FUCK.

Disabled

You would think that if you kept your bike chained to a post inside a locked garage beneath your townhouse complex, it would be well-enough secured that you don’t have to worry about it being stolen.

You’d be wrong.

0 Responses to “FUCK.”

  1. wshaffer

    Seriously? That really sucks.

  2. lowellboyslash

    What? How? Did they cut the lock?

    • Marie Brennan

      Broke the door into the garage, and then cut through the chain holding the bike.

      We’re just lucky they didn’t take ‘s bike, too; it was chained right next to mine. But either they were in a hurry or its position was less convenient (it’s chained right up against the pillar; mine was on a longer lead because there isn’t really space for them both against the pillar), because his is still there.

  3. moonandserpent

    Inside a locked garage?

    That sucks. My condolences.

  4. alecaustin

    That sucks. I’ve had roommates get their cars vandalized inside locked apartment complex garages before, and that kind of thing is never fun.

  5. oneminutemonkey

    Seriously, just what the fuck. There’s not much you can do when they’re that determined. At least you can demonstrate that you took every reasonable precaution, short of sleeping with it under your pillow.

    Sorry to hear this.

    • Marie Brennan

      I’m trying not to be bitter at the owners of all the other bikes chained up in the garage that didn’t get stolen. I guess mine was just the wrong combination of nice and near the door.

  6. kateelliott

    Whoa. Wow. Sorry. That really sucks, and man, you must be pissed off.

  7. green_knight

    Comiserations – there’s not a lot more you *could* do. Some people are bastards.

  8. electricpaladin

    That sucks. You have all my sympathy.

    By the way, according to my wife the shrink, being robbed is genuinely traumatic and replacing stolen items can actually be therapeutic. So, you know, if you need an excuse to replace that bike right away, you can always call it a mental health expense.

    • Marie Brennan

      I’ll probably do it soon — as I’ve begun using my bike regularly to run errands — but not immediately. Right now, my mood is such that shelling out cash for a new bike will only piss me off more. >_<

  9. mariness

    Oh, crap.

    I really hate this sort of thing, and hate it even more when thieves target needed transportation. (Yes, you might just be using the bike for fun and exercise, but they had no way to know that.)

  10. akashiver

    That sucks. I’m really sorry. 🙁

  11. d_aulnoy

    Daaaaaaaaaamn, people can be douches sometimes. If the complex has insurance/if you guys have renter’s insurance, perhaps it might be covered?

  12. starryniteynite

    That sucks! I’ve had the same thing happen to me too. I’ve found that taking off the front wheel is the only thing that keeps it from happening.

    BTW, I have a bike I’m not using, if you want to borrow it until you replace yours.

    • Marie Brennan

      If I had to store it outside, I’d probably take the wheel off; but I thought the garage lock + chain would be enough to forgo the hassle of dealing with the wheel like that.

      Thanks for the offer — I’ll think about it.

  13. kernezelda

    Damn! It must be a fellow resident, and maybe you’ll see it and be able to claim it? That’s really awful.

    ETA: read other comments; wow, that’s really bad, but at least it’s not a neighbor.

    • Marie Brennan

      Not likely at all to be a fellow resident; their keys would open the garage door, with no need for a crowbar. (It’s a shared garage for the whole complex.)

      I don’t have much hope of regaining the bike, though the officer seems like she’ll do everything she can.

  14. dungeonwriter

    Hugs!

  15. marycatelli

    Ouch!

  16. kendokamel

    May the thief’s karma train run them over.

  17. mrissa

    I’m so sorry to hear that.

  18. starlady38

    Oh cripes that is one of my worst nightmares right there, that SUCKS.

    For what it’s worth, in Berkeley (a well-known hotbed of bike crime) with a very nice, very new bike, I’ve never had any problems with a winning double-lock combination: loop lock the front wheel to a Kryptonite Evolution lock around the frame/back wheel/lock anchor. It’s slightly pricey, but the most people have been able to steal is the bracket for my front light, which is worth approximately $5–and that was after leaving the bike out by a BART station for more than 24 hours.

