Bicycles help plenty of Athens residents and UGA students navigate the campus and city everyday.  With their popularity, bikes have become the leading source of thefts in the Downtown Athens area, according to a release from the Athens-Clarke County Police Department.

There have been 11 reports of stolen bikes since August, with the majority of them occurring outside student housing complexes, including White Columns Apartments and 909 Broad Street.

 

 

Riders have plenty of options to keep their bikes safe and secure, starting with the correct lock.

“Thin cables are not as good as these big, nice U-locks,” says ACC PD Lieutenant Richard Odum.  “I haven’t seen any of them that have been stolen with a very secure lock.”

“So use multiple locks, like a U-lock with a cable lock attached to it,” adds Kira Maicke, owner of Georgia Cycle Sport in Athens.  “They’re definitely the most difficult to get off.”

Another precaution bikers can take is to register their bicycles with the National Bike Registry.  Once on the website, registration is simple.  Click register bike, select your coverage plan, and submit your bicycle’s serial number along with your home address.  Going through this easy process will streamline the efforts of law enforcement to return stolen bikes back to their rightful owners.

While this registry can help recover your stolen bike quicker, it’s best to never let it get taken in the first place. Odum says that one reason why people don’t use locks is because they are afraid of losing the key.  But when it comes down to it, it’s easier to keep up with a key than to track down a stolen bike.