Bike thefts had been up 24% in 2020, compared to 2019. This is according to the Bicycle Index, a non-profit bike registry. Of program, way extra bikes were bought in 2020 than in 2019, so there are far more bikes on the roads and trails, and locked up, or not locked up, outdoors cafes, merchants, and houses. Loads of new riders who probably are not as savvy as lifers who are only marginally superior at retaining their bikes from currently being stolen.

Burglars are now getting bolder, with some in the Bay Spot ambushing riders and stealing their bikes at gunpoint. Not a great deal a lock can do to stop that, but it at the very least reveals that thieves know there are loads of expensive bikes out there, and a enormous demand from customers for bikes that the frequent marketplace just cannot hold up with.

Level is, lock ’em up, make positive your insurance plan addresses your bicycle, and great luck out there.

Photograph: Daniel von Appen/Unsplash