Abandoned bicycles

<[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I recently noticed that of the thousands of bicycles parked (locked)
on the streets of Munich (D), about 25% have not been moved in about a
year, judging from the solid clump of rust that was once a chain.
That city needs a towed vehicle ordnance to clean things up. Some of
these bicycles have major damage and/or missing parts.

Of course Munich is a university town but even the nearby university
here doesn't have such a collection.

[email hidden]

Maybe, but that's for the people of Munich to decide I would have thought.

Graham

David L. Johnson said:

Quoted message said:

When I was in Paris in March I noticed much the same thing. Many of

them

Quoted message said:

looked like they belonged on a Dali canvas, with taco'd wheels and

bent

Quoted message said:

frames. Those were probably locked up after an accident and never

even

Quoted message said:

retrieved.

--

David L. Johnson

__o | "It doesn't get any easier, you just go faster." --Greg

LeMond

Quoted message said:

_`\(,_ |
(_)/ (_) |

My guess is that lots of the damage ocurrs post lock up via vandalism.
I have seen this many times and even apprehended culprits who had
"standards" in that they checked out the bike racks near campus daily
and only stole or vandalized bikes that they documented as being there
over 24 hours. Interesting moral code- huh!

You see a lot of derelict bikes on college campuses, too. By late
April, there might be bikes that look like they have been locked up for
months. Flat tires, no seats, etc.

Reason 1: Ich kann mein Schlüssel nicht mehr finden! = I can't find
my key.
Reason 2: Kein luft im Reifen = No air in tire, can't ride that.
Reason 3: Kettenpanne = My chain fell off.
followed by:
Gehen wir ins Café? = Let's go to a cafe.

This newsgroup is full of people who don't abandon possesions for
trivial reasons, I would guess, so the whole mentality is foreign enough
to spark Jobst's questions.

Bob Dole said:

Could this indicate one or more of the following:

1. Bicycle theft is less of a problem in Munich?

2. Students in Munich are more likely to be sent off to college with a
bike than they are at your nearby university? American teens often
abandon biking when they get a drivers licence, and may not buy a bike
until they need it at campus (or, may get their parental units to pony
up for a car).

3. Nearby university is aggressive on beautifying the campus by
clearing it of abandoned bicycles?