I bought a new Hybrid at MEC. Within a week it was stolen.

Ghost Panamao X 3 Bicycle (Unisex) – CAD$725 (US$582)

Using the wifi at McDonald’s at 3611 17th-AVE SW Calgary, I’d locked it to a tree close to the busy road. Seemed a good idea at the time. Who’d cut that lock? It’s such a busy spot.

Police told me that homeless guys tend to hang out at McDonald’s. There were a number the night I was there.

Though seemingly hopeless, I filed an online Police report next day. I wanted the cops to know what bike was targeted where.

Immediately I got a phone call. They’d recovered my bike. Wow!

Actually, they called before seeing my report. A new Ghost (unusual brand) was spotted outside a Mac’s convenience store with no lock. The police took it when no owner could be located. (No doubt the thief fled the scene when he saw them.)

Knowing that only MEC sold Ghost, they stopped by the store to ask the manager about that particular serial number. He gave them my phone number.

I love the Calgary police now. 🙂

When I met the police to collect my bike those partners told me that they pick up about one stolen bike a week.

Thieves try to “change the appearance” of stolen bikes. In my case they took off the hybrid wheels and put on a pretty good set of (stolen) mountain bike wheels. They added two small lights. And took off my bell.

But a Ghost bike is pretty conspicuous. There aren’t many of them around yet.

I decided to buy a replacement set of Hybrid wheels. And put the mountain bike wheels on one of my mountain bikes. All in all, I’m pretty happy how things worked out.

And I’ll be much more careful with my good bike in future.

Bait bikes won’t be coming to Calgary any time soon, according to city police, who now say there has been no progress on such a program since last summer when they were dealing with a spike in bicycle thefts.

It was nine months ago that Sgt. Katrina O’Reilly told Metro several departments within the police service were working on an in-house version of a program similar to those in other jurisdictions, which see GPS tracking devices hidden inside bicycles placed in public areas as “bait” for would-be thieves. …

Sgt. Katrina O’Reilly told Metro last summer there had been a “tremendous increase” in the number of bikes being stolen in break-and-enters, rather than from an outdoor rack or off the street. …

Bait bike idea shelved by Calgary police, cyclists frustrated with mass thefts