I can't say for certain that Igor Kenk stole my bike. It happened in 1989 and my bike was gracefully removed from our garage in the middle of the night. One morning I woke up, saw the garage door was opened and realized my bike was gone.
Shortly thereafter I bought the same bike I ride today, but I've been ready to have my bike stolen for the past 19 years. I've always believed Toronto was "the bike theft capital of the world" because that's what we've always been told. In fact, I'm now riding my ancient beater because I didn't feel like spending a lot of money on a new bike just to have it stolen. Igor Kenk may have got me once, and I wasn't going to let him get me again.
Igor Kenk, for the unaware, is the owner of the Bicycle Clinic at Queen St. W. and Strachan Ave. recently charged with bike theft. Police have seized 2,789 bicycles since Igor Kenk's arrest, not to mention 17 pounds of marijuana. Now that Kenk is behind bars we're hearing that bike thefts in our city have fallen sharply.
I'm not an advocate for capital punishment, but Kenk might be the exception. The bastard stole my bike! Maybe...
Mike, I live down the street from Igor's cave of shame. It's hard to believe that the city didn't come down on him previously for having such an unsafe building. All kinds of radical bullsh*t scrawled in chalk on the exterior of his hovel, as well dangerous appendages poking out from the door. He clearly wants to intimidate people who enter his "shop".
I don't blame you for feeling the way you do. From the reaction of the neighborhood and those who've been victimized by him, it's clear that bike ownership strikes a very personal chord, especially among guys....