Last night my lovely bike was stolen.
I know, its foolish to get emotionally attached to bicycles, especially in Cambridge, where it is statistically likely that they will get stolen, but I did nonetheless. I bought it for a mere £25 back in November 2008. It was a bit old but really good looking, and fast, with drop handlebars and an old-fashioned gear change system. Recently I had bought a new tyre, handlebar wraps and brake blocks, and it was running really well.
Since my last bike was stolen, I have always refused to leave it unless it was locked TO something with a proper D-lock. And last night was no exception. It was locked to a cast iron bench on the common just opposite the boat (there is nowhere else) and when I came back from seeing friends at midnight, all that was left was the D-lock, which had been forced open somehow. I've reported the incident to the police but I don't think I'll see it again. It wasn't insured, but even if it had been, I would still have been upset, it is pretty much irreplaceable.
It could be worse: I only live a 20 minute walk form work. I don't NEED a bike like I did when we lived in Upware, its just handy. Such is life.
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A expensive, but most reliably solution is the Brompton [dealers in Cambridge], and then to forgo any falliable locking device and simply never leave it out one's sight (they fit inside a Narrowboat somewhat more easily!). Sadly a choice between that or more solar panels come the winter, and you can probably go through a couple of dozen second-hand upright bicycles before you've made your money back).
ReplyDeleteI empathise with your feelings- I felt distressed for quite a while after my bike was stolen last year, despite being locked up with a decent lock.
ReplyDeleteIf someone is undisturbed, nothing is going to stop them from taking your bike. It's particularly sad in your case, where the lock probably cost as much as the bike.
(As an aside, I'm underwhelmed by Cambs police's "Lock it or loose it" campaign. If they looked at their own online crime reporting, they would note that >90% of the people who bother reporting their bikes stolen had used a decent lock. Which suggests that a high profile campaign blaming bike theft on people who are too lazy to lock their bikes up is an attempt to shift the blame.) /rant.
Chris