So if your not wearing lycra you're obviously a bike thief
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-bristol-22639683
I saw that yesterday and thought what a good copper saw something a bit unusual and checked it out .As its just up the road from me im glad my local police are on the ball
He looks like a bit of a scrote tbh, looks can be deceiving obviously.
Who the copper or the cyclist?
Jeez, I saw the 'bike' crowd on twitter, who i quite often agree with, moaning about this yesterday.
Police see a bloke who doesn't look 'like a cyclist' on an expensive looking road bike. They have a quick chat, everything's in order, he goes on his way.
Even the guy who was pulled over said he was glad the police are looking out for nicked bikes and he told the officer that he appreciated it.
It's like a scruffy looking 18 year old lad in a brand new M3 being pulled over. It's out of the ordinary so the police do a quick check and everything's fine so that's the end of it.
I saw that yesterday and thought what a good copper saw something a bit unusual and checked it out .As its just up the road from me im glad my local police are on the ball
Plus one
set up a paypal donate page for that copper - I will donate a pints worth...
baaaaa...
... is a good lad, in my book. I'd be very appreciative if he'd stopped me in the same circumstances.PC Keith James, from Avon and Somerset Police
(and I bet he's on here anyway 😉 )
Fair play to the plod, I say.
*Wonders if any of our local polis have "had a word" with the the combat gear attired Rasta chappie who cruises around on a Kona Stab whilst smoking a mahoosive bifta - fair play to him, too!*
Good, there's been loads of thefts round there recently. If I've just popped somewhere on a bike, rather than going for a ride (ie to the shops, down to the office to get something), I've be happy to be stopped and have it checked... (obvious exclusion if it was a Strava segment 😈 )
I had something similar to this, but a bit sillier, a couple of years ago. Firstly, let me explain that I'm not a brand slave to matched kit, but having got back into mountain biking after a few years away, when I bought my bike (Rockrider from Decathlon) I also bought a fair bit of other kit from there, as it's pretty darned cheap.
So, I'm riding in town and get stopped by plod. I'm riding a Rockrider branded bike. I'm wearing Rockrider branded shoes. I'm wearing a Rockrider branded helmet. I'm wearing Rockrider branded gloves. And I'm wearing Rockrider branded shorts.
Plod: Is this your bike?
Erm...
What ed.. did you not know the answer to that question.
Witch/thief, burn him.
Should have added, like the guy in the story on the beeb, apart from thinking it was a daft call under the circumstances, I was very happy to see plod taking an active interest in stolen / possibly stolen bikes.
The slightly sad part of the story is that although I still wear some of the Rockrider kit (gloves and helmet), they're no longer matching the bike, which I no longer have. It got stolen 🙁
Rather than suspicions based on lack of lycra, the suspicious look for me would be people riding on clippy pedals in trainers if I was "da fedz".
[i]"unusual to see an expensive bike being ridden by someone in non-cycling clothes."
Police said bike thefts were a priority in the area following a number of garage and shed robberies.[/i]
Good stuff Bristol police.
I hope the media fuss doesn't put them off doing stuff like this.
I do this all the time. So much so that my colleagues take the piss when I stop lads on decent bikes and start quizzing them about how much it was and the componentry on it. 🙂
Agreed DezB.
If something looks out of place then it's worth a quick check.
Although it does remind me of a time when I was running across Manchester city centre because I was late for uni:
Police officer: Stop there, why are you running
Me: None of your business.
Police officer: You're going to have to tell me why you're running.
Me: No. Unless you've got any questions I'm going now.
Police officer: Not unless you tell me why you're running.
Me: Arrest me. Bye.
In hindsight I should have just said I was running late for uni. But he was a bit rude and full of himself and I was 19 and so also a bit rude and full of myself.
I do this all the time. Please, please report all cycle thefts. If there is no report of it being stolen, we have to let them pedal away.
Was any of the twitter feedback negative? It doesn't say in the article although it seems to suggest it might have been. I can't think it anything other than a good thing to have done and can't see why anyone would feel otherwise.
Unless you're a bike stealing scrote . . . . . .
[i]I was 19 and so also a bit rude and full of myself.[/i]
Ah, weren't we all once 🙂
[i]Was any of the twitter feedback negative?[/i]
I think the headline is a little bit negative... it's not really a newsworthy story... but then again the publicity could be seen as a deterrent...
seems sensible to me to check up on the unusual. Done on here with ebay ads all the time when the person selling a 5k bike seems to know very little about it. If something doesn't seem quite right then it is worth a quick investigation. I wouldn't be offended - I'd be quite happy to be held up for a couple of minutes.
