I grew up in a small town right here in the area, in Hampden. When I was a kid, I used to keep my bike lodged between the side of the house and the back steps, and never once dreamed of locking it. Ironically, the only time I ever locked it is when I rode it to school. Which is probably the safest place I could've left it unlocked.

Not once in all those years did any of my bikes get stolen. If I didn't put it where I always did, I'd leave it in super conspicuous places, like the front yard. Just lying about in the grass, collecting dew til morning. No wonder my pedals and chain were always rusty, haha. but we didn't have a garage, so there weren't many choices.

But in a Facebook post from the Pittsfield Police Department, they detailed how they'd been getting many, many calls about stolen bicycles. But just recently, an officer was on patrol and doing a routine check on what residents refer to as "the old pharmacy building" where North Main and Sebasticook Streets intersect.

During this check, an officer spotter an open door, so decided to investigate. Well lo and behold, when the officer poked their head inside the door, the officer discovered almost two dozen bikes, presumably stolen. They corralled all the stolen bikes and brought them back to the station.

They're urging anyone who's had a bike stolen recently to contact them and see if they have their bike. Folks can call the non-emergency number at 207-474-6386 to get in touch with them. The PPD is also looking for any information anyone may have about who took these bikes.

For a kid, getting your bike stolen has easily got to be as bad as having your car stolen. I mean, it's your only wheels when you're a kid... Your only sense of freedom. And for what? Drug money? Probably. I doubt it's some kind of Robin Hood situation. Anyhoo, hopefully all these stolen bikes get back to the kids who need to ride them.

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