A 7/16 brand new MENS SCHWINN bike was stolen on July 19, 2010 from the back of a apartment on ocean park blvd, Santa Monica. The lock was cut. If you have any information on this bike or spot it on Samo/Venice streets, email Joan Hansen at jvchansen@yahoo.com.

Bicycle Kitchen provides a good resource for cyclists on how to protect their bikes from thefts and increase recovery chances. Some of the key points include:

• Signing up for an ebay account and creating a saved search on the brand name and model of the bike (Schwinn Hardrock for example) and have it email the results to you daily.

• Using craigslist auto-search tools, (e.g. www.4info.net) to attain mobile alerts. If you do see the bike pop up, make sure you don’t accuse the seller of stealing the bike, pretend you’re an interested buyer, arrange a meeting place, and then get in touch with the police and let them know you may have found the person that stole the bike and ask them for assistance.
• Lastly it suggests that the best way to prevent your bike from being stolen is to use a U Lock from OnGuard or Kryptonite. Read more about U lock bike locking strategy.