on the lady’s face at her stolen tires. Thanks for the smile!
This is why whenever I lock my bike up outside, I remove everything that can be removed without tools and carry it with me. (headlight, taillights, speedometer, pump, panniers) Then I take off my quick-release front wheel and lock it with a U lock next to the rear wheel. Haven’t had any problems so far.
I love riding my bike as transport. Thankfully, work has secure parking. But, one of my bugbears is the post-work parking ‘somewhere’. My bike generally has a cape roll on the rear. And front-rear lights. Often my rack-top bag too. Add the helmet as well and that’s a heap to take off/put on.
(I ensured my partner’s bike is a little easier. She now has a hub dynamo and great lights bolted on.)
There was an interesting Planet Money episode about why bike theft is such a problem in New York City (and likely other places): http://www.npr.org/blogs/money/2012/09/07/160753071/the-economics-of-stealing-bikes
Basically what it comes down to is enforcement. Bike thieves are rarely caught, and when they are the punishment is usually pretty lax. The problem is that bikes are usually too cheap to make the crime a felony, and the law has never been adjusted to account for the “nuisance factor” of stealing someone’s transportation. The law enforcement consensus seemed to be that this was a solvable problem if society were ever interested in doing so, but instead we generally choose to ignore it.