A lot of bloggers have started a trend towards writing a few bummers out as posts and billing it as “transparency.” Others eschew all venting and unhappy content because they don’t want to bring others down. Generally, I try to keep things pretty upbeat around these parts! Well, while things have mostly been going well as of late, this post is one of those bummers.
You might have noticed, when I shared a bit about the sad fate of my natural fiber rug, that my green bike (the star of this blog’s facebook cover photo) has taken up residence on the patio.
Life in the big city didn’t take long to catch up to us, as a month or two ago Doug’s really nice vintage road bike got stolen from the communal bike rack here in our apartment. We had it locked up with a cable but someone with bolt cutters easily clipped it and that was that (they left my bike behind–we were sharing the cable).
Naturally, we were both upset. Of course we were sad over the loss of the bike! Riding bikes casually has been a hobby of ours for most of our relationship, but moreso we were angry because we simply felt violated! Our property was violated, probably for some jerk to take to a pawn shop for a couple hundred dollars. Our neighbor, who fixes up old bikes as a hobby shared that he has heard of at least five bikes (mostly beach cruisers) getting stolen from our complex–which by the way is totally gated–in the past year or so. This sickens me. For some people, sure, it’s fun to ride occasionally (our apartment is adjacent to a dedicated bike path) and biking is a fun hobby, but for other people–what if that bike was their only way of getting to work? Our area is flat with lots of small business–it is totally feasible to be bike-dependent in this neighborhood. It’s thinking about that kind of situation that really makes my blood boil.
Unfortunately, since the value of the bike didn’t meet our renter’s insurance deductible, we are simply out of luck on this one, but we did learn a lesson.
My advice to bike owners is to invest in a U-shaped lock more like this one. And not to be a fool who trusts the communal bike rack. Lock your ride up closer to your apartment, or inside your apartment if you have the space. I have even seen some people go as far as removing a wheel or two when the bike is not in use to make it less appealing for a thief.
This was our first and hopefully the last time of having anything stolen from us, and it has taken me a while to actually sit down and write about it, mostly because I am embarrassed at our own naivete. Sorry for a bummer of a post, but hopefully someone will heed my advice in regards to keeping your bikes in the city!
My Friend Staci 
Ugh this is SOOO frustrating! It really is such an awful feeling of violation when anything of any value is stolen from you. So sorry my friend :(
That is so sad/frustrating about Doug’s bike!
Does your u-shaped look come with a good rating? When I was in college those got broken into with Bic pens all the time. That was 4ish years ago, so maybe they’re stronger now?
Actually, I have heard of that happening from my friend who owns a bike rental shop. I don’t know how this particular model would fare against that technique, but I think the lock producers have wised up to the bic trick. And basically, I figured that spending $40 was better than spending $10 ;)
Ugh sorry :/ That’s terrible!
People can be so selfish :(
I’m so sorry to hear about the bike – I’d be upset too!
Ugh! Awful :( I only “liked” to show my condolences on your loss!