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news
Locked bikeThief dresses as cyclist to steal bike
Police are investigating an incident in Barnes in London in which a man is said to have disguised himself as a cyclist to steal a £4,000 bike.
The London Evening Standard reports how Theo Henry spotted a man using a pair of bolt cutters to break a bike lock while walking near the Thames at around 8.30pm on Monday. When challenged, the man pointed to his attire to back up his claim that he was not a thief.
“I went up to him and said what are you doing and asked him whose bike that was. He told me ‘don’t be silly, it’s my bike, do I look like a bike thief?’
“I was just weighing up what to do, whether I was going to wallop him or call the police, when he took off and threw the lock at me.”
Several other people attempted to stop the man, but he managed to get away.
Henry – who has himself had three bikes stolen, most recently a £1,700 BMC bike last week – did however manage to take some photographs and a Met Police spokesman has confirmed they are investigating.
Henry felt that the way the man went about taking the bike showed that it was something he’d done regularly.
“He was very cleverly dressed as a cyclist with a high-vis shirt on so you would never expect him to be a thief. He clearly does this regularly, hence the bicycle clothes and well prepared bolt cutters in his ruck sack.
“The thing about bicycle theft is the actual theft takes seconds so unless you see him doing it you’d never suspect him. I wish I’d pushed him off the bike because it’s immoral. It’s like losing your freedom.”
Henry has been in contact with the bike’s owner, who said it had cost £4,000.
"My advice was to keep an eye on Gumtree and eBay every half day for the next two weeks. I truly hope he gets his bicycle back."
Alex has written for more cricket publications than the rest of the road.cc team combined. Despite the apparent evidence of this picture, he doesn't especially like cake.
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22 comments
Is that how mountain bikers dressdown there?
They should show his face with both hands chopped off.
And the moral of the story is....
Have a piece of shit bike to leave chained up in the street. When I was allowed more bikes in the garage I had an old raleigh piece of shit I'd painted with gold hammerite. It had some nice rolling but dull looking/low value wheels, a single tube shifter for the rear derailleur and an old set of MTB bars. It was a piece of shit but I was never bothered about leaving it chained up in York centre as I new nobody was going to put any effort in it.
I suppose if you can afford it then commute on whatever you want but it seems crackers to leave £4k against a railing.
I don't agree - there's ahuge difference between leaving a small, valuable item unattended and using an approved lock in a designated area (if that was the case).
I'm pretty sure the reference to rape is that it is unthinkable to blame the victim however they dress, whther they are alone etc. but it seems socially acceptable to blame the cyclist for the scum of society.
Whether you choose to leave your bike in this way is up to you...
Why do the ES blur the face in it's images?
Bike has podium bottle on it. Clearly the owner was just making a short stop en route to a ride, which would explain the expensive bike being locked up on the street conundrum.
Why on earth have the Evening Standard blurred out the thief's face? how is that going to help find the chap?
Maybe the guy was popping into somewhere quickly to pick something up. Happens if you only have one good bike and use it occassionally for transport or little errands about town too.
Fancy leaving a 4K bike unattended. It's a wind up
Fancy leaving a 4K bike unattended. Dick!!!
Top marks for challenging him, shows more balls than 99%.
Shame he didn't have the initative to ask 'OK if this is your bike, don't look down and tell me what groupset, tyres and wheels you have.'
Clearly the correct comment should have been"I lost my key so I'm having to break the lock off".
Said with an appropriate amount of 'woe is me' and ' what a silly boy' expression obviously.
How does he look like a cyclist (besides of the Copenhagenize sense that everyone looks like a cyclist)?
He looks like an occasional runner.
Only when the police chase him!
Bike thieves are cyclists SHOCK HORROR!!!!!1! Surely not!
I'd have thought the obvious answer to that would be "Yes, you're cutting the lock off a bike with a pair of bolt croppers"
£4k bike left on the street
With an obviously crappy lock.
That's the kind of victim blaming advice that shouldn't be said aloud.
We still hear the old she was drunk, she was dressed like a slut comments in 2016, so it'll be a while yet until people quit it with cyclists - the last socially acceptable group to hate on.
I really don't think you can draw any lines between stealing a bike and rape, no matter how expensive the bike in question is.
I'd say that not leaving a £4k bike in the street is more just accepting that there are some arseholes around and mitigating againts possible loss in the same way that I ride a battered of bike to work and keep my better bike for recreational rides.
If this bloke had stollen someones unattended phone/wallet/laptop someone would say that they victim should have been keeping an eye on it, this is nothing to do with cyclists.
Bike theft and rape are both crimes. Victim blaming is an attitude to those crimes.
No problem there at all. Very simple to comprehend. Happy to spell it out in a multitude of ways until you get it.