Keeping your Bike Safe

The internet’s a wonderful place where answers to questions like “what would happen if you put a baby in a microwave?” can be found in seconds and your idle curiosity turn to shock and horror.

Also, once again it can allow us to bring you a FMFT round-up of all the news that’s worth knowing.

It’s in no way a surprise that the security of storing and locking bikes is never far from cycling headlines. In some ways it’s important to not advertise the bikes that you have, whether that’s by making them look less desirable than they might be, or just not showing up where they are kept. One man in West Yorkshire is claiming that Google Street maps led thieves to his garage where it was clear to see he had a mountain bike stored. In an effort to be thorough FMFT have virtually visited the street, identified an open garage and found it very difficult to see that there is a bike there at all. This may, of course, be because it’s now been stolen. Somehow I find it hard to believe that thieves scour online mapping looking for stuff to steal, as opposed to going and looking for themselves, but I guess you can’t be too careful.

Luckily you can be careful if you happen to be visiting the Chicago Cubs on your bike. They now offer a bike valet service to encourage more baseball fans to cycle to games, knowing their bikes will be kept safe. I have a typically British suspicion of valet parking, but in a country where you can drive for years without ever having to park your own car it makes a lot of sense.

Perhaps the highest security for bikes is to keep them locked up inside a prison (although I guess there’s a fair chance that would find them in with all the criminals who were stealing them in the first place). A prison in Arizona has introduced televisions powered by bicycle power, which serve the dual purpose of keeping the inmates fit and letting them watch their favourite shows.

Should your bike have been stolen you’ll be looking for some way to prove you’re still part of “bike culture”. One way you might like to consider doing this is by wearing some sort of cycling related jewellery (I myself dabbled in this in the dim past with old bike chains, and can’t entirely recommend it). If you’re that way inclined FMFT can offer for your perusal the Gear Ring, with actual moving parts. To be honest I think you might be best off putting the money towards a new bike.

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