Strip job

Posted on Thursday, May 28th, 2009 at 7:22 pm in New York City.

bikeskeleton Ever wonder the story behind those bike skeletons you see locked to various poles throughout the city?  Sometimes it’s just one wheel missing and you think, okay, someone wanted a wheel… Sometimes it’s two, and you think, okay, they wanted a pair… then you start seeing parts missing that sort of make you cringe because it’s like complete organ snatching–thieves not just after your wallet for a buck, but your PARTS. So how does this happen? Little by little because a bike is abandoned, like picking meat off a chicken bone? Or one swift strip job? And do the owners just forget their bike was there, or see the skeleton and forgo a burial? I just wonder. You?

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2 Comments

  1. JPLoganComment by JPLogan on May 29, 2009 at 8:27 pm.

    This is such a classic shot. Here is JPLogan’s bike story…A while ago I bought a very expensive armoured and hardened steel bike lock to lock up a bike which I bought for $200 (it was back when $200 was worth $200). When I read the info on the package, I noticed that the manifacturer of the lock was so sure that the lock would withstand any attempt of bike thieves that it had unlimited lifetime guarantee and that it would replace the lock and pay for the stolen bike too. At the bottom of this guarantee however, it was written in bold letters “except for NYC” which made me and my buddies laugh our faces off.
    One day, one of my friends who visited me from Poland borrowed my bike for a day. When he came back, he handed me a brand new lock identical to the one I lend him with the bike and, without saying a single word, he handed me $200. As I was taking the money out of his hand I said: “Welcome to the New York f****n’ City”.

  2. Nova Comment by Nova on May 30, 2009 at 8:23 am.

    indeed, that is a classic NYC urban odyssey story. my favorite disclaimers on warrantees are “acts of God”.

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