Riding Behind the Bike Borrowers (Day 13)

Sit outside your doorstep on weekday mornings at Rexburg and you will see the regular hustle and bustle of BYU-I students transporting themselves to classes; some walk, some drive, some ride unicycles, some ride two wheeled cycles, and others ride "borrowed" cycles. 11 out of the 46 reported thefts this year on the BYU-I campus have been bikes. That is in stark contrast to other US campuses where bikes do not even rank on the top five list for most common stolen items. 

-You'll have to talk with the big man himself on this topic, he will give you more official information.- tells me the woman on the otherside of the divider. She sits with the radios. 


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-I used to be a bike borrower- divulges shamelessly the voice emitting from the small box of plastic in my hands. -Again?- I think.

Shiniqua, as she asked to be called in this article, for purposes of privacy, admitted that she also was a former bike borrower, that her and her room-mate "used to steal them," "used to take them for joy rides," "because we felt liked it... because we wanted to ride a bike... we just wanted to ride around." However, after her own bike began to borrowed she realized how frustrating it is when you "go out there and your bikes not there."

Last week, her bike began to disappear sporadically. Shiniqua would leave in the morning to ride her bike to school, come back for a few minutes leaving her bike unlocked, and then would come back to find her bike missing. She would then have to run her way to work to not be late. This went on for about three days, all the while she failed at consistently locking her bike, and on the third day she came out to see the culprit in the act. It was a freshman girl from the same apartments. When confronted the girl responded saying that her grandmother had sent her a bike that was pink and had described it perfectly and that this was the very bike. Shiniqua explained to her that it was hers, but the girl insisted to the contrary. Finally Shiniqua reached under and showed her the permit stickers on the underside of the seat. The girls bike was actually two bikes down and a different shade of pink. Yeah, it's "because she's a freshman," remarked Shiniqua.

This is not a true example of bike borrowing, however, its relevance is great in that it gave to a borrower a bit of her own medicine. Shiniqua locks up now. She has a lock from Walmart that is said to be of more worth than her actual bike which is a handed down relic from the eighties. (I highly doubt that her lock is better than her bike, on the premis that all Walmart products are always of the lowest possible quality.)

Will you lock?

I think to myself- is this the best thing to do? Am I doing the right thing hunting down these bike borrowers? Are they really doing any harm to society? or are they just adding a little spice to the culture? By putting an end to this vogue would we be   withholding freedom or restoring it? It seems like in this day and age everybody roots for the pirates.