| Bicycle theft is disturbingly common and your only | | | | tree yourself. |
| chance to prevent it is to lock your bike up well. But | | | | Do not lock a bike to a chain link fence, small tree or |
| this is challenging in many areas where there aren't | | | | any post where the bike and lock together can simply |
| bicycle racks or any place designed for the bike to be | | | | be lifted off, or the thing you're locking your bike to can |
| locked up at. | | | | be easily removed. |
| You have to get creative sometimes. | | | | If you're going to the store on your bike, ask if there's a |
| First things first, though. Get a good bike lock. The U | | | | place you can keep it indoors. Some stores will let you |
| locks are popular for a good reason. Spend the | | | | do this. You'll still need to lock it, of course. |
| money to get a good one. | | | | If you find there aren't a lot of places where your U |
| Ideally you should use this to lock the frame and both | | | | lock will work, get a heavy duty cable or chain, at least |
| wheels to whatever you find to fasten your bike to. | | | | 3/8 of an inch in thickness. These can give you more |
| Many bikes come with a quick release on the front | | | | flexibility in where you lock your bike up. |
| wheel so that you can put everything close together. | | | | You can also consider using two locks, just to |
| Take advantage of this so that all the important parts | | | | complicate things for theives. |
| of your bike are locked up. | | | | Don't forget to lock your bike up even at home... |
| When you're considering location, the first thing you | | | | especially if you keep it outside or if you keep your |
| want is for your bike to be highly visible, but not in the | | | | garage open frequently. It only takes a moment to |
| way. You don't want people tripping into your bike. But | | | | steal a bicycle. |
| the more visible it is, the less appealing it is to thieves, | | | | And of course check with your local police so that you |
| who obviously won't want to be watched. | | | | know the local laws about where you can and cannot |
| Assuming there are no bike racks available, a common | | | | lock your bike. There's no point in getting in trouble |
| problem in my area, take a look at your options. A | | | | about how you protect your property. And if it says |
| metal post can be a good choice. A well grown tree | | | | don't lock a bike to it, don't! |
| may work as well, so long as you aren't damaging the | | | | |