[Lincolnparkdc] Alley Thefts - Secure Your Bikes!

[JE Writer Editor]

 Bike Owners,
All of the suggestions below are good, but may I suggest that you keep your bikes indoors? 
It's a hassle (I had to carry mine up and down three flights of stairs) and it takes up valuable inside space. But over the years, I've had three bikes stolen. All were locked and secured to iron bars--two with chains and one with kryptonite. The thief could not break through the latter, so dismantled the bike piece by piece under the front window while we were inside! Only the frame was left and the cost to replace the parts alone was greater then the purchase price of a new bike. I kept increasing the security of the locks and registering the information as suggested. It simply didn't work. The only solution was to bring the bike inside. Yes, it took up valuable floor space in an apartment. You may not want to heed this advice, but I kept my fourth bike for years and used it a lot. It's painful to think of my losses and those of my neighbors and I hope that I can save at least one other bike from being stolen. 
Happy trails,
Judy
    On Wednesday, October 7, 2020, 01:21:28 PM EDT, Brett Reynolds <brettreynolds at gmail.com> wrote:  
 
 Neighbors,
Pardon the interruption but I wanted to send out an alert about an apparent rash of bike thefts in our neighborhood's alleys in recent weeks.
We're in the 100 Block of Tennessee Ave NE, and had two bikes stolen from our back storage area Sunday night. The thieves scaled our 9-foot tall privacy fence to get inside and must have tossed the bikes over. (Fortunately, I recovered one of the bikes the next day with the help of Montgomery County Police when it was listed for sale on on-line marketplace sites.)
Since mentioning this to various people and local bike shops, I've heard reports of a lot of alley thefts of bikes and other property in the vicinity of Lincoln Park in the past couple of weeks, including a number of bikes stolen as recently as last night.
So keep an eye out and secure your property the same way you would if it were out in the open, even if it's behind a fence or gate. 
Having gone through the experience now, I strongly suggest taking note of your bike serial numbers, having several good photos of your bikes, and also consider registering your bike with BikeIndex and/or Project529. Having the serial number and any other evidence of ownership will be a huge step towards recovering your bike if it's stolen and ever found. And when police come across a bunch of bikes suspected as stolen, they run the serial numbers in databases like BikeIndex, Project529, or county/state databases. (DC MPD uses Project529.) If your bike is registered, not only can they get it back to you, but it will help provide additional evidence of the seller trafficking in stolen property.
Stay safe,Brett Reynolds_______________________________________________
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