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@Spike
Hi everyone,
Just wanted to put up a warning here for everyone living anywhere around Bethnal Green/London Fields/Hackney/Shoreditch etc. etc.
As I was about to go downstairs to hop on my bike and head to work today I found this note from my neighbour stuck to the wall opposite my front door:
**"Spike - I assume your bike was locked downstairs yesterday!
At 4.55am we saw 3 white males leaving our property on bikes. I went down to check and both bikes including locks were gone
I have called the police.... [etc. etc.]"
**Long story short, both our bikes were stolen.
This may not sound too out of the ordinary, except for the fact that we have an 10ft tall iron gate and our bikes are tucked away, secluded from view from the main road, hidden under a staircase. My neighbour's bike was secured to one of the metal columns supporting the staircase with a good ABUS D-lock, and, here's the real shitter, mine was secured with a Kryptonite Fugheddaboudit chain and shackle. So, to steal our bikes, the three guys firstly found a way to scale the fence (which is not easy), then drill or cut (my girlfriend and my neighbours girlfriend said they heard something that sounded like a power tool) through both the locks, then finally CARRY THE BIKES BACK OVER the 10ft fence (since they couldn''t find the release switch for the gate). All this for a beaten up Fuji Track and a Giant Bowery. The weirdest part is that they took both the locks in their entirety and left the scene of the crime very, very clean. The police have been informed etc. etc. etc. and hopefully something will come of it.
However, the main reason I am posting this is as a warning to people in the area that some very fucking slick thieves with power tools who seem to be staking out bikes to steal (you wouldn't turn up to ours with power tools and know exactly where the bikes are on a whim...) and can apparently cut through a Kryptonite Fugheddaboudit fast enough that people only woke up as they were leaving. I know that a lot of people do not take their bikes all the way in to their flats because in many cases it's really inconvenient (that's why we left ours chained up outside, thinking that good locks and a front gate would be adequate protection), but I'd advice people to maybe beef up their bike security or consider bringing bikes all the way in - the police said that thefts this clean are not common and may suggest a new gang of bike thieves in town.
Being a pedestrian sucks but I'm too skint for a new bike at the moment... would not want anyone else to end up in the same position