$500 reward for return of stolen bike

[swampdog]

I do sympathize with Kodachrome, BUT...

I think the take home lesson for future burners is, don't take any physical thing to burning man that would hurt you so deeply to lose. As you plan, prepare, and pack, think over each item how upset you would or wouldn't be if it didn't survive the trip. Anything that you would get very distressed to have stolen, lost, ruined, or permanently playa-dusted, find a substitute or workaround. If there's no substitute, then you must be insanely careful, 'cause guess what? Yours will stand out as being the most stealable among the crap that everyone else brings.

My bike? $25 craigslist bike has done me fine for 3 years. The worst thing about it is the maltreatment I give it by not getting around to cleaning/lubing it until the next burn.

I say this not in criticism of the OP, but in sympathy. But we don't need more LEO out there to watch our bikes for us, we don't need more edicts from The Man, we need to take it upon ourselves to protect our valuables by leaving them home or by being insanely careful.

[Miles]

that fucking sucks dude those were some bitchin 90s parts on there man
:evil:

Two of my virgin friends bikes were stolen this year, only one found their bike later in the week.

FYI- I'm starting a Bicycle Gang / Theme Camp called SNAKEPIT for next year on.

Among other projects, [b]we will for sure have a bait bike and will be catching thieves![/b] Join us for retribution!

[thirt33n]

^

miles.

awesome. i WILL keep informed of your scheme. I'd LOVE to bust some thief ASS....

are you planning to register and be an official camp?

dope

[Boijoy]

Don't the good folks cleaning up after the event collect hundreds of abandoned bikes? Koda, perhaps you can e-mail the BMORG or lost and found & see if they keep the bikes they find & maybe get your bike back from them. Chances are the "Douch-tard-fucking-low-life-theif" didn't have a way or an interest in taking the bike off playa.
& yes. Bike theives SUCK MAJOR ASS!

[Bob]

Don't the good folks cleaning up after the event collect hundreds of abandoned bikes?

No, I'm pretty sure Kodachrome's was the only bike misplaced this year, and all the warnings in the Survival literature, eplaya, etc. have at long last resulted in a near-absofuckinglutely-perfect burn.

Just don't blame DPW, carbon fiber doesn't make a great tall bike.

[gaminwench]

K-chrome...
Don't lose hope, it takes a while for all of the 'left' bikes to get processed... make certain you register your loss with the official Lost/Found; if it was casually 'borrowed', it was likely left abandoned on the playa...
Several years back, a stolen, unmarked, quality bike from our camp was found across the country, and returned by a fellow burner who 'reclaimed' it for us - 6 months after the burn!
Keeping an eye on Reno Craigslist is also a great suggestion; bike theft rings most likely operate out of the surrounding communities...

Gyre - love you, man, but my decorated, flagged, furry, lit-up bike ($500 mountain bike) has never been locked in 11 years on the playa... I believe a flag is key to the bike's safety...

[Savannah]

Kodachrome,

I'm glad that you're attempting to own the 2 mistakes you made--bringing an irreplaceable item to the Burn, and turning your back on it even temporarily. However, I am very sorry for your loss (your brother obviously, of whom the bike is "only" a powerful symbol, whose interactive properties no doubt make it especially compelling). I lost my mother in '90, and then her wedding ring and some tapes of her voice in '96 in a fire, and like this, it was very painful. Really though, it was still the original pain of losing her though, not yet gone. Nothing could be worse than the original pain. It just worms it's way back and bites you in these ways.

Try cross-posting the description in the Lost & Found 2010 Bikes forum:
viewforum.php?f=185

You never know.

And know that many camps, in the spirit of conscientious moop-cleaning, hauled out bicycles that were dumped on or near their property by jerks who had taken them for joy rides. (I have already contacted the camp I am most closely acquainted with, just in case yours was one of the 5 abandoned bikes they hauled out on Tuesday in the effort of leaving no trace.)

There are also bicycle camps of various kinds, I think--you might google to see, & ask. If you ask nicely, despite your anger and pain, they would probably try to have a look among any abandoned stock for you.

I note from the Burning Man website that bikes turned into the Playa Info Lost & Found (rather than Lost & Found by private citizens on ePlaya):

"Unclaimed bikes are donated to Reno-based non-profits that fix them up and provide them to underprivileged kids."

While it would be sad for you and your family to lose the bike forever, becoming the property of a poor child, or even haunting Burning Man forever, well--you might not be okay with it, but maybe your brother would have been okay with it. Don't know, can't say.

But good luck to you. I hope you get it back.

[dragonpilot]

Rule 1: Never bring anything to the playa the loss of which would ruin your trip or otherwise cause you to gnash your teeth in frustration.

