On what?

Pay phone, use someone else's, a store's.

By the time the police get called, he could be quite a way away. They can't just arrest every cyclist they see.

He was paying attention, sorta.

# 43 That's completely irrelevant. That cycilst went on the sidewalk to steal from OP. No need to generalise to all cyclists, many of them are very careful.

just to point out, sometimes the pavement is also a cycle lane.

You know, most cyclists do actually obey road laws, at least where I (and the OP) come from. Unfortunately there's a rather obnoxious minority that gets noticed a lot more, making people think that they're a majority. Like asshole drivers, or homophobic religious people. Another thing I've noticed as a cyclist is that drivers seem to have some sick enjoyment in scaring us. Often I’ve had them drive really, really close to the cycle lane or right up next to my bike, (despite having the whole road to drive on) which can be really goddamn scary. I broke my wrist because a car drove so close I instinctively swerved into the curb. TL;DR assholes are everywhere :(

Where I live, a lot of assholes ride their bicycles on the sidewalk simply because they are assholes. I have seen people ride bicycles on narrow sidewalks even when there is a bike lane. I have no doubt this was an opportunistic crime, but it cements my view of bike riders as assholes. I don't give these gits much leeway when they're zooming at full speed near me. And now I know to keep my phone in my purse and hold tightly to the straps whenever I see them.

#54. I know that feeling. I once got run off the road on a bike by some asshole in a 4x4 with a trailer. He never bothered to pull out to give me room and hit my handlebars. I'd have reported him but it's difficult to read a numberplate that is moving away from you at 60mph whilst you are upside down on the ground xD.

Here in the UK, it's actually about 1% of cyclists that don't obey road laws, along with about 30% of drivers (at least). The only law cyclists ever break is riding on pavements (when they are legally vehicles), but that seems relatively excusable seeing as how people at the wheels of tonne-and-a-half deathtraps trying to run you off the road. One thing I have noticed actually, is that generally speaking, you can tell which cyclists will obey road laws or act sensibly by whether or not they wear helmets. That tends to work as a general rule of thumb. In a world where world class cyclists such as Bradley Wiggins (Tour de France winner) get hit by cars, you can't exactly blame everyone else for riding where it's much safer. Arseholes are everywhere, so stop generalising.

Where I live, cops are assholes to cyclists. I saw a guy get a ticket for riding in the road, then he got one for riding on the side walk, and finally he got one for trespassing as he got off both the road and sidewalk.

#65 that's equally horrible and hilarious

How can they give him a ticket for riding on the road? Unless it was clearly specified as a non-cyclist road or a motorway or something.

h