Calling All Bicyclists: The City of Lake Worth DID have a reputation for being difficult once upon a time.

Theft PREVENTION is the City’s focus.

Question: Have you been to Relentless Bicycles (Electra Bike Dealer!) in Downtown Lake Worth? Family Bicycle on Dixie Hwy.? Learn more about these two popular bike shops below.

“Is Lake Worth really ‘bike theft capital of world?’ Some think so”.

Above is an actual headline in The Palm Beach Post. Not kidding.

And below is another primer, or “How To” for headline editors. By the way, the use of hyperbole in a headline is a big “no-no” in newspaper publishing.

The ways to PREVENT bike thefts should have been the major focus by the beat reporter, but it wasn’t. Find out one of the best and most effective ways to prevent bike theft, and all you need to do is visit a bike shop here in the City of Lake Worth (learn more below).

How silly can the headline editors at The Palm Beach Post get?

Very silly and at times, very inaccurate and misleading as well. There is a plethora of tips and learning sources available for editors such as The New York Times’ “Learning Network”:

An inexperienced editor who has trouble writing a headline might be tempted to try to write a headline on a secondary angle of the article, but a good headline is based on the lead.

For example, this headline is terribly inaccurate and very misleading:

Do you remember the “curfew” nonsense in the Post?

Now, back to the Post article on bike thefts, buried in the middle of the article is this:

But Ogonowski [Mike Ogonowski, Relentless Bicycles at 702 Lucerne Ave.] said riders need to invest more money in better locks to deter thieves. Too many bicyclists, he said, are opting to buy an $18 braided steel lock that can be easily clipped as opposed to a $36 chain lock that is harder to break.
     “You need a better tool to cut the chain lock and those are tools your average bike thief isn’t carrying around,” Ogonowski said.

For new residents in the City of Lake Worth, and others concerned about having their bike stolen, below is information that is very useful to protecting your ride. If you just read the silly headline and scanned the text you might come away thinking we’re indeed leading the world in bike thefts.

We’re not. Not even close.

Here’s a link I posted shortly after that article in the Post explaining PREVENTION IS THE KEY and that, e.g., drug addicts are stealing bikes because they’re an easy way to get money to buy drugs. Bikes with cheap locks are an easy target of opportunity.

The issue of bike theft is an easy one to understand but, once again, you had to get far into the article to learn about that. One of the clues why people were having their bikes stolen can be found in this video that accompanied the article. A bicyclist tells his story about his bike being stolen and in a dramatic scene the cyclist gets on his new bike and rides down the road.

And guess what’s missing? THERE’S NO BIKE LOCK! 

Really folks, doesn’t that explain it all? To secure a bike you need a quality lock. Get a lock affixed to your bike or in a pouch so it’s always there. Bike riders in South Florida have known for many years there is a problem with bike theft so take the necessary precautions. If you’re a Lake Worth resident go to one of our local expert bike shops and learn WHERE to lock your bike and just as importantly, HOW to lock your bike properly:

Meet Mr. Mike Ogonowski:

Stop by Mr. Ogonowski’s shop and find out how to keep your bike from being stolen. His shop, Relentless Bicycles, is at 702 Lucerne Ave. (561-547-1396). Also, Family Bicycle is located at 127 S. Dixie Hwy. (561-533-6040).