spent the weekend trying to clean up around the house/garage... had my bike sitting on the steps going to the upstairs of the garage, SWMBO insisted that I move it because she was going to bump into it walking upstairs carrying stuff. (tools/car parts live in the garage, but tend to migrate into the house over time and not get carried back out to the garage...) So I set it outside against a big holly tree while we were moving stuff around, intending to put it back where it was when we were done. Ended up running out to store to pick up something or other, I forget what. Anyway, I apparently managed to go outside to leave, walk back to the garage, close the man door and the rollup door, go shopping, come back home, go to bed, get up, and go to work on Monday before realizing that my bike was outside! I called the girlie as soon as I realized this thinking she might be at home but she'd already left for work. I got home last night just dreading that it would be gone, but amazingly enough it was still there. I guess my neighborhood must be one of the better ones. that would have pissed me off it it'd disappeared! What's worse is it still had my little bag under the seat with my tools, patch kit, etc. on it, and my lock was hanging from the frame, so if it'd been stolen I would have had to buy all that crap all over again as well (as I did after my last bike was stolen as well...)
I'm sure none of you will admit to anything quite that stupid or forgetful, right?
In article <28bd404d-3f23-4e3e-9335-514f2ee1d...@z11g2000prl.googlegroups.com>, N8N <njna...@hotmail.com> writes:
> I'm sure none of you will admit to anything quite that stupid or > forgetful, right?
When I lock my bike to a public bike rack, I run the shackle through the front wheel, so the lock simultaneously encloses that part of the rack, the front wheel, and the downtube.
I couple of times I'd returned from shopping excursions, only to find I'd missed the rack -- IOW I locked the front wheel to the downtube, but failed to lock the bike itself to the rack.
It /looked/ at first glance like it was locked to the rack. I sorta like to think potential thieves passed it by, since it appeared to be locked, and not really worth stealing.
I'd really, really hate for my main whip to be stolen. 'Cuz it's a beauty, but I've taken pains to ensure it doesn't look too much like a beauty to the unedified eye, and thereby too tempting. Maybe I should call it: "Cindarella."
I guess being thankful for bad things that don't happen, instead of being resentful for bad things that ~do~ happen, is a step toward contentment.
We err and we learn.
cheers, & "She ain't pretty, she just looks that way" -- The Northern Pikes (maybe a good ride song?) Tom
-- Nothing is safe from me. I'm really at: tkeats curlicue vcn dot bc dot ca
> When I lock my bike to a public bike rack, I > run the shackle through the front wheel, so > the lock simultaneously encloses that part of > the rack, the front wheel, and the downtube.
> I couple of times I'd returned from shopping > excursions, only to find I'd missed the rack -- > IOW I locked the front wheel to the downtube, > but failed to lock the bike itself to the rack.
A few years ago, I was riding my bike to the Harlem L station in Chicago to catch a plane for a business trip. I realized I'd forgotten my lock, and I didn't have time to go back home and get it. So, I took one of the U-Locks which was locked to the bike rack and propped it to look at though it was locking my bike, although of course it wasn't.
The trip was supposed to be overnight, but ended up lasting practically a week. The bike was still there when I returned. The milk crate on the back (used to hold a standard carry-on suitcase) was perhaps a style discouragement to would-be thieves.
> spent the weekend trying to clean up around the house/garage... had my > bike sitting on the steps going to the upstairs of the garage, SWMBO > insisted that I move it because she was going to bump into it walking > upstairs carrying stuff. (tools/car parts live in the garage, but > tend to migrate into the house over time and not get carried back out > to the garage...) So I set it outside against a big holly tree while > we were moving stuff around, intending to put it back where it was > when we were done. Ended up running out to store to pick up something > or other, I forget what. Anyway, I apparently managed to go outside > to leave, walk back to the garage, close the man door and the rollup > door, go shopping, come back home, go to bed, get up, and go to work > on Monday before realizing that my bike was outside! I called the > girlie as soon as I realized this thinking she might be at home but > she'd already left for work. I got home last night just dreading that > it would be gone, but amazingly enough it was still there. I guess my > neighborhood must be one of the better ones. that would have pissed > me off it it'd disappeared! What's worse is it still had my little > bag under the seat with my tools, patch kit, etc. on it, and my lock > was hanging from the frame, so if it'd been stolen I would have had to > buy all that crap all over again as well (as I did after my last bike > was stolen as well...)
