Make everything look old and dirty, not out of the ordinary and undesirable. Most theft is unplanned. Someone walks past, catches his eyes on something and then make a split second decision. So the trick is to not catch his eyes. Clean or smart looking luggage, shiny bike, something like a tank bag that aren't common locally. Using a bike cover turns an interesting shape into a silhouette which conjures a different reaction.
We had our 2 bikes parked facing a main city centre street in the Almaty (Kazakhstan's and central asias biggest city) for a week or 2 covered by an army poncho which was our ground sheet. The ends of the bike stick out but you couldn't tell it wasn't a clapped out russian bike or cheap chinese junk.
If theft is planned nothing will help and it's gone no matter what.
|