Monday 10 November 2008

Stop Thief!

Bicycles are very necessary and useful things, especially if one lives in Upware some of the time. Faced with a two-hour walk to the bus stop, or a 30 minute (if that!) cycle ride, I know which I choose.

However, a week ago today Amy's bike was stolen- along with many others- from outside Sainsbury's in the centre of Cambridge. It's not an unusual occurance- gangs with vans cruise around, throw great piles of unsecured bikes in the back, and make off to sort out the bikes and count their loot.

The hunt for a replacement was on. Unfortunatly, new bikes are for the moment way out of our price range. Second hand, too- Cambridge has bike prices as inflated as its house prices (which, incidentally, are defying the national trend and are still heading upward!).

Amy was kindly lent Emma's bike for a few days, and then we managed to secure a second-hand replacement from a friend. It needed £40 of work to the back wheel to make it rideable, and it still needs new brake blocks, but for the moment it's far, far, FAR better than walking! At the moment, we really could have done without the hastle and expense of having to sort out that replacement, but luckily enough it's worked out all right in the end.

3 comments:

  1. look out for 70s style 'shopper' bikes - fold in half, 20" wheel, fit all sizes and useful for short trips, albeit not great for longer ones (although I am 6', which doesn't help). Often at car boot sales for a tenner or less - worth it even as a spare, and may be able to be stored alongside the engine (I can, but cruiser deck etc).

    Simon, 'Tortoise'

    The grottier looking the better in terms of theft, although some oik tried to take mine of my roof at Gas Street - since it was locked up I was more worried about it swinging down off the roof and smashing a window...

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  2. Apparently the police removed a load of bikes from outside sains in Cam recently because there were too many there, so it's worth checking with them, as if they have it (or, if it was stolen, and they've recovered) you may be able to get it back from the station. :)

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  3. actually, I was at the climate camp protest in Kent in the summer, the police directed cyclists to lock their bikes up in a certain place, then promptly cut trhough the locks and impounded them as illegally parked...the trick being that you had to give your name & address to reclaim your own bike.

    Fun & games...

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