Brazen Bike Theft Worries Fairfax Family

John Griffiths wants his bike back.

His Cannondale road bike was taken from the top of his family’s Subaru Outback parked in front of their home, at 47 Bolinas Road, on Thursday evening around 6 p.m.

But Griffiths also wants to let his neighbors know about the theft, because it was quite a bold act, he said. 

His wife had just taken their children inside their house and wasn't done unpacking their car — which had the family’s four bikes on the roof — when someone appeared to have stolen Griffiths’ bike by cutting it free of the bike rack.

Griffiths' wife returned outside minutes later to discover the missing bike. 

“It was pretty brazen,” said Fairfax Police Srgt. Stuart Baker while discussing the theft. “It was half a block up from Bolinas and Broadway. It was dark but there is still a lot of people around at that time.”

There is no suspect information since no one witnessed the theft, but Griffiths said his wife was suspicious of a white SUV parked in front of their house minutes before the bike was stolen.

She also saw a tall man standing on their sidewalk in the same timeframe, he said.

“It’s kind of scary because it’s Bolinas Road, which is safe,” Griffiths said. “It’s pretty disturbing for us. We want to get the world out and hopefully warn other people.”

The family moved to Fairfax from the United Kingdom more than eight years ago and, until yesterday, had been “delighted with the lack of crime” in town, Griffiths told Patch.

His bike is estimated to be valued at $3,000, according to Baker.

“We always recommend people lock their bicycles, park them in a highly visible spot and don’t leave them unattended,” Baker said. “High-value bicycles are always a target.”

Fortunately, the theft doesn’t appear to be part of any kind of bicycle stealing pattern in town, according to Baker.

There was one other stolen bike reported this month in Fairfax, which occurred across town in the middle of a night when a locked bike was stolen from a carport.

“It was a totally different M-O,” Baker said.

Are you worried about bike thefts in town? Tell us in the comments.  

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