Bicycle theft is rampant on the South Coast, and is a reminder that we all need to be smart about the locks we use and where we leave our bikes. But there’s another measure to prevent bicycle theft: a strong biking community.
Nick Welsh, a columnist for the Santa Barbara Independent, lost his beloved Mike Celmins Bicycle – handmade for Nick when he was 30 years old – when it was stolen in Santa Barbara in September 2017. I remember seeing Nick gliding along on it in SB and admiring it for it’s craftsmanship and place in local bicycle history. It was because I had stopped to look so many times that I immediately recognized it Saturday at a pawn shop on Oak St. in Ventura, hidden behind some junk bikes and priced at a modest $299.
Long story short, I bought the bike after some negotiating, called Nick up and he was here the next day to pick it up, surprised and grateful. This isn’t the first stolen bike I recovered this year, and not the last BikeVentura will help get back to its rightful owner I’m sure. Yes, we recognize bikes before we recognize the people on them, but it’s because we know bikes are very personal.
Help keep BikeVentura strong in 2019, who knows who’s bike we’ll be rescuing next?