Cleveland Heights Resident Creates Resource to Help People Find Their Stolen Bikes

Nick Matthew doesn’t own a car. His bike is his primary mode of transportation.

And for the third time since he moved to Cleveland Heights in August of 2008, his or his girlfriend’s bike has been stolen.

In 2009, he didn’t lock up his wheels, and thieves easily swiped it from him. About six months later, his friend found the bike on Craigslist, and the helped him recover it.

The second bike was stolen from his girlfriend, who had locked the cycle around a steel pole with a cable lock in the basement of their apartment. It was not recovered.

And just last week, Matthew lost a third bike, even though it was in their locked basement and secured with a cable lock and Abus U-lock, which he said was removed with an angle grinder.

“If you look at it, there was melted plastic around where the cut was, and I don’t know of anything else that would generate that much heat,” he said.

The Bianchi Cortina was worth $650 (including accessories), and because they have spare bikes, Matthew, who is on the Cleveland Heights Bicycle Coalition and works at , does not plan to purchase a new one in the near future.

Instead of getting frustrated and defeated about the bike theft problem that plagues many communities, Matthew decided to create and promote a resource for people whose bikes have been stolen on the Bicycle Coalition website.

“The more people that know, and there’s a resource they can go to to see what bikes are stolen, the more the community will be aware of what’s going on,” Matthew said, adding that if his friend hadn’t seen the ad on Craigslist, he would have not found his bike.

Between March 23 and March 28,  in Cleveland Heights, and one cyclist said his tires were taken. 

People who have had their bikes stolen can register information on the site, add a photo and write a description. Others can browse the missing bikes list and keep an eye out.  Those purchasing bikes from shops or Craigslist can review the list to make sure they aren’t buying stolen wheels.

There’s other useful information on the site about preventing bike theft, although Matthew said it’s been more difficult in recent years.

The coalition is a relatively new organization. Mary Dunbar, Joy Henderson, Matthew and others started gathering members last spring. They worked with Cleveland Heights City Council, and the city  between University Circle and Cleveland Heights. 

“I was thrilled. I think probably of all the things we have done, it’s the first major step in really making sure that the city not only improves bicycle infrastructure, but also does it well.”