Rule 2: Always lock your bike when you're not riding it...always. This means in your camp, at the porta potties, when you stop to observe art...always...get it?

Rule 3: See Rule 1.

[Grasshoppa]

Gosh, that sucks.

[Hoolie]

FYI- I'm starting a Bicycle Gang / Theme Camp called SNAKEPIT for next year on.

Among other projects, we will for sure have a bait bike and will be catching thieves! Join us for retribution!

Keep me posted if you're serious. I have some devilish ideas...

[FIGJAM]

Early in the year there was talk of some trick bikes set out with bullhorn, lights and video camera at the ready to ambush and shame the thieves.

Bike 1: cut the frame then sleeve trampoline springs in the tubes. They get on and the bike colapses. Que bullhorn.

Bike 2: Huge back sprocket so it will only go 2mph. Que bullhorn.

Bike 3: Threaded axle attached to the coaster break so it locks up in 20ft. Que bullhorn.

Dont know what happened to this plan, but these ideas came from that discussion.

Have fun.

[sktELEMENT]

Perhaps the police should be focusing on REAL crimes like bike thieves...to protect and serve...what a fucking joke

[theCryptofishist]

Like it or not, police in other cities the size of BRC don't deal with small property crimes like bike theft. They don't have the manpower. I cannot imagine how they could do anything effective in a city of over 50,000 with 20--35,000 bikes.

I think there is a larger cultural thing going on in this country; in a lot of other places theft isn't as prevalent. I have no solutions.

[theCryptofishist]

Early in the year there was talk of some trick bikes set out with bullhorn, lights and video camera at the ready to ambush and shame the thieves.

Bike 1: cut the frame then sleeve trampoline springs in the tubes. They get on and the bike colapses. Que bullhorn.

Bike 2: Huge back sprocket so it will only go 2mph. Que bullhorn.

Bike 3: Threaded axle attached to the coaster break so it locks up in 20ft. Que bullhorn.

Dont know what happened to this plan, but these ideas came from that discussion.

Have fun. :twisted:

If you can find that thread bump it, or post a link.

[FIGJAM]

I think Elliot made a couple of those bikes and posted pics.

I wrote what I remembered reading, but finding that thread, I wouldnt know where to start.

[Grasshoppa]

Dude, did I mention that sucks?

What are cranks and rings?

[Grasshoppa]

Um, @Cryptofishist/Figjam: Nice post, but "cue" is spelled "cue," not que.
You were probably thinking of queue, which means a line of people.

[FIGJAM]

I cont spill!

[Grasshoppa]

@Figjam: hahah!!! It's all good. =)

[Miles]

FYI- I'm starting a Bicycle Gang / Theme Camp called SNAKEPIT for next year on.

Among other projects, we will for sure have a bait bike and will be catching thieves! Join us for retribution!

Keep me posted if you're serious. I have some devilish ideas...

Oh yes we are serious! Our idea is basically to just loosen everything possible on the bike so it collapses when someone tries to ride it...

Then we will follow the would be thief with our megaphone, shaming them for all to see.

...and yes we will be registering as an official theme camp. Were getting some custom back patches made up so keep an eye out for SNAKEPIT. message me if you're interested in joining, we're just getting planning now and are looking for more members!



Mod note - my biggest peeve is people who try to Quote, or link to pictures, then turn off the code at the bottom!!! I turned your quotes on and included this helpful graphic (end snark

###

[theCryptofishist]

Um, @Cryptofishist/Figjam: Nice post, but "cue" is spelled "cue," not que.
You were probably thinking of queue, which means a line of people.

I can't keep on top of my own spelling mistakes, much less those of others. And I'm not sure I want to make a habit of correcting when I quote.

[mdmf007]

That Sucks Kodachrome, but writing off Bm because your bike was stolen doesnt make sense. You said you "lock it up" when you go out on the road. Well, if it got stolen in Detroit, or one of the little midwest towns would you write them off as well?

I have lost family and it sucks, your brother lives in your heart not in the bike.

peace.

[K-mom]

FYI- I'm starting a Bicycle Gang / Theme Camp called SNAKEPIT for next year on.

Among other projects, we will for sure have a bait bike and will be catching thieves! Join us for retribution!

Keep me posted if you're serious. I have some devilish ideas...

Oh yes we are serious! Our idea is basically to just loosen everything possible on the bike so it collapses when someone tries to ride it...

Then we will follow the would be thief with our megaphone, shaming them for all to see.

###

Excellent!! I was worried your plan was to super glue the handlebars or something, which worries me because its always possible someone would just try to move the bike a few feet for whatever reason. But that idea is fantastic.

[Mosin]

Ok now you get snark.

