I run through an area with a lot of homeless. In one spot I saw a decaying bag of derailleurs. I reported it to the cops. In another spot I found a note with a bunch of phone numbers on it and notes about who had shifters, who had frames, who had wheels. I reported it, too. Never heard anything from it.

I ride through an area with a legendary amount of homeless. Over there on the islands you see piles of bicycles. You see shopping carts, too. I've seen giant piles of oxycontin containers (empty, of course) and I once found about 200 watch boxes lying shucked on the shore like a goddamn oyster flats.

I had a bike stolen in LA. It was chained up. It was in front of a grocery store. I went in to buy groceries and spent an extra 10 minutes griping to the manager over the fact that they don't consider a backpack to be a "shopping bag". When I came out the bike was gone. The Salvation Army bell ringer helpfully said "dude, somebody stole your bike. Just walked right up to it and clipped the chain with bolt cutters." Thanks, Salvation Army. It was a $350 Raleigh. It was a week old. I went and bought the exact same goddamn $350 Raleigh the next day. Guy who sold it to me said that they estimate 80% of the bicycles they sell are stolen within a year.

The thing all these have in common is it's not clever syndicates of organized thieves monitoring social media and targeting hapless Lycra wearers. It's junkies. Bike theft is a crime of opportunity. Minimize the opportunity and you minimize the bike theft.

Went running day before yesterday. There's a homeless guy whom I've saved from getting his ass beat once before (called the cops as someone was taking a tire wrench to him). He always cheers me on, I always encourage him to run with me. Day before yesterday he did. His name is Chad. He's in a halfway house now. Got all his 2nd-degree trespass convictions vacated. Found God. Is now 4 days sober.

Pretty sure it isn't his nest I found with the note. Pretty sure he knows whose nest it is. And I'm pretty sure that Chad would have a real hard time deciding between "fifth of Old Crow" and "not stealing someone's bike."