Another Stolen Bike

My bicycle was (again!) stolen while parked on a City of Toronto property. It (had previously) survived previous thefts and recoveries and it's a story worth telling.

I will start this long story with the latest: the bicycle disappeared November 20, 2021 around noon while locked to a bike ring in front of Wellesley Community Centre, where I had gone swimming - it's probably the newest public swimming pool in Toronto. It's not the first bicycle I have stolen, and it's actually the second time this bike got stolen.

I had previously registered this bike with the police. The serial number is in the area of the green chain in the photo, close to the seat post latch (no need to flip it over): RP724915; I submitted through CORE a police report and it’s been registered as incident T21076913, though not yet approved. I also posted in a couple of Facebook groups, linked below.

As shown in the photo, it’s a Raleigh Burlington beach cruiser, with foot brakes and a back-up hand break on the front wheel. It's black with some white lines and the frame is rusty, with a vintage look, though the tires are (were) new. It has collapsible metallic baskets on the back. The frame is damaged and can no longer hold the seat post, so the seat post slid all the way down – there was a crack at the base which caused the seat post to bend backward; I took it to Ya Bikes and they just ripped it off. Just like my other bikes, the rusty, cheap look of this bicycle wasn't enough to protect it from theft.

The first photo was taken before the trip to Ya Bikes, on November 13, as I felt that the City of Toronto minivan gets parked way too close to the bike rings, making it difficult for people to use them.

I will update this article with the whole story soon, right now I just wanted to get it out.

*(*This article is unfinished – it was scheduled to appear in the hope that it will be finished before, but since this message is here and until it is removed, the article is to be considered work in progress*)*.

Sources / More info: fb-stlnbon, tps-core,

tDot zamo, bike, bicycle, bike theft, bicycle theft, toronto, toronto police, policing, law enforcement, biking, biketo, cycling (Tags)