And you thought you had to worry about bicycle thieves

The bicycle thief is the unseen enemy of every cyclist, but lest you think that you are particularly plagued by bike thefts in your town, take a look at this article in the London Evening Standard.

According to the Metropolitan Police Service, 23,141 bike thefts were reported for the 12 months ending in March of this year. That works out to slightly more than 63 bikes a day nicked.

Another interesting statistic: only 580 people were charged with bike theft for that year, about one person for every 40 bicycles stolen.

The article quotes a London Assembly member, who herself has been the victim of bicycle theft -- three times!

Surely, no one buys anything better than a beater bike in London.