Man cycles from France to the UK only to have his bike stolen in London

A man who cycled all the way from France to the UK had his £2,000 bike stolen just one day after arriving in London.

Zachary, who goes by the name Zed, cycled from Paris to the UK in our days to ‘enjoy the freedom of biking from one European city to another’.

The 31-year-old, originally from Philadelphia, US, had decided to move to Europe last year after his previous bike was stolen as he lay unconscious on the side of the road following a hit and run.

‘After a few days in the hospital I went looking for my bike only to find it had been stolen while I was knocked out,’ he told Metro.

‘That was the last straw for me. I just thought f*** this and decided to move to France.’

After arriving in London last Tuesday following four days of biking, Zed was told by a hostel manager in Paddington to park his bike outside of Westminster Magistrates nearby, as there would be ‘lots of CCTV so it would be safe’.

He used a a U-lock and a wire lock, which can’t be cut through without specialist tools, as well as putting an Air Tag on the bike.

But just one day later – it was gone.

Zed said: ‘This was not a theft of convenience. Whoever it was, was organised and had an angle grinder. They managed to cut through two really thick locks.’

Checking the Air Tag, the bike had only travelled a few kilometres before it stopped pinging at around 3am.

‘Whoever it was, noticed the tracker, and destroyed it,’ Zed said.

‘I have no hopes of getting it back – I know how these situations work. The CCTV outside the courts were all pointing towards the door, and not at the racks’

The Metropolitan Police told Metro: ‘Officers are investigating a report of bicycle theft from Old Marylebone Road, Westminster taking place between 02:00hrs and 03:45hrs on Tuesday, 2 September. 

‘Enquiries continue. At this stage the bicycle has not been recovered and no arrests have been made.’

Around 77,313 bicycles are reported as stolen in the UK every year; roughly one every seven minutes. And that’s just an official number- the real total is likely much higher.

Despite an estimated 90% of cases going unsolved, it does appear that bike thefts appear to be declining- slowly.

Data gathered by bike insurance firm Bikmo indicates a decline in bicycle thefts throughout England and Wales, with 64,507 incidents recorded in 2023 compared to 73,218 in 2022 – showing a 12% decrease. 

Yet there are still a number of hotspots throughout the UK where bike theft is rife. Here are the spots in the UK with the highest rate of stolen bikes per 100,000 people.

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