You are hereMultiple bikes being stolen from Whole Foods parking garage. BE WARNED!
Multiple bikes being stolen from Whole Foods parking garage. BE WARNED!
One of our readers posted this in our sorely neglected ATXBS Forums, but I thought it was well worth repeating on the front page. Beyond making a little splash over some "Obamacare" comments, locally Whole Foods seems to be causing a commotion in the CraigsList stolen bikes listings:
Don't park your bike in the whole foods parking garage.
This latest one was supposedly taken within a 15 min. time span.
http://austin.craigslist.org/bik/1334170942.html
I swear that I've seen no less than 10 stolen bike postings concerning Whole Foods on CL in just the last few months. WTF? Why doesn't this company have a security camera watching their rack?
I've seen A LOT of posts and heard several stories about this issue, including people who've said that their ULOCK was removed as well (as in not just broken/picked but taken from the scene). Now I don't know if these were the round key U-Lock we've all been warned about or the latest and greatest Kryptonite NY Fahgettaboudit, but take extra care if you bike to the downtown Whole Foods location.
Maybe it's time some of us talk to whole foods management and see what they can do to improve the bicycle security situation in their parking lot. You'd think that a local, yuppie targeted organic market that offers bike delivery would actually want to look after the well-being of their customers' vehicles, but then judging from experience you'd probably be wrong.
I lock my bike at least twice a week in WF. Once they tampered my old Kryptonite, which I had to throw away and buy a new one. On another time they stole my wife's headlight and we had to go home without it in the dark. Unfortunately WF does not assume any responsability, not even when you are squeezing your wallet to them week after week.
What kind of locks are these people using... and how are they locking their bikes. I use an Kryptonite Evo Mini and lock up there all the time. Often, some of the bikes down there are poorly locked using locks i would consider laughable. I don't mean to shit on anyone who got a bike stolen (which does suck...) and Whole Foods should have a security camera (why the hell don't they), but unless people are saying they used "X" lock and locked it in "Y" fashon, i'd really need to see how they lock their bike before i stop locking somewhere (esp because there are so many bikes locked there, so often, in such a high risk area of town).
Matt
I too lock there at least once a month, and have never had my bike messed with. I do remove my front wheel and use a mini U-Lock to secure everything to the rack. I also take my lights and any gear I don't want lifted in. Figure better safe than sorry.