I was following a guy recently on an expensive road bike and everything about the way he was dressed and the very low saddle screamed I'm riding a stolen bike. I guess he got it in a mugging and luckily enough the victim must have had the same size feet as he was also wearing his Sidi shoes. So if anyone in Brighton is missing a Specialized bike and a pair of shoes I may have seen them.
me too but then I thought of how many times I nip to the shop on my bike wearing trainers (spds through out in my bike shed) so I'd cop for it too.Rather than suspicions based on lack of lycra, the suspicious look for me would be people riding on clippy pedals in trainers if I was "da fedz".
Anyhow police showing interest in dodgy bike/rider combinations sounds OK to me.
Yep, they're welcome to do this we me (I don't wear lycra on my commute).
But you'll have to catch me first copper!!
Depends entirely on how it's done tbh. If it's a friendly "just checking sir" and not too long, then great. If it's a "You seem like a criminal" stop then not so much. But it sounds like this feller was doing a great job so all power to him.
i'm honestly not trolling - honestly.
the only time i see any police'people' is in the queue at the chippy (usually the admiral, sometimes the 5star, just like the rest of us then).
i'd be very happy if they became a bit more [i]engaged[/i].
somewhere out there, is a scrote riding around on my girlfriend's Myka, the chain will be rusty, the tyres knackered. it would be awesome if it was picked up like this.
Job well done by the copper I say.
But you'll have to catch me first copper!!
that's what tazers are for 😆
it was a fixie,.... should be looking at a long stretch for that alone 😀
*Copper in doing his job shocker*
Good on him but now any scrotey bike thief will now be out nicking some lycra, ready for his next job!
Or baggies if he's nicking a MTB.
This has been happening round my way for years and its one bit of policing I don't mind. I've always had expensive bikes so I'm hoping its the bikes rather than me looking like a scrote that's causing the attention 😉
This is bullshit. Something "not looking right" to some yokel cop is no excuse to be interfering with someone going around their business.
[s]really? Say your pride and joy, recently perloied from your garden/shed whatever, is seen being ridden by someone a bit scrotish, maybe seat down low, knees out, and the fuzz think "Eh up, that looks wrong - still nothing we can do about it"
You wouldn't be on here getting a little bit miffed??? I would.[/s]
scrap that I fear I may have just fallen for a troll hook line and sinker... 😳
[i]Something "not looking right" to some yokel cop..[/i]
Yeah, I agree. There's no place for initiative in today's police force.
Something "not looking right" to some yokel cop is no excuse to be interfering with someone going around their business
I'm pretty sure it is....
Damned if they do, damned if they don't,, should do it more often IMO...
A friend of mine is a police officer.
He goes by the reaction of an individual when he stops them "for a chat". Defensive, aggressive and suspicious gets further attention.
The police need to be able to use their initiative and instincts. This needs to be done within a framework that creates fairness, but suspicious activity needs attention. Polite and unobstrusive to begin and go from there based on what you see and here.
A friend of mine is a police officer.He goes by the reaction of an individual when he stops them "for a chat". Defensive, aggressive and suspicious gets further attention.
Some people (cutting to the chase: young black men) get stopped a lot more by the police than others. It is therefore quite understandable that when this happens, some of them react differently from someone who is part of a "community" that doesn't get the same level of attention from "da fedz". If their negative reaction is then seen as suspicous by the police, there's potentially a bit of a vicious circle going on and before you know it, things might get a bit rioty.
Spinning frantically in a low gear whilst on the flat is always a good indicator, IMO.
Something "not looking right" to some yokel cop is no excuse to be interfering with someone going around their business
I'm pretty sure it is....
^This +1
I own a moderately expensive road bike, (£2000), I have NEVER ridden it without lycra shorts apart from up and down my lane after tweaking something.
The PC used a lot of common sense to pull someone over on an expensive bike who wasn't dressed in normal cycling kit.
How anyone can say it was out of order is just ridiculous.
Anyone else planning on donning some trackies and a baseball cap and going for a ride around town on a nice bike, see if plod stops them?
to fit here...
Anyone else planning on donning some trackies and a baseball cap and going for a ride around town on a nice bike, see if plod stops them?
Nope, can't afford a nice bike!
[i]Something "not looking right" to some yokel cop is no excuse to be interfering with someone going around their business.[/i]
You'd make a pretty useless cop then wouldn't you?
Great work and exactly what we need more of in Bristol, given the high theft levels and previous disinterest.
I'd happily chat to a copper that stopped me if I was out on one of my bikes in non-riding gear - piece of mind that someone has his eye on the ball.
Imagine for a brief moment the person on that bike wasn't the legit owner, and that copper's actions reunited said bike with the rightful owner. That has to be a good thing and worth any brief moment of inconvenience if you are the owner but just not in riding gear.
Fair play to him
🙂