Several Columbus neighborhoods report an increase in bicycle thefts. But a new program could help theft victims.
While it won't prevent a bike from being stolen, the “Bug Your Bike” program could increase the odds of recovery.
Avid cyclist Chris Haydocy thought his bicycles were safely tucked away in his Victorian Village garage. He was wrong.
“We had three bicycles stolen from the garage. They were pretty brave. They walked through the fence from the outside in and then they walked in and then walked into the garage from there, " Haydocy explained.
Across the alley, Richard Lusk secured his bike outside. The lock did not stop thieves.
“It was locked up to my back porch and I was gone for a weekend and I came back and it was gone,” he said.
We don’t know exactly how many bikes have been stolen. Columbus police don’t keep specific records. But cyclists say they’re seeing an epidemic of thefts. Some of the bikes are worth thousands of dollars. Bike shop owner Joe Kitchen says it’s a serious problem.
“I think there’s sort of a perception that it’s not a serious crime. I disagree. I have a T-shirt that says ‘Death penalty to bike thieves’,” he said with a chuckle.
Kitchen has owned Once Ridden Bikes on Indianola Avenue for thirteen years. He sells new and used bikes. He buys used bikes for re-sale. A lot used bikes.
“Three hundred. “
“That’s a lot of bikes. Do you have any idea where they come from?”
“I collect driver’s license information form anybody that sells a bike to me. I also buy them at yard sales and thrift stores and flea markets and that sort of thing.”
While Kitchen buys hundreds of bikes each year, he says turns away plenty of would-be sellers.
“I have a list of thirty people that I know to be neighborhood bike thieves. These are people that I know are in the stolen bike racket. I ask them all the time ‘where did you get this bike’? And, you know, if they start in with my sister’s cousin’s friend, you know,” Kitchen said.
Kitchen said some bike thieves are kids looking for a quick way to get where they want to go. Others are people down on their luck.
But Kitchen suspects some thefts are part of something larger.
“Other times I’ve found that those bikes are being sold on Craigslist as far away as Dallas or Colorado somewhere. So that’s not joyriders or someone looking for a quick buck. There’s more going on there,”
Once in a while Kitchen says can recover someone’s stolen bike. But it’s not easy.
Recording a bike’s serial number can help. And there’s a new way.
The City of Columbus, Ohio State police and COTA recently created the “Bug Your Bike” program. Owners register their bike with the city’s Safety Department which gives cyclists a radio frequency identification chip and bar code to put on their bikes.
Thom Ibinson, who oversees the free program admits “Bug Your Bike won’t ensure that a bike won’t be stolen but he says….
“It could be a deterrent, it could also help with recovery. If the police department receives some bikes that are abandoned, they would be able to scan that barcode and see who the owner of the bike is,” Ibinson explained.
Victorian Village’s Richard Lusk plans to sign up for ‘Bug Your Bike’ now that he has replaced his stolen bike.
“Yeah, I’m gonna definitely follow up on that cause I don’t want a second one stolen,” Lusk said.
Neighbor and fellow victim Chris Haydocy agrees. Haydocy still regrets the loss of his valuable Cannondale bike, while his golf clubs were left behind. "I put a lot of good miles on that bike, he said, while my golf clubs only brought me a lot of heartache", Haydocy said.