Location
College Avenue Metra Train Station
Crescent Street
Chicago
, IL
United States
See map: Google Maps
Date of Theft
Thursday, September 17, 2009 - 3:00am
Basic Bike Info
Bicycle Type:
Mountain Bike
Serial No.:
13437
Size:
16" inch
Color:
Bar-b-que Black
Condition of Bicycle / Distinguishing Features:
Black 16" frame with yellow letters. It has a thin cable wrapped around the seat post to secure the seat to the bike frame to prevent someone from just walking up to the bike, flipping the seat lever and walking away with the seat. The shoe/toe clip is missing from the right pedal. There is a black plastic clip on the handle bar to clip on a Cat Eye flash light. There is a black water bottle holder/cage on the lower frame and also has a plastic clip with a velcro strap to secure a hand-held air pump.
Owner Information
Owner Name:
Eric Podewell
Contact Email:
Email hidden by Chicago Stolen Bike Registry. Contact the CSBR staff to email the owner.
Contact Phone Number:
630-743-3366
Police Report No.:
WH09172951
Lock Information
How was the lock defeated?:
Lock is missing, along with the bike.
Lock Type:
Cable w/ Integrated Key Lock
What was the bike locked to?:
Locked to bike rack.
How was the bike locked?:
Locked through both wheels and frame to object.
Incident Description
Which type of area was your bike stolen from?:
Other situation, please describe below.
How long was the bike locked in this location?:
Less than 10 hours
Incident Description:
My bike was locked to the bike frame on the south side of the train tracks along Crescent Avenue in Wheaton, IL. This particular bike rack is concealed between the train tracks (hill) and the cars that are parked in the parking lot adjacent to the tracks. Therefore, I believe that someone was able to walk up to the bike unnoticed and either cut the cable or pick the lock and then simply walk away with the bike like it was theirs. There are some businesses and residential homes in the area, but since the rack is concealed between the tracks and the parked cars, it made it easy for someone to take their time to remove the lock without being noticed. This bike rack should be removed from this concealed area and I definitely will never lock up a bike on this rack ever again. Also, when I returned at the end of the work day (5:30pm), there was another bike locked up in its place, which tells me that the thief must have stolen my bike in the morning hours in order for the other person to be able to lock their bike in the same location where my bike was locked.