Have you seen me?
Posted on 29. Jul, 2009 by Tony Arranaga in Featured, News
The man experimenting with living carfree in Phoenix is now bike-free as well.
I can’t believe someone stole my bike! This happened the other night and, in retrospect, I only have myself to blame on many levels.
1. I parked my bike in a high theft area
2. at night
3. with a sucky lock
Exactly where this happened is not really important because, obviously, I didn’t keep me from parking my bike where I did. However, had I realized some best practices for locking a bike, I would’ve done a few things differently. Of course, I turned to the blogging community for a little advice.
“I hate that this happened to you but I think it’s a good reminder,” says Ellen, the Phoenix Cycle Chica. Ellen says there are some good locks out there. It’s safe to assume my plastic covered cable wasn’t on her list. Cables are light and convenient, but pointless says Ellen. Chains on the other hand are strong, but also very heavy if you plan on carrying it in a shoulder bag or backpack when not in use.
“It boils down to what’s the strongest you can get, and the most thief proof you want to carry,” says Ellen who also had a bike stolen back in college.
The Phoenix Cycle Chica recommends a couple products based on rating, like the Fahgettaboutit which sells here for about $110 – which weighs eight pounds and is long enough (3′-5′) to wrap around a post or tree trunk if needed.
The other lock is the Kryptonite Evolution Mini which you can find here for about $54 – Ellen likes this because it’s small and extremely strong. You can get more tips on locking your bike by checking out Ellen’s blog here.
While Ellen gives you the low down on the locks, I’ve called Phoenix Police to file a report and registered my bike with the stolenbicycleregistry.com – and now I just sit and wait until I’m reunited with my bike…
Yeah, I’m thinking I should just consider this a loss and move on.
Grrr!! Chances are, my bike is now sitting in some pawn shop… and I’m hoofin’ it around town. Fortunately, my friend who owns Oliver and Annie (Central and Camelback light rail station) got wind of all this and is letting me borrow his. I’m going to pick it up this afternoon. This is all so pathetic. No car, no bike… <sigh> Thank God I still have two feet.
Uggh…
Meanwhile, the officer handling my report with Phoenix Police was so helpful and nice, and gave me something to laugh about…
I filed my report over the phone. Officer Ray had a thick New York accent and raspy voice which led me to think he has spent some years in law enforcement. I’m thinking he spent many years working his beat on the streets of Brooklyn before coming to the Valley of the Sun…
Anyway, after I gave Offiicer Ray my bike’s serial numbers, I said…
“Oh hey, I have a picture of my bike… do you need that too? You know, just in case it would help detectives identify the bike?”
There was a brief moment of silence…
“Tony, what do you think this is? An amber alert?? We’re not looking for a kid, it’s a bike!”
7 Responses to “Have you seen me?”
Leave a Reply
Follow Me
Laura
29. Jul, 2009
This is a great video rating different bike locking methods, http://www.streetfilms.org/archives/hal-grades-your-bike-locking/
Sounds like Hal found out the hard way too.
Tony
29. Jul, 2009
Thank you Laura! And yes, this was a very expensive lesson to learn.
I’m thinking a used bike is in order next time around…
Ellen
29. Jul, 2009
Tony, what an awesome bike!! I hope the police find it and/or the thief breaks their leg.
Laura, thanks for the great link! I’m going to throw it up on my locks post!
Chloe
29. Jul, 2009
I’m so sorry to hear it, Tony! This makes me so mad. I just spent the summer in Japan where no one even locks their bikes. What a sad difference.
-Chloe
JACKIE
03. Aug, 2009
Tony…I hope you made it home on your VERY VINTAGE REPLACEMENT BIKE and that they find your Bike…Really like your Site and will check back….Have a Great day…Jackie
Tony
08. Aug, 2009
Thanks Jackie! The bike is so old, it had those tires that are a solid tube of rubber. Talk about old school! As for my old bike… I’m kind of thinking the same thing Adron is in the comment below…
Adron
08. Aug, 2009
This is one of those scenrios, where the police are 100% useless. If they or you don’t find it within 20-30 minutes of it being stolen, I think the chance for recovery is – oh I don’t know, -5%?
Anyway, sucks it got jacked. I had a Bianci stolen about 2 years ago. It was locked, with the Fahgettaboutit, and in a secure and guarded basement parking garage. Obviously though someone knew how to jack it and avoid the cameras. It was a smooth op. They got mine and 3-4 other bikes.
Now I usually use my BMX/Freestyle bike with a Fahgettaboutit lock and so far I still got it. Once I tear it apart a bit, I think there will be even less likelihood it’ll ever get jacked. It’s a vert/street bike, so nobody really would ever look at it and think “wow, I could get $10 bucks for that thing”.
Hope you have a replacement soon!