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Tips to keep your bike safe from theft

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Bike Sudbury says cycling is growing in popularity in the city and police say there has also been a significant increase in bicycle thefts this year.

The grassroots community group's mission is to get more people riding safely on bikes.

 "We do weekly rides where people can come out everything is free. And they can come out and ride with us in a group and get to learn to be more comfortable riding on the road," said Rachelle Niemela, of Bike Sudbury.

However, with more people taking up the activity, Greater Sudbury police say thefts have almost doubled from this time last year.

"We do a lot of proactive patrols downtown, especially on bicycles. We have our own bicycles patrolling the downtown area, keeping our eye out for bikes that are stolen," Const. Mickey Teed said.

"The main issue is that we don't know if it is stolen unless people report it and have a record of what bike is stolen."

Teed said to take a picture of your bike and record the serial number.  

"If you do use a bike rack, which we encourage, it's probably the best thing you can do, those are in highly-visible areas. Get a good lock and lock it up," he said.

Adding a unique feature to your bike -- such as a sticker, paint or tape -- to make it recognizable is another good theft deterrent.

"The more recognizable it is, probably the less it's going to be stolen because then a person is driving around a bike that easily recognized," Teed said.

Bike Sudbury said it's important to lock your bike when not in use and if you have wheels that can be removed, make sure you put a lock through the wheels and frame.

This weekend at the Northern Lights Festival Boreal in Bell Park, cyclists were offered a free bike valet service where someone kept watch over the equipment.

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