As everyone who has had a bike stolen knows, there’s really no way to make a bicycle 100% secure – you’re basically balancing an equation where the amount that you spend weighing down your bike with locks only increases the difficulty of the heist. (And according to bicycle law, all bikes should weigh 50 pounds.)

Gizmodo put 4 standard locks through the paces to see just how hard it is to steal a bike secured with a u-lock. Although a few of them fended off a beating from bolt cutters and a hacksaw, not a single one could stand up to a 5-second assault with a $40 angle grinder. Check out the video here – how does your lock fare?

Photo by dpwk

As a city cyclist, I count my blessings every time I go to mount up and my saddle hasn’t been stolen. Imagine my surprise today when I walked outside Atlas Cafe to unlock and found my seat had been upgraded with a snappy red rain cover! Of course, the altruistic act came with a pitch – Timbuk2‘s ninjas stealthily distributed the seat covers in support of a sale – but who can complain when a random act of kindness wards off a soggy bum? With this week’s dismal forecast we can all use an extra bit of shelter.

(Unless there’s a keg in the center of that thing. Then that’s a different story entirely.)

Are they slaves chained to it like a greek trireme, prowling the Mission for targets to ram?

Or tourists that were told “hey, everyone in the Mission rides like this.”

Is Muni’s new cost savings plan?

MrEricSir saw another group of victims on 18th.

I simply do not think my brain could handle pedaling in a direction different than my velocity.

(*See that Delfina logo on their asses?)

-Mollie C

Bay Area streets are dangerous for cyclists. According to findings in this morning’s San Francisco Chronicle, Market Street is the deadliest, particularly at its intersection with Octavia. A lot of major arterials out in the burbs fill in a lot of the rest of the list, but Valencia Street made it too, just barely: #25. Be careful out there.