Saturday, August 23, 2008

Is there anything worse (for cyclists)?

Not to get into a philosophical debate about the nature of evil, but the gentleman below must fall pretty high (low?) on the list of the worst. His name is Igor Kenk and he is believed to be responsible for the theft of 2,396 bicycles in Toronto.

I'm not going to repeat the whole sorry tale, which you can find at the Toronto Journal, but here is one part I found especially disheartening:
Oddly enough, the police and many bicyclists were aware that Mr. Kenk’s little shop, the Bicycle Clinic, appeared to be a black hole that consumed stolen bicycles. Bike theft victims regularly discovered their missing bicycles there, and were often able to recover them, either through vigorous argument or a payment of $30 or $40.
I've had a bike stolen, I think most cyclists have at one point or another. I lost mine because I was an idiot and left my bike in the back of my pickup (under a locked camper shell, but still) on a street that was not highly traveled at night. But to think that there was this sort of organized system operating in a city with as many cyclists as Toronto, and that no charges were successfully brought is just depressing.

Hopefully this time something will stick.

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