Of stolen bikes and value systems and disposable income.

Great Debates
1

Where I live, we have drainage canals that range from 20 feet wide and 15 deep to those 50 feet across and of the same depth. Where they go under roads, they use big galvanized pipe.

We’ve had some heavy rain here in the last two weeks and during an interval, I strolled down the road to where a pipe crossed, curious to see what things looked like and stumbled across a bit of a discovery in the murky waters. The flood gates were open and the level low in the canals and by the pipe I spotted 3 submerged bicycles.

With a bit of effort, I was able to pry them out of the muck and debris, drag them home, rinse them off and decided that they were stolen. They were all in good shape. Two kid bikes, single speed and one adult, 5 speed. The adult bike was rigged with 2 baskets, one with a home made lid secured in place by 3 master locks which made me decide it was a ‘working’ bike. The baskets were empty, aside from water weeds.

One had two flat tires, one had full pressure and the last had full pressure and one new tire on it.

Being reasonably honest, I called the local police to report my find, figuring that some kids were upset over the loss of their bikes. I recalled my old bike as a kid, single speed, balloon tires, fenders and well used and cherished. At the least, I figured with the cost of Bikes today, the owners would be glad to get them back.

The police arrived with a truck to pick them up and take the report and did not seem all that interested. In my talk with them, they ran the serial numbers and we discovered that none were reported stolen. I also found that the police had an impound lot with over 250 unclaimed bicycles in it and that at the end of the year, they would auction them off. What would be left would be tossed in the scrap yard for salvage.

The bikes, I was told, were mine if I wanted them. All I’d need to do is run an add in the lost and found spot of the local paper and if no one claimed them in 30 days, they were mine free and clear. Plus since I’d made a report of finding them, I was covered by this being on record in case I was accused of stealing them.

I gave them two and kept one. I’ll fix it up - mainly finish cleaning the mud out, applying some oil and grease and removing the baskets and get some needed exercise.

In the talk I had, a conclusion was reached that kids today have it too well. The Deputy I discussed this with was around my age, who would recall his own fat tired bike, the care lavished on it, the miles ridden (the playing cards in the spokes) and that it could not be easily replaced because of the cost. (Back then, around $50.)

Today, kids have so much and most is just ‘replaced’ if lost, broken or stolen that they don’t have the same values we had. He said that most of the bikes they had were within the $150 to $300 range, all never even reported stolen. Kids either deliberately dumped them, other kids stole and dumped them just to be mean or a few were actually lost. The folks went out and bought them a new one.

There used to be a market in stolen bikes in two levels. The basic level was kids stealing bikes and repainting them, then either keeping it or selling it for a few bucks to another kid. The other level was like a neighbor I used to have, who never seemed to work but part time, driving a semi. After he was hauled away by the cops, we found out he bought stolen bikes, filled his semi with them and hauled them out of town to a seaport and resold them to a buyer, who shipped them over seas.

The officer said that such things still went on, but the bikes involved were the real expensive ones, costing something like $500 and up, fiber frames, special gears and so on. Today, kids don’t care because mom and dad go out and buy them a new bike if something happens to theirs. The bikes I found, he estimated ranged in price from $150 to $275. Easily replaced.

Easily? $275 to me is a lot of cash!

This was a real eye opener. Have we spoiled our kids so much that they don’t give a hoot when something valuable of theirs is stolen? Perhaps even to the point of ‘loosing’ a bike to get a better one? What type of value system is this?

The officer, more familiar with the underside of human nature than I, was not all that surprised and when he left, I wondered, just what type of people are being raised as the next generation? What is this going to mean for programs trying to help the poor?

What is it going to mean for us?

I’m going to fix this bike up. It’s a pretty bike. It’s not going to take much work. Who would not report it’s being stolen? Who would not care?

The kids of today, that’s who.

2

I agree. Kids today are freaking spoiled, but it’s a decline that’s been going on for at least a decade.

When I was living in South Bend, IN, I had a supervisor at work that made an annual event of dumpster diving on the Notre Dame campus at the end of the academic year. He would find the most amazing stuff that the Domers had thrown away. $300 dollar jamboxes that were in perfect condition. The batteries were kaput, and the cream of the non-Ivy League academic crop were to stupid to figure out that they could fix them with a trip to a nearby drugstore and an outlay of about four dollars, so they would just buy a new one and pitch the old one.

The boss would keep what he wanted, and sell the rest, and make a pretty nice chunk of change doing it.

But then again, Domers are mostly spoiled rich kids, with a different set of values than the rest of us.