If that bike was so important to you, why did you bring it to the burn?!? Did you not read the survival guide? Any of these boards? Don't bring ANYTHING to the burn you couldn't afford or stand to... well burn.

Except the children!!!

Stack snark. Sorry, I couldn't resist. Back to regularly scheduled programming.

And on that note, my friends at a theme camp in the vicinity of Cheezy Porn (7:15 and A) were trusting and/or naive and/or lazy enough to leave their bikes unlocked in the shielded private area at the rear of their camp, and had one stolen from there on Tuesday night. We found them bitching about it in the morning on Wednesday... and again Thursday morning, after two more unlocked bikes were stolen from the exact same spot on Wed night! IMHO we need a "Fucking Compulsory" section on the front page of the Survival Guide...

Lock your fucking bike
Slow the fuck down
Pick up your fucking moop
Don't be a fucking darkwad
etc

[Teo del Fuego]

I don't when you left BRC, Kodachrome, but if you were still there Monday evening, I hope you went by Center Camp to peruse the hundreds of "lost" bikes waiting to be claimed. They had a "guardian" there to help reconnect folks with their lost bikes. After Tuesday, they all went to a nearby camp to be gifted to disadvantaged youth in the community. Not to raise your hopes, but your bike looks like one I saw in that large flotilla of bikes. I am not positive I saw yours, but perhaps you could try to track it down through the folks at Center Camp in charge of abandond bikes.

[Kodachrome-Burning]

I don't when you left BRC, Kodachrome, but if you were still there Monday evening, I hope you went by Center Camp to peruse the hundreds of "lost" bikes waiting to be claimed. They had a "guardian" there to help reconnect folks with their lost bikes. After Tuesday, they all went to a nearby camp to be gifted to disadvantaged youth in the community. Not to raise your hopes, but your bike looks like one I saw in that large flotilla of bikes. I am not positive I saw yours, but perhaps you could try to track it down through the folks at Center Camp in charge of abandond bikes.

Been off the grid on shoots for the past week, for those of you who added contributions that other burners can benefit from, thanks.

I was at Center Camp at 4PM Monday before we had to leave to head to the next shoot. So I filled out the missing bike form, emailed the bike folks including Travis Miller, the guy in charge and sent the photos of it to them. I heard back from Travis that he got the pics. 

So I am headed East through the area on Wednesday and will check in with them at that point. The Craigslist idea is a good one, I think I can have a friend look for me since I am not online much these days as I am in the real world for the rest of the year, not the wannabe Internet one.

I'll check back here in a few days when en route East.

Thanks!

[dBrew]

Oh, dude. Count me in on the Snakepit/bait bike project. I was going to rig up some bait bikes on my own for next year, but it would be so much more FUN to work with a group.

And K-B, sorry to hear about your bike. That fucking sucks.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w0h_cvVGMcQ[/youtube]

[Tafkah]

Here's a couple ideas for the Snakepit/bait bike project:

Idea 1 Put a modified bike speedometer on the bike, rigged so when the needle hits 5mph, it makes electrical contact and zaps the thief with a tazer attached to the handlebars.

Idea 2 Attach 25 feet of thin aircraft cable to the frame and attach the other end to a strong stake in the ground. You might get a good show when the thief gets thrown over the handlebars.

Idea 3 Put a transmitter under the seat of a bait bike. After it's stolen, find it with a tracking device. Report the camp to the sheriff and they might find lots of other stolen bikes there too.

[DustinToo]

I am all for the helping with bait bite program. We had 3 bikes stolen from our camp and center camp (including my own) and a number of friends who caught people trying to cut their locks.....Since there were all niceish bikes or new cruisers I suspect someone had a shopping list. Though it pains me to say it, I noticed quite a few vehicle trailers on the playa this year.

Loading a few bike with simple GPS or RF transponders would be fun....my plan would be to discretely track the locations of stolen bikes ( I am guessing more than one would end up at the same location) then flag the suspected for intervention as they are leaving the playa rather than busting their camp. There were enough unpleasant incidents with the popo on the playa this year and it will give them something fun/diverting to do !

[Tengerguy]

Kodachrome,

Not sure this will help, but listening to BMIR late Monday, the DJ was reporting that the rangers/cops had busted two organized bike theft rings. Then he dedicated a song to them with the lyrics "You Fucked Up."

Been wondering where those bikes went? Into an evidence locker? Or if they were recovered and attempted to retun to their owners.

Sorry about your loss, but I did read before the event the warnings abour bringing nothing I wouldn't be able to live with having stolen. I'd like to catch and punish the fucking theives, but I also didn't bring my best bike with me.

Wish it was an environment where that'd be okay, and am going to work for that over the coming years case I'm excited to go back next year.

Here's hoping you have a change of heart, go back as well, and that you/we can get that bike back to you.