> I'm sure none of you will admit to anything quite that stupid or > forgetful, right?
> a very thankful > nate
I live in a reasonably lousy neighborhood; at least as far as crime rate goes. I once got back from an all-day NEMBA event, with my favorite bike of them all in the back of the truck. I was so tired and sweaty when I got home I decided “well, the bike is locked up in the bed of my truck, I’ll just go shower, change and grab a cold beer before I come back out to unload the truck”. Got distracted after the shower, and ended up forgetting all about it. Lying in bed that night, around 1AM Sunday morning/Saturday night, it all hit me at once. 1) I’d heard every bit as much shady talking/sneaking/general BS as I was accustomed to for a Saturday night in the area. 2) I never went back out to get my bike, gear and cooler out of the truck and probably worst, #3) Since I knew I wasn’t stopping between the event and my house, since I had a cooler with me for drinks and had eaten at the event, I never bothered to cable the bike into the bed of the truck! I jumped bolt-upright so fast my lady thought the house was being robbed or something, ran across to the window, and saw my bike sitting in the bed of the truck. Still. Relieved, I went out and grabbed it, and everything else, in my bathrobe. (I’ve got one of the thick, hooded style bathrobes – it’s plenty warm and modest).
The bike was still there. The bag with my gear was still there. The cable that WASN’T locking my bike but is always in the bed was still there. The cooler was still there. The soda and water in the cooler was still there. The beer in the cooler was gone.
Never have I been so happy to be the victim of a theft – they took a couple $5 beers and left a bike worth more than the truck it was lying in.
> I'm sure none of you will admit to anything quite that stupid or > forgetful, right?
Right after I read this post yesterday, I rode over to the post office, and managed to leave my GPS unit outside on the bike the whole time I was inside. I'm blaming you :-)
On Aug 19, 2:27 pm, N8N <njna...@hotmail.com> wrote:
> I'm sure none of you will admit to anything quite that stupid or > forgetful, right?
Locked my ~$1K Nexus equipped beast in the big city w/o much of a fuss thanks to Daley's great bike racks. Forgot it on my back deck here in another city overnight locked to itself in a "much safer" neighborhood, and *poof*, gone. One of those wake up and SHIT, run to the back deck as you forgot to take the bike in before going to bed. Kinda makes you sick knowing that your urban bike that's worth a good damn amount of money--but camo'd out with dented alu fenders and black out tape is being traded somewhere for five fucking bucks.
landotter wrote: > On Aug 19, 2:27 pm, N8N <njna...@hotmail.com> wrote: >> I'm sure none of you will admit to anything quite that stupid or >> forgetful, right?
> Locked my ~$1K Nexus equipped beast in the big city w/o much of a fuss > thanks to Daley's great bike racks. Forgot it on my back deck here in > another city overnight locked to itself in a "much safer" > neighborhood, and *poof*, gone. One of those wake up and SHIT, run to > the back deck as you forgot to take the bike in before going to bed. > Kinda makes you sick knowing that your urban bike that's worth a good > damn amount of money--but camo'd out with dented alu fenders and black > out tape is being traded somewhere for five fucking bucks.
More likely for a crack "rock".
-- Tom Sherman - Holstein-Friesland Bovinia “Mary had a little lamb / And when she saw it sicken / She shipped it off to Packingtown / And now it’s labeled chicken.”
>> On Aug 19, 2:27 pm, N8N <njna...@hotmail.com> wrote:
>>> I'm sure none of you will admit to anything quite that stupid or >>> forgetful, right?
>> Locked my ~$1K Nexus equipped beast in the big city w/o much of a fuss >> thanks to Daley's great bike racks. Forgot it on my back deck here in >> another city overnight locked to itself in a "much safer" >> neighborhood, and *poof*, gone. One of those wake up and SHIT, run to >> the back deck as you forgot to take the bike in before going to bed. >> Kinda makes you sick knowing that your urban bike that's worth a good >> damn amount of money--but camo'd out with dented alu fenders and black >> out tape is being traded somewhere for five fucking bucks.
> More likely for a crack "rock".
Heh, that's exactly how my last bike disappeared. The sad thing is, the pedals on it were probably worth about as much as the rest of the bike - it was a really, really, really old Schwinn MTB frame, with most of the original components on it. It rode nice though. I'd already sold my "good" bike by that time because riding a road bike in Pittsburgh sucked what with the potholes and all.