3

I question a couple of the premises in the OP, to wit:

Serial numbers? It isn’t as if bikes have VINs and a Department of Nonmotorized Vehicles to track them. I doubt most people even know if their bikes have a serial number, and haven’t recorded it if it does. Some people may etch their SSN or some other number onto the bike frame somewhere, but I’m willing to guess most don’t.

In short, while those particular “serial numbers” may not have been reported stolen, it’s entirely possible that bikes of that style and color had been reported stolen. My wife and I had three bicycles stolen recently, and I was able to tell the officer who took my report the brand, color and style.

Again, I question the premise of whether or not they were reported stolen. If all the police have to go on is a style and color, and maybe a brand name, they have more important things to do than sit and match bikes to reports. (“Is this your bike?” “No.” “Is this your bike?” “No.”)

Also, both homeowner’s and renter’s insurance will cover stolen bicycles, so it isn’t as if it’s an out-of-pocket expense to replace the bikes.

4

Well, in my suburban utopia, bike theft was a big problem, and most people registered their bicycles with the police. They would record the brand and color and serial number.

5

The officer recorded the colors of each bike, the manufacturer and the serial number mounted on the bottom. One bike had a hand engraved number also and he recorded that, but he still said that most likely no one would claim them. I don’t know what information he radioed in about each bike in addition to the serial numbers.

Like he said, the impound yard was packed with unclaimed bikes and I’m sure that if a kid called concerning a bike, he’d be told to come on down and see if his was in the yard if he didn’t have a serial number. The officer said that very few people even report them stolen anymore unless the bike is highly valuable.

As a kid, if my bike was stolen, it would have been reported that day!

Home owners insurance or not, one attempts to recover one’s possessions if they mean anything to them. In my 20s, I had a CB radio stolen from my car, reported it that day, then spent several weeks checking hock shops in my town and neighboring cities to see if it popped up and calling the cops to see if they had found it yet. Unfortunately, they never did. I recall I was outraged because that radio, as cheap as it might have been, was mine! and I wanted it back.

6

My parents grew up during the Depression. We never threw things away if they could be fixed or mended. Nothing was purchased at our house unless it was really needed and loans were unheard of. If you didn’t have the money you just didn’t buy it.

These are values from another time.

The world now seems to run on credit and too often people just replace things that could be easily fixed. Many goods are cheaply made and cheaply sold. There always seems to be something newer and better that we just gotta have.

I don’t subscribe to this new system.

There is no such thing as a disposable income. If I work hard for my money I am unwilling to throw it away on poor quality items. If it can be fixed or mended it gets fixed or mended.

I need a mountain bike but you won’t see me paying $500.00 for one. I have seen quite a few really good bikes at second hand stores and pawn shops that will meet my needs. With a little work and some fresh paint I will have a “new” bike. I know a guy who will give me a good deal on recycled parts if I need any.

7

A friend of mine works for a company dealing with domestic and shop waste, he drives one of their wagons.It is amazing what he comes up with, vacuum leaners with no faults, just blocked tubes, old but perfectly functional tv’s, stereos, kittchen appliances.In many cases they are hardly marked but since they are technically the property of the waste disposal company he figures that he would rather keep his job than take something which only has a scrap value.

Sometimes he does weaken but what appals me is that a fair old amount of it is obviously recyclable but it is usually buried on landfill.

I only throw stuff out when it is utterly spent and since I get stuff that is well made and generally costs that is not very often.Maybe it’s cheaper to buy pricey, works for me.

8

Here, you can’t prowl through the dumps anymore. (They take away all the fun.) Special bull dozers churn the refuse up and mix it with dirt every day, sculpting it slowly into a huge artificial hill. They actually made it against the law to remove anything from the dump! So, you can’t tell very well by just looking, how much usable stuff has been tossed. A previous aquaintance of mine used to work on the dumpster inspection crew and he drove a truck by himself. Around the high income apartments and condos, he found great things in the garbage, like expensive, undamaged luggage, clothing, lots of empty booze bottles which occassionally hid an unopened bottle of top shelf whiskey, radios, cooking utensils, CDs, furniture and so on.

He pretty well equipped his apartment with his finds!

Around here we have second hand stores, most running off of donated items and the business has been so good that instead of places like Church stores and the Salvation Army, private ones have opened up all over the place! You can buy a massive Oak wall closet that had to have cost a couple of grand for about $200, in perfect condition! All types of hardly worn last years clothing for children, metal desks like from government offices for $5 each, and jewelery! They don’t even bother taking the stuff to a pawn shop and selling it.

A lot of the private places dumpster dive to get some of their goods or cruise around early in the morning and get what they want from garbage piles awaiting pick up.

So much usable stuff is just thrown out. Not even set out for the recyclers because they’ll only take certain things, so, much winds up in the community land fill.