[nelsonjm]

I parked my ride on campus and locked it up then headed to class. When I got back, two people had cut the thick aircraft carrier cable I had locked it with and were in the process of cutting the cable off another nice whip. When I asked them what they hell they were doing, they told me that all bikes had to be removed between 7 to 10 on Thursdays. If they hadn't been wearing school shirts, I would have done some curb stomping right then and there.
Instead, I argued with them that rule did not exist so they picked up a nearby parking brochure and started to read off one section that didn't make any sense and which especially didn't say anything about this scenario. I must have argued for about 15 minutes with them before stating I would talk to their manager and getting their id number and riding off.
They walked off too at about this point which I thought was odd since they should have taken the other bike. I was happy to see this however since I was planning on stating the other bike was mine too if they tried to take it as well. Then I woke up and realized what an idiot I had been, they were clearly fake workers and I had just foiled their plan. I'm still pissed I didn't get to smack them around a little or at least get their names and information as opposed to their fake id numbers. I can't believe my brain tricked me.

 

[ATOMICFIREBALL]

I parked my ride on campus and locked it up then headed to class. When I got back, two people had cut the thick aircraft carrier cable I had locked it with and were in the process of cutting the cable off another nice whip. When I asked them what they hell they were doing, they told me that all bikes had to be removed between 7 to 10 on Thursdays. If they hadn't been wearing school shirts, I would have done some curb stomping right then and there.
Instead, I argued with them that rule did not exist so they picked up a nearby parking brochure and started to read off one section that didn't make any sense and which especially didn't say anything about this scenario. I must have argued for about 15 minutes with them before stating I would talk to their manager and getting their id number and riding off.
They walked off too at about this point which I thought was odd since they should have taken the other bike. I was happy to see this however since I was planning on stating the other bike was mine too if they tried to take it as well. Then I woke up and realized what an idiot I had been, they were clearly fake workers and I had just foiled their plan. I'm still pissed I didn't get to smack them around a little or at least get their names and information as opposed to their fake id numbers. I can't believe my brain tricked me.

Live & learn young grasshopper.
Tell the campus police about this!!Give them a description at least.

 

[deadatbirth]

i woulda smacked them around too, but if there was more than one of them, things could had gotten tricky.
what the hell did they cut the "aircraft carrier cable" with, and where do you get a "aircraft carrier cable?"

 

[sanjuro]

Good that you prevented your bike theft and stopped someone else from having his bike stolen.

Definitely report this to the police so that they know thieves are targeting your school with a very devious scam.

 

[nelsonjm]

Live & learn young grasshopper.
Tell the campus police about this!!Give them a description at least.

Yea, I'm planning on talking to them about this if I see them again. One guy was about 6'1", brown hair/eyes, pale, and in his late 20s. The other one was about the same age, but had blond hair, didn't catch the eye color, and was about 5'9". So keep your eye out. They would probably be most noticeable from the leather duffle bag they had their cutting equipment in with the school logo on it so keep an eye out in case they jump ship to another mind at night!

i woulda smacked them around too, but if there was more than one of them, things could had gotten tricky.
what the hell did they cut the "aircraft carrier cable" with, and where do you get a "aircraft carrier cable?"

Those dudes were prepared and were pretty ballsy. They were using a oxy-fuel welding cutting attachment. The air craft carrier cable lock was just one of the standard ones with a plastic casing and a really thick wound cable going through it. I wonder how long it took to cut it... I was only in class for about and hour and a half.. do you think I got lucky in catching them?

 

[deadatbirth]

they had a oxy-acetylene cutter??? geez they were prepared huh? i dont think that school officials would be using that

 

[sanjuro]

do you think I got lucky in catching them?

Definitely. They put on official campus uniforms and used a blowtorch. Not exactly the crackhead snatch-n-run thieves.

Unlike car thieves, who have to be inside your car and it's clear someone is stealing your vehicle, bike thieves know there is a moment of confusion when they are caught, as if they just walking down the street or instead of stealing your bike.

I know alot of incidents where thieves just walk away when caught-in-the-act.

I have said that if I ever catch someone stealing my bike, I won't do the most obvious reaction, yell some kind of warning. I plan on walking up quietly, punching that guy in the back the head, and then yelling, "Help Help Help" so people know I am "defending" myself from the bike thief, before I continue pounding on him.

 

[sanjuro]

P.S.

Kill All Bike Thieves!!!!!

 

[nelsonjm]

they had a oxy-acetylene cutter??? geez they were prepared huh? i dont think that school officials would be using that

They do have these actually. Mostly they use them for working on our steam tunnels and are attached to trucks so I thought it was somewhat strange that they had the unit in a bag. Then again, you can get these in "backpack" size from places like this:
http://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/topages/gentecKA50.php
What a nightmare however, it's going to be difficult to lock my bike on campus anymore after that.

