For some denizens of Ann Arbor, transportation means exercise. For some residents living between Huron Street to Stadium, transportation means bundling up in the winter. For many Ann Arbor citizens, transportation means bicycles. And for some unlucky, ardent bicyclers, bicycle theft may take its toll.

Bicycle culture is rampant in Ann Arbor. There are students and adults who, instead of taking public transportation or driving their mother’s car to school, would prefer to bike through rain, sleet, snow and hail. For these individuals, a bicycle is not just a mode of motion but also an extension of the self. Bicycle theft means more than a loss of money; it can have a major impact on any person affected.

Bicycle theft can be relatable even to car theft. While bicycles are perhaps not as expensive, they can be a major mode of transportation and an enjoyable one at that. As Nick Freese, a senior at Huron High School and Community, said, “Generally [bikes] would be my main mode of transportation most of the time, and my favorite one”. There is more than movement to biking; there is joy. Freese has experienced bike theft twice saying of it: “It feels really terrible, it’s hard to believe at first. Normally [transportation is] something that would be so easy. Now, you’re walking miles and miles that normally wouldn’t have been such a big deal. And it might have to start costing you money to get places now… [biking] is a free mode of transportation, or at least very cheap, considering bike maintenance,” he said.

The justification bicycle thieves use often is that bicycles not locked up are fine to take, that taking an unlocked object is not morally reprehensible. This rationale is deeply flawed in that it assumes possession as a matter of force and opportunity, not as a matter of both emotional attachment and legal purchase. Arguments can be made for the thief who takes an abandoned bike. “I’ve seen bikes sitting outside for months and months and months, the rust just dripping onto the ground below it, not moved or touched or anything…. And I think at that point some liberation can definitely be called for,” Freese said.

Jake Cinti, a senior at Pioneer High School who duals at Community, offered a similar opinion “It’s pretty legit to take it if it’s ‘abandoned’. But if it’s in good shape and it’s unlocked, and [somebody] takes it, not legit. Somebody could have left it there and forgotten about it, you never know what people do with their bike in Ann Arbor. [They] could have forgotten about their bikes and have to go back and get it at some point.” There seems to be a clear distinction in bicycle culture between bicycle theft and bicycle adoption.

With no bicycle, no preferred means of transportation, bicycle theft may leave victims feeling stranded. When asked how he felt when his bicycle was cut from him, Freese said “violated”. There is ultimately no excuse for a person to take another’s bicycle, and nothing can replace a stolen, loved bike.

Photo by Jordan Siden