There was a stolen bike listing that caught my eye the other day. Apparently a woman was waiting for a MAX train when a thief ripped her beloved steed right out of her hands. The woman’s husband emailed these details:
A recent stolen bike listing describes a brazen thief clipping bike locks in broad daylight on NE Broadway Blvd: “My bike was stolen a few hours ago outside Costello’s Travel Cafe on NE Broadway between 22nd and 23rd. It was 7:00pm, bright out, and busy on the street. A woman who was parking right beside … Read more
Check out this article in today’s Willamette Week. “Two-Wheeled Street Justice: A popular website tips off bike-theft vigilantes” Reporter Angela Valdez covers the recent bike theft recovery story and says some nice things about BikePortland.org. I love this quote she got from Corey (the guy that confronted the thief):
[Michael Jones] When thieves steal bikes, they often turn to the Internet to sell them and make a quick buck. Savvy theft victims will spend the few weeks after their bike is stolen scanning sites like Craiglist and Ebay in hopes of finding their beloved steed. This process, if done at all, can be tedious … Read more
Today I’ve got yet another great stolen bike recovery story to share. This one exemplifies the reason I began these listings in the first place; we can’t rely on the Police to get our bikes back. Nothing against them, but they cannot match the power of a savvy and connected bike community working together to … Read more
A recent bike theft recovery story spurred a debate about what to do if you see a stolen bike in your neighborhood or for sale online. In the story, someone approached a thief and paid them $150 for a bike they suspected was stolen. Some people were happy the owner got his bike back, while … Read more
A few days ago I was hanging out on my street talking to a neighbor. Suddenly, riding toward me on a strange bike with a huge grin on his face was a friend of mine, known as West Cougar. When he got closer, I noticed the bike was a green Kronan (a Swedish military bike … Read more
[Re-united with owner.] I’m happy to report that over the weekend, the vigilance and awareness of the bike community scored yet another victory over bike thieves. On Saturday, Carl Larson noticed a nice Blue Schwinn Homegrown mountain bike in front of Red Light Clothing Exchange in downtown Portland. The bike looked very similar to a … Read more
I love when I wake up to emails like this: “Jonathan, Wanted to let you know I recovered the bike yesterday. I can’t be sure, but it looks like the response posted on BikePortland.org had a lot to do with the bikes current “owner” contacting me to arrange a return. It was a pretty sketchy … Read more
[Happy and secure.] Back in March I said I would give away a Kryptonite Evolution U-lock to a randomly selected bike theft victim. To be eligible, you had to list your stolen bike and provide me with a case number from the Portland Police Bureau. The first winner is Jay Fields! Jay lost her blue … Read more
Portland Rock Gym has a cool little program to help keep their customer’s bikes safe. They have a big sign on their rack (see photo) that says “Cable locks are not secure”. Then, they take it a step further by loaning out U-locks to members that need one. According to Yuval, the gym’s manager, they’ve … Read more
What the heck is going on? Seems like every time I log on there are more stolen bikes to publish. There are 107 listed so far and I’m averaging about one a day for the past 2 months…and that’s only what gets listed here! There are surely many other bikes stolen throughout the city every … Read more