General Road and Highway Discussion

[danbrotherston]

I'm curious what your approach is. I know you had or have a fairly nice ebike, have you had theft issues? What is your approach?

As for your question: I don't have a simple answer, both for shopping or for general transportation, but generally any of the following

• Walking, I walk a lot - often hours a day because I enjoy it. Marche Leos, Sobeys, Legacy Greens, Fore Quarter, Kitchener Market are all within daily walking distance from downtown and provide daily needs (Unfortunately no more Full Circle since they moved, been harassed and physically touched too many times, especially my female partner)
  
• Bringing my folding bike into the store, though it can't carry more than a couple days worth of food
  
• If my partner and I are biking together, one of us may run in while the other waits with the bikes
  
• I will bike to friends or workplaces where I can store my bike securely indoors
  
• ION when possible (haven't been on a bus in over 3 years though, I just don't enjoy it and will find alternatives)
  
• Delivery services
  
• Uber/Taxi/Communauto when absolutely required (time sensitive, unsafe alternatives, or moving large amounts of stuff)
  

I will most likely sell an existing bike to make room for a cheap bike that I don't mind being stolen though - I enjoy biking and it would be liberating to use a bike for even more trips, without the anxiety. I'm also staring down the need to purchase a car for out of city trips (thanks to our abysmal provincial transportation network), so it would probably replace any Uber or car share trips.

I have had two bikes stolen. One was locked with a poor cable lock under the stairs of the townhouse I was living in. The other was taken from the shed of the house I was living in because a housemate left it open and unlocked. I have never had a bike stolen while shopping, as I don't leave them unattended for more than 10 minutes. These days I mostly ride my ebike which has a wheel lock with accessory chain. If I need to leave it unattended for longer, I have a second heavy-duty lock and chain. My bike is my main transportation. I use it almost every day for shopping, visiting and recreation. I don't worry too much about theft because the places I lock it are relatively safe and have lots of people around (e.g. the strip malls on Highland, the Kitchener Market). I keep my bikes in my apartment when I am home. I use the bus sometimes if I know that I would have to leave the bike unattended for a few hours. If you have a good lock that will take longer to defeat than the time you will be leaving it unattended, then I don't think you have to worry too much. I see lots of bikes locked up with flimsy locks, and the owners don't seem to worry too much about it. Of course, if I had a $10,000 bike I would certainly have one or more diamond rated locks on it.  Bike theft is a serious problem, but 99% of people are not bike thieves.

This matches my experience. I've had many bikes stolen. Not one has been while it was locked while I was shopping. Overnight, from my house is the most common example.

I figure it's pretty safe, I know lots of people do lock their expensive bikes while shopping, and few have had thefts happen. With a good enough lock (i.e., requiring an angle grinder) most thieves are not going to make an attempt in front of a store....at least in KW.

I'm curious though...for dtkvictim, is your concern about your bike financial or sentimental? If it's financial, my solution to that has been to get insurance. My home insurance covered all my bikes that were stolen (as they were stolen from my home) but I only made a claim when I had many bikes stolen making the deductible worth it. But when I moved here and bought an expensive (relatively...3500 is a lot for a bike for me) ebike I paid for insurance for it.