Police preparing to auction unclaimed rides

Every year a hundred or more abandoned bicycles are found by city and law enforcement officials. On any summer day, the Sidney Police Department stores 50 to 75 bicycles in their bike rack, outside of the station. The majority—90 percent—go unclaimed.

“We get bikes that are left leaning against the swimming pool fence, just laying out in the open,” interim Chief of Police Joseph Aikens reported. “We chain them up where we find them.”

Some of these may have been left behind after an unreported theft. Others were perhaps forgotten by their owners. The police department willingly returns lost bicycles when claimed.

“But,” Aikens warned, “they must prove ownership of the bike.”

As of Thursday, some 60 rides occupied the department's rack, ranging in value from $70 to $500. The police keep them for a year before turning them over to auction, with other surplus equipment. They generally sell for less than $30.

Sometimes a familiar Schwinn or Giant or other brand shows up on the auction block.

“For four years in a row the same bicycle was auctioned off—for four years in a row,” Aikens said. “Someone would buy it at the auction and ride it around for a couple of weeks. Then it would be left somewhere and it would end up back in the rack, no one would claim it and we would auction the bicycle again the next year.”

Aikens explained that the department has not set a firm date for this year's auction, but the event could be scheduled for some time before Labor Day.

There is an easier way for owners to kept track of their rides. Bicycles can be registered with the police, helping officers to locate the owner if their bike is ever stolen or found. The charge is a mere $1 per bicycle—“which basically covers the cost of the license sticker,” said Aikens.

Filling out a registration card only takes a few minutes.

Without a sticker or sales receipt, proof of ownership is difficult.

“We have had instances where kids have come in, liking a bike out there,” Aikens said, indicating the city's abandoned bike rack. “Then they try and say it’s theirs. We tell them to come back with their parents with proof of ownership.

“Usually they don’t come back,” Aikens concluded.