    • Marie Brennan

      Part of the problem is that I’ve been trying to encourage myself to ride my bike more often, and in order to do that, I want to reduce the number of hoops I have to jump through before I can get on and start pedaling. I had the chain looped through the front wheel, frame, and back wheel so as to dissuade thieves from stealing any of the pieces, but obviously that still only takes one cut to get through. Putting on two locks would make more trouble for thieves, but also more trouble for me.

      (Heck, I kept wishing I felt comfortable leaving the chain off entirely, since the bike was already in a locked garage. But since it’s shared, I figured that was a bad idea.)

      ETA: I suppose what I mean is, I thought the garage + chain setup was a double-lock combination. <sigh>

      • starlady38

        It is unquestionably a pain, especially at the beginning, but I’ve gotten pretty speedy with locking/looping/unlocking.

        But yeah, I would’ve thought you’d have been okay with one lock in a locked garage.

  19. Marie Brennan

    Mine was sort of visible through the garage door — it’s a big metal-grate affair — I dunno; maybe I’ll toss a tarp over it in the future.

  20. eclectician

    Ouch. Meg’s bike got stolen tonight, too, third time we’ve had a bike stolen from outside the restaurant. The irony is that ours have been left outside the restaurant, unlocked, day after day, with no one taking them…

  21. stevie_carroll

    That’s just not on.

  22. kurayami_hime

    My professor from the Netherlands was telling us about a guy who kept his bicycle inside his house, and it got stolen. The thieves later had the audacity to show up offering to sell it back.

    Here all bikes come standard with a key lock for the back tire that’s attached the frame. When locked, there’s a metal rod that goes between the spikes making the bicycle impossible to ride. Of course, bicycles are also required to be registered, so the likelihood of getting a stolen bicycle returned is pretty high. Unlike my Rillakuma umbrella that was stolen again.

  23. genarti

    Oh AUGH. That’s awful. I’m sorry, and best of luck for it to get found and returned somehow.

  24. auriaephiala

    That’s just MISERABLE! I’m so sorry for you.

    Did you have the serial number or a picture or some other identifying info that you can file with the police? There was a case in Toronto where the police found thousands of bikes stored in storage units by a master thief and were able to reunite a bunch with their owners who were able to provide proof of ownership. It also helps if you find your bike on for-sale sites and can have the thief charged after you get the bike back.

    Good idea to loop the chain through the wheels. Did you have it through the frame as well?

    Most importantly for the next time:
    * how good was your lock? We use Mastercraft keyed padlocks that are high-security (costing at least $30). Cheaper ones can be broken easily.

    * was your chain case-hardened? If it isn’t, it can be broken easily with tools from the local hardware store. You need serious thick case-hardened chain. It costs more, but it lasts forever.

    I hope you get your bike back…

    • Marie Brennan

      The serial number is the only reason I have any hope of getting it back, yeah.

      The lock wasn’t broken; the chain was cut through, and it was the best the bike store had to offer. Hardened plastic coating a thick steel cable. I’d looped it through both wheels and the frame.

  25. Anonymous

    You’ll note that the article you point me to links Ichi the Killer and Zatoichi…

    The only Zatoichi movie I’ve seen is the 2003 Takeshi Kitano one, but now I really need to see some of the older ones. The Kitano one rocks, by the way. Tap dancing swordsmen.

  26. Anonymous

    I would probably go with satin stitching – I haven’t embroidered since… well… um, it’s been over 20 years. It’s 1. simple 2. looks good 3. is good for “coloring” in shapes. For the beak, probably back-stitch.
    We have now summed up the embroidery knowledge I’m able to recall.

    Speaking of “crazy” projects: I’m crocheting what is basically a king-sized bedspread. All rows of singles. Finished size will be roughly 8.3 feet long by 7.3 feet wide. I’ve only got 14″ left. Oi.

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