One part of me wants to say "yep, looks like a bogus project" since when I do a search for 'serial number' on that page, it shows f--k all. On the other hand, I

One part of me wants to say "yep, looks like a bogus project" since when I do a search for 'serial number' on that page, it shows f--k all. On the other hand, I have personally known both a lot of people who lost bikes, and a lot of people who bought random bikes off craigslist (which might or might not have been stolen). If this site really takes off, "check the serial before buying" might actually become a thing. As you said, the "Travel to the biggest cities in the US (not even the biggest cycling cities)", part does look a bit extravagant. However, actually trying to have such a website is not a bad goal (even if you don't give them $50k for it). A lot of the problems with existing bike registries and registration programs pointed out in the pitch are pretty spot on.