Stolen Bike London To The Next level

I have been running Stolen Bike London on and off for almost 9 months now, and think its time to take it to the next level. So I'm asking for some help, I need:

• A better website, that is more searchable, and looks better
  
• fliers or posters to hand out, and leave in bike shops
  
• Another person or two to check the email, and post emails to the blog (this is really boring)
  
• People to go down brick lane with me to look for stolen bikes
  
• Publicity
  
• Fresh ideas
  
• People willing to get evolved in any way.
  
  

I would like to have a fundraiser party for Stolen Bike London at some point, to cover the cost of printing fliers, pay for hosting costs if it incurs any, and to offer rewards for the return of messengers bikes.

This is an important project, but if left in its current state it will fizzle out every so often and eventually be gone. So help out if you can, and can be asked to.

party location suggestion - queens head dalston?

not much chance of people from this forum getting 'evolved'

and to offer rewards for the return of messengers bikes.

?

Isn't this offering incentives to people to steal bikes owned by couriers? How is that helping?

And who is to say that if rewards were given that they should only be given to couriers? Others are very much dependent on their bicycle too. Not I sure, but I'm sure you can find people in London living in poverty and for whom a bicycle represents a great deal of their freedom. A courier is surely more likely to be able to cobble together a replacement than that person in poverty.

Besides, isn't it an occupational hazard? Surely that is up to couriers and their employers (if you're not self-employed) to solve?

To be honest i didn't think of it being an incentive, and the reasons behind offering help to messengers, is there bikes are often times more at risk (locked up all over the place, often by the top tube, generally with only one lock) and they rely on it for work, and are not known for having money to spare.

their bikes are often times more at risk (locked up all over the place, often by the top tube, generally with only one lock)

true. um... i think i've missed your point.

I would love to help, and as pointed out by VB the site needs to be re worded to incorporate all cyclists, which would be one way to move forward. What about sponsorships to fund flyers, stickers, parties etc... there must ne some cycle related businesses out there who will pay to have there logo on the site.

p.s I can help with emails ( always willing to evolve)

rocksteady pm is on the way.

if people think that offering a reward from the site/ project for messengers, i guess i never thought of it, and i was a messenger when i set it up and wanted to help that community as well as the general community of cyclists (i sound like roxy with all this community stuff)

I would be happy to help out - fliers, posters / brick lane / ideas etc. However I agree on the point about rewards for messengers' bikes, shouldn't rewards be left to the discretion of the victim?

if its a condition of people helping or not i'll drop it, as i dont feel that strongly about it, and people have made good points against it

If you were to set up an associated paypal account (or similar), I would gladly send you money towards operating costs.

if its a condition of people helping or not i'll drop it...

what the site or the reward???

The site/fliers/etc. Whilst rewarding people for finding and returning bikes is a good idea in principle, the practice would need to be infalliable.

if its a condition of people helping or not i'll drop it...

what the site or the reward???

reward, the site needs to be re-worked, but i dont do computers well.

Chris I should be able to provide some hosting for you for free, would need someone else to provide the funky web design though.

oh and change our link at the bottom, we have www.trixiechix.com now.

will change the link... after i re-write my CV again.... need a job need a job!

If you were to set up an associated paypal account (or similar), I would gladly send you money towards operating costs.

+1

I would be more than happy to donate too . . . and stick some flyers around place in West London

Great work so far Mr Crash, i think if properly promoted this can go on to be such a great resource

Stilll up for this- registered some domains etc before posting this https://www.londonfgss.com/thread4763.html

Still stands- just need someone to do the backend, I have a good friend who will do front end stuff for a suitable quantity of pizza.

I dont understand the tech stuff in that thread, but what you talking about sounds good. (i think) but if some one can do the back end, and clefty can host, then we may be sorted.

we have www.trixiechix.com now.

Ha! I'm in at least 3 pictures on the gallery ..can I have a badge?

I think this calls for a planning meeting in the pub.
I nominate South Drinks- however it will have to be (for me) in a week on Monday as I am in Wales next week.

east drinks - be closer to where the theft is. Chris, i think you should take the project further. Make it a source of information about bike theft in london. Where theft occurs often, safe spots, locks to use, locking techniques, stolen bike sellers, vigilante groups etc - i think there is loads of aspects that could be developed.

i'll help - i've been working on a petty crime mapping project around hackney where people quickly and easily report petty crime - the type of crime people don't report to the police.

What I thought would be helpful would be a checkable database of stolen bikes- i.e. you are looking at a bike on eBay/Gumtree/whatever, and could check that against the database to make sure that you were not going to profit by anothers misery.
Possibly ascribing too much to every potential buyer in terms of ethics, but worth a shot.
There would also be a link to report a possible sighting which would alert the person who had their bike stolen.

?

I
Besides, isn't it an occupational hazard? Surely that is up to couriers and their employers (if you're not self-employed) to solve?

By the same token I suppose getting killed or injured is an occupational hazard that we should 'solve' ourselves? I thought we were all in this together as cyclists?
I agree that rewards are probably counter-productive but well done VB for dismissing what for me would be a financial disaster as just an occupational hazard. Nothing like another cyclist to really ruin your day. I guess I should HTFU eh?

east drinks - be closer to where the theft is. Chris, i think you should take the project further. Make it a source of information about bike theft in london. Where theft occurs often, safe spots, locks to use, locking techniques, stolen bike sellers, vigilante groups etc - i think there is loads of aspects that could be developed.

i'll help - i've been working on a petty crime mapping project around hackney where people quickly and easily report petty crime - the type of crime people don't report to the police.

that top part is one of the reason i want to re-design the website, if i do a blog post about how to lock your bike and with what it gets buried in a week or a month.

also i agree we need a pub planing session.