 

[sanjuro]

They do have these actually. Mostly they use them for working on our steam tunnels and are attached to trucks so I thought it was somewhat strange that they had the unit in a bag. Then again, you can get these in "backpack" size from places like this:
http://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/topages/gentecKA50.php
What a nightmare however, it's going to be difficult to lock my bike on campus anymore after that.

Unfortunately, you are going to have to up the ante:

 

[splat]

Those dudes were prepared and were pretty ballsy. They were using a oxy-fuel welding cutting attachment. The air craft carrier cable lock was just one of the standard ones with a plastic casing and a really thick wound cable going through it. I wonder how long it took to cut it... I was only in class for about and hour and a half.. do you think I got lucky in catching them?

That would go through a cable like it was butter! probaly took less then 3 minutes to cut it !

Unfortunately, you are going to have to up the ante:

thats not going to stop them either , it will take longer to cut , but it will.

 

[offsprung]

That would go through a cable like it was butter! probaly took less then 3 minutes to cut it !

more like 10 seconds.

 

[JohnE]

We had a group of guys working the midwest a few years back who were that prepared. They would cruise towns in vans, scout out likely prospects, roll up, jump out and cut whatever lock you were using, throw bike in van and beat feet. Van would then go to another state, and hock or sell the ill gotten bikes. Scum, I hope they slide under a gas truck and taste their own blood before being incinerated.

 

[sanjuro]

That would go through a cable like it was butter! probaly took less then 3 minutes to cut it !

thats not going to stop them either , it will take longer to cut , but it will.

You are right, locks are theft deterrents. The thief could cut your bike in half to get the parts.

However, I have been able to protect my bikes in various ways: good u-locks, out-of-sight parking, frequent checks, and in SF, bike valet parking.

 

[ATOMICFIREBALL]

, and in SF, bike valet parking.

I want to see photo's of these bike valets ! Interesting job.
They really do that there.Cool !

 

[jonKranked]

Unfortunately, you are going to have to up the ante:

2 words my friends: U-lock Justice



Seriously, those things can break car windows. Imagine what it will do to a petty bike thief. I'm not one to condone violence, but if I were in your position, the sh*t would hit the proverbial fan.

 

[johnbryanpeters]

As attractive as it sounds, preventing a property loss is not worth risking a homicide rap.

 

[nelsonjm]

As attractive as it sounds, preventing a property loss is not worth risking a homicide rap.

Well, I really didn't have to worry about that in this situation.

 

[deadatbirth]

locks are like car alarms...if someone wants your sht, then they are gonna take it.
i told people that all the time when we installed their alarm systems.
and yes a oxy torch would take bout 10 seconds to go through those locks

 

[tmx]

Whoa, that's crazy. You are very lucky.

Don't beat yourself up for not being completely aware of their ploy, it sounds like they have a good rap all laid out ready for just what happened. However, keep it in mind so you don't get burned twice because then you'll have good reason to beat yourself up. LOL.

If you haven't talked to campus police yet, you might consider writing down every single detail you can think of so once you get to speak with them you have all the details.

Three cheers for good timing!

 

[nelsonjm]

Whoa, that's crazy. You are very lucky.

Don't beat yourself up for not being completely aware of their ploy, it sounds like they have a good rap all laid out ready for just what happened. However, keep it in mind so you don't get burned twice because then you'll have good reason to beat yourself up. LOL.

If you haven't talked to campus police yet, you might consider writing down every single detail you can think of so once you get to speak with them you have all the details.

Three cheers for good timing!

Their ploy or mine? I just thought it was crazy how my brain could come up with that.. and trick me as well. I'll try contacting the police if I dream about it again. For now I'm not too concerned.

 

[offsprung]

Their ploy or mine? I just thought it was crazy how my brain could come up with that.. and trick me as well. I'll try contacting the police if I dream about it again. For now I'm not too concerned.

are you saying that this was all just a dream?

 

[dirttastesgood]

Some kid tried to steal my bike when I was 6, I was about to let him "test it out" when I realized what he was doing. I was kind of a crazy 6 year old so I kicked him a few times and road away.

 

[ridefast]

yea wtf....is this thread based on a dream you had?

it didnt actually happen, ya know, as in your first post?

 

[Wumpus]

are you saying that this was all just a dream?

 

[tmx]

Their ploy or mine? I just thought it was crazy how my brain could come up with that.. and trick me as well. I'll try contacting the police if I dream about it again. For now I'm not too concerned.

"My cats breath smells like cat food."