Tips for caring for your two-wheeled friend
Our large campus and proximity to nightlife spots make a bicycle at ASU a student's best friend.
I depend on my bike to save me 20 minutes walking from parking Lot 59, and 10 minutes out of the heat when I am running errands for my office in the afternoons, and with the high price of gas, car maintenance and insurance, students often choose buying a bicycle to get around ASU and the ever-popular Mill Avenue.
The problem is where and how to lock it up so that its there when you return.
The fall semester at ASU seems to be when most thefts occur. New students (because they are not thinking about theft) are the potential victims for thieves.
The theft of bicycles on a college campus is the single most common crime that occurs. Bikes are taken mostly from the residence halls at night. Most bikes that are stolen are locked improperly or have deficient locking devices.
A quality U-type lock can be purchased for approximately $34.95. Even a lock will not detour some thieves. If your whole bike isn't stolen, the front tire may be.
If locked improperly, the thief takes the front wheel more than any other accessory on a bike. Even U-type locks have been pried apart, broken and picked. The police suggest a secondary locking device and different types of key locks to prevent picking methods.
For a student with loans and a staff member that doesn't earn much, the investment of a couple of locks should be as important as the bicycle.
If you think you are privileged by being a staff member and can take your bike into your office think again. According to ASU safety codes, it is a safety and fire hazard and no bicycles can be parked in buildings.
If your bicycle is found in a building it will be taken from you and impounded by ASU police. At the end of the school year in May, if you don't observe the notices posted around campus you may have your bike clipped.
ASU hires a company to come and clip all the locks on every bike on campus. The bikes are held for 90 days then they are considered abandoned. In September, ASU Surplus Property holds a bike auction with all the bikes that have not been claimed.
Whether your bike is stolen, confiscated from a building or clipped, your best bet on getting it back is to have the serial number registered with the ASU police and Tempe police for $2. I visited Tempe Bicycle on East University Drive, which sells a national registry for $10.
If you don't register your bike, keep the serial number written down with a good description.
Jamie Colburn
CLAS STAFF
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