D'oh! (almost)

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 ****ed
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

In article ,
N8N 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

Tom Keats wrote:

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.

On Aug 19, 3:27*pm, N8N wrote:
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 ****ed
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.

On 2008-08-19, N8N wrote:

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 :-)

--

Kristian Zoerhoff

N8N wrote:


I'm sure none of you will admit to anything quite that stupid or
forgetful, right?

I forget the stupid things I do pretty quickly :-)

On Aug 19, 2:27*pm, N8N 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 ****, 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 ****ing bucks.

landotter wrote:
On Aug 19, 2:27 pm, N8N 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 ****, 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 ****ing 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.”

Tom Sherman wrote:
landotter wrote:

On Aug 19, 2:27 pm, N8N 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 ****, 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 ****ing 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.

nate

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