A High-Profile Bike Theft

Enrique Peñalosa bicycling. No word on whether this is the bike which was stolen. 

Today, while he was eating lunch in a north Bogotá restaurant, ex-Bogotá mayor and current mayoral candidate Enrique Peñalosa's bicycle was stolen off of the back of his campaign van. Peñalosa's bodyguard had gotten out of the vehicle to stop a nearby mugging, El Tiempo reports. No word on how much the bike was worth.

Bicycling on a Bogotá cicloruta. 

Peñalosa, who is in a three-way tie in the campaign for mayor, is famous for greatly expanding Bogotá's network of bicycle routes, called Ciclorutas, during his 1998-2001 mayoral term. He also created Bogotá's world-famous Transmilenio express bus system. 

This isn't Peñalosa's first experience with bike theft. In 1997 he was cycling thru a rough neighborhood of Cartagena when muggers stole his bike and other possessions. That time, the police were able to pressure the local criminals into returning the bike. This time, he may not be so fortunate.



The silver lining in this is that, if Peñalosa wins a second term as mayor, this may make him take bike theft and other crime more seriously. Certainly, the fear of getting one's bike stolen must dissuade lots of potential cyclists fearful of getting on their bicycles.

By Mike Ceaser, of Bogotá Bike Tours