Bike thieves branded "sneaky" by cycle club manager

Ben Lawrence, the racing team manager for the Shrewsbury-based Paramount Cycle Racing Team, said he was shocked to discover that thieves were using information shared by cyclists over the internet to plan bike thefts.

He said: “The use of mobile phone GPS applications in particular Strava and Garmin Connect have become really popular among cyclists as a way of tracking their routes, how far they have cycled and how quickly.

“I would say the majority of club members use these apps and it is really disturbing to discover that thieves are using this information to plan their next theft.

“It is extremely sneaky and as a result we would echo the sentiments and warnings of the police and urge all cyclists to be more vigilant about their security and privacy settings on these applications.

“For those using Strava there is a setting which can be activated which means the first and last two miles of your route are not recorded.

“It means if you regularly start and finish your routes from home your address will not be recorded or show up on a map.”

Mr Lawrence, managing director of Beaumont Lawrence in Shrewsbury, also warned cyclists to be careful about posting information and pictures on social networking sites such as Facebook especially if users have an open account.

He also urged riders to check they had valid insurance for their bikes.

“Most serious riders spend hundreds of pounds, sometimes thousands on their bike and kit so it seems unwise to not have appropriate insurance to cover the cost in the event of a theft,” he said.

“Cyclists need to check their home insurance covers them adequately otherwise they could end up having to save up for a long time to buy a replacement bike.”

The warnings come after a spate of thefts of high value bikes across the region.

Police believe GPS applications may have played a part in a number of the recent thefts.