Letter from Boston

Getting Another Bike

By MASAKO YAMADA

It's Columbus Day Weekend now, and I went to my local bike shop today to take advantage of their big sale. I walked past the tempting rows of sleek racers, chunky mountain bikes and fancy hybrids with price tags that easily go into four figures. Instead, I went straight to the short row of bikes that are meant for short commutes on city streets, i.e., the bikes with the fewest features and the lowest prices.

I immediately knew which bike I wanted. The price was right, the size was right and the color was right (fire-engine red!!). And it was the same brand and model as the beloved bike that I used to have — the one that was stolen from the bike rack in front of my building at school.

Yes, long-time readers might have wondered why I'd gotten a new bike so soon after reporting on the purchase of my previous one. In that article, I wrote in detail about the measures I took to prevent the bicycle from being stolen. I took those measures, but they weren't enough.

Before leaving my bike, I locked the frame to a solid railing with a Kryptonite lock. Even my detachable seat and rear tire were locked to the frame so that petty theft would be prevented. However, my bicycle was taken away by a person who had the resources to cut through the main lock.

When I told my roommate that my bicycle got stolen from the rack outside our building, he said, "Me, too!!" He thought that he had mistakenly forgotten to lock his bicycle and that somebody simply walked away with it. Of course, taking away an unlocked bicycle is still a crime, but he seemed to blame himself for his forgetfulness. I told him that the crook who got my bike broke through my lock, so that the lock wouldn't necessarily have helped.

After this incident, I realized that there are many other things that I must do to protect my bicycle in the city. I've gotten a bigger, tougher lock for my new bicycle. I've also vowed to fill out the insurance form that comes with the lock, so that I can be reimbursed in case the bike is stolen. I foolishly did not do this with my previous lock. Some credit card companies also insure bikes that are purchased using their card.

I've also decided to register the bike with the Boston University police department. This won't prevent its being stolen, but it might help identify the bike later on if it is. I've even considered adding some distinctive permanent scratches to the bike to make it easily identifiable.

About a month after my bicycle was stolen, I saw the exact same model across the street from my building. I went over to the bike numerous times to see whether it was mine, but I couldn't really tell. The saddle was different, but people often change the parts of stolen goods, so that wasn't proof that it wasn't mine.

Finally, a couple of friends and I went to check the serial number on the bike (passersby must have thought that we looked suspicious, since we couldn't find the number for a long time) and we realized that it wasn't mine. A simple "tattoo" on the bike would have made this process a lot easier.

Many of my colleagues and professors carry their bicycles into our building and leave them in side their offices in order to prevent theft. Although I used to bring my bicycle inside as well, I happened to be in a hurry the day it got stolen, so I just left it outside. There are many people who cannot bring their bikes inside the building, however, so they are forced to leave them outside.

Perhaps the best all-around way to prevent bicycle theft is to own an unattractive bike. I might have gotten the cheapest bike in the professional bike shop, but most graduate students own beat-up bicycles that are sold in toy stores or general houseware stores.

My bicycle was among many on the bike rack, but I'm sure that it looked tempting in comparison. I couldn't take this lesson to heart this time around, though: That shiny red bike in the bike shop beckoned to me again. I can only hope it doesn't beckon to bicycle thieves as well.

Shukan ST: Oct. 22, 1999

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