A couple summers ago some guys tried to jump me for my bike on Jeff Davis. Several months later that bike got stolen from a public rack. Sure I told friends about these things, and posted a stolen bike notice on the Facebooks, maybe even Craigslist. And of course, nothing came of any of it. So few people actually see those types of posts that they are almost useless. Bikeasy.org has a solution to this though, with an interactive incident and stolen bike map (Ironically enough, discovered on Craigslist this morning). Definitely worth checking out, as is this tasty “Best Of” nugget pulled from the incidents, after the jump.

An awesome project, no doubt. Whereas a post on Facebook or Craigslist might circulate for a couple days, this site allows the data to live on for a few months. That does, however, lead to a nice accumulation of incidents and thefts that make the map look rather alarming. The abundance of pins on the map MUST be taken with the grain of salt that some of the thefts occurred on UNLOCKED/UNSECURED bicycles. And better yet, nestled in the incidents are hidden gems such as “Driver Vs. Cyclist; Tension on the Streets.” I’ll include a few choice excerpts, entirely without context.

“I biked to work everyday for the last 2 years until I got tired of having my bikes stolen so now I drive. This time I was the motorist and I harassed the bicyclist.”

“He followed me to my office and threatened me.”

He does however close with a point I can agree on to some extent, “Bicyclist should obey the law and be respectful as should motorist.”