Not a happy camper...

[Ned-san]

...or rather, not a happy bicyclist.

Somebody cut my lock and stole my bicycle right out of my back yard today while I was taking a nap. sad I was just about to take it to work when I discovered it was gone.

This was the bike:

 

[Cognitohazard]

Man, that sucks. Did you report it to the police?  

[Ned-san]

Kez Mani

Not yet. I re-printed the original receipt to give to them, with the serial number and everything, but I was on my way out when this happened so haven't had time to go to the police station yet. They won't take a report any other way.

My first priority is actually finding a replacement, as this has been my source of transportation to all my downtown jobs.  

[Cognitohazard]

Ned-san

Kez Mani

Not yet. I re-printed the original receipt to give to them, with the serial number and everything, but I was on my way out when this happened so haven't had time to go to the police station yet. They won't take a report any other way.

My first priority is actually finding a replacement, as this has been my source of transportation to all my downtown jobs.

Ah. Well, I hope it all works out for you.  

[Daypaw]

That sucks D: We've never had anything stolen, but we've been vandalized a fair number of times- usually my brothers car when he was still living with us, and we got paint balled once. We even got bageled once (144 bagels and four breadsticks spread across our front and side yard). Get the police report in ASAP, hopefully they'll be able to help you out. Is there any sort of community bike collective where you live where you can pick up a secondhand bike for less than retail? We have one here where we can get some really fantastic bikes for next to nothing, staffed all by volunteers- has a self service bike garage in the back and everything.  

[Ned-san]

Kez Mani

Ah. Well, I hope it all works out for you.

Daypaw

Get the police report in ASAP, hopefully they'll be able to help you out. Is there any sort of community bike collective where you live where you can pick up a secondhand bike for less than retail? We have one here where we can get some really fantastic bikes for next to nothing, staffed all by volunteers- has a self service bike garage in the back and everything.

I just picked up another bicycle from the pawn shop. Unfortunately, it's a real junker... nothing like the bike that was stolen from me, but I can't afford to replace a decent bike like that with another, so I have to take what I can get. It'll need a lot of work, which I'm about to start on now, but hopefully when I' done working on it it'll be worthwhile to ride and since it won't look as nice it'll hopefully not be targeted.

Of course, those guys at the pawn shop had the sale cinched as soon as I walked in, as I had traversed all over for miles looking for a second-hand shop with bicycles while walking Rusty (he got so tired he had to stop and rest because he couldn't walk anymore), then I walked into a shop full of dog lovers who fawned over Rusty and gave him Bison treats. I couldn't help but buy a bicycle from them, though I was intent to anyways... lol.

It really pisses me off that somebody came right into my back yard and pulled this s**t, cutting the cable lock right there. If I had happened to be there when he tried that, I would have cut his hands off.  

[Daypaw]

Ned-san

Kez Mani

Ah. Well, I hope it all works out for you.

Daypaw

Get the police report in ASAP, hopefully they'll be able to help you out. Is there any sort of community bike collective where you live where you can pick up a secondhand bike for less than retail? We have one here where we can get some really fantastic bikes for next to nothing, staffed all by volunteers- has a self service bike garage in the back and everything.

I just picked up another bicycle from the pawn shop. Unfortunately, it's a real junker... nothing like the bike that was stolen from me, but I can't afford to replace a decent bike like that with another, so I have to take what I can get. It'll need a lot of work, which I'm about to start on now, but hopefully when I' done working on it it'll be worthwhile to ride and since it won't look as nice it'll hopefully not be targeted.

Of course, those guys at the pawn shop had the sale cinched as soon as I walked in, as I had traversed all over for miles looking for a second-hand shop with bicycles while walking Rusty (he got so tired he had to stop and rest because he couldn't walk anymore), then I walked into a shop full of dog lovers who fawned over Rusty and gave him Bison treats. I couldn't help but buy a bicycle from them, though I was intent to anyways... lol.

It really pisses me off that somebody came right into my back yard and pulled this s**t, cutting the cable lock right there. If I had happened to be there when he tried that, I would have cut his hands off.

Do you have anywhere more secure to leave your bike? When I used to visit my sister at a nearby apartment complex (long before she moved out of state) I'd haul my bike up three flights of stairs and sit it inside her apartment door because I didn't want to leave it outside. My brother did the same.

Do you perhaps have an out of the way corner or storage area for it if it wouldn't be terribly difficult to get it inside?  

[Ned-san]

Daypaw

Do you have anywhere more secure to leave your bike? When I used to visit my sister at a nearby apartment complex (long before she moved out of state) I'd haul my bike up three flights of stairs and sit it inside her apartment door because I didn't want to leave it outside. My brother did the same.

Do you perhaps have an out of the way corner or storage area for it if it wouldn't be terribly difficult to get it inside?

If only I was back in my old house, I had plenty of space. But if I were back in my old house I wouldn't have to worry about it because that was a nice family neighborhood without this kind of crime. All the crime in my house complex were all perpetrated by the crooks working in the management office, which is unfortunately why I had to leave - from one type of crime infestation to another.

The place I moved to is a hole and a dump. I literally moved from a 2-story house (3 if you include the basement) to 2 rooms in a house. Almost everything I own is in storage on top of that, as I did not expect that I would have to downsize this drastically. Worst of all, with the cut in income I took I now pay more rent to live in this tiny dump in the worst part of town than I did to live in my old 2-story house in a family neighborhood. Plus all my neighbors in that neighborhood loved me and we all got along excellent.

There is only one redeeming quality to my new location, and that is when my new photo studio is finished being renovated in September, I will be literally one block away from work. But until then I have to struggle along with no place to work, and I'm having a very difficult time of it.

After reading your post I scoured this whole place looking for a better place to park my bicycle, but I couldn't find one. Hopefully the new lock on a ratty old bike will work better than the ratty old lock on a nice, decent bike, which is what I had before. I've been meaning to replace that old cable lock which was starting to show its wear, but who would of thought that I'd have to worry about the condition of my lock when parked in a back yard right in front of a frickin' window!? I just went to the store and bought a new U-lock for my cruddy old pawn shop bike, so I think the lock looks more expensive than the bike, lol. Hopefully that'll deter somebody. If not, then we'll just have to hope the timing is better next time. That guy was taking an awful big chance stealing from a guy who works for his own business with varied contracts and no set schedule of when to be out of the house. I could have come by at any time.  

[Ned-san]

Carp... I think I made a grave mistake on this pawn shop bike. I knew the gears and brakes and stuff weren't working properly when I bought it, but I didn't have much of anything to choose from so I bought it anyways thinking that I could fix it.

Well the brakes and everything else I actually managed to work out quite nicely. However, the gears are stuck and I simply can't get them to move right. I can certainly stick them where I want them to stay, but I can't get the system to change. I think I just bought myself a 1-speed mountain bike!! gonk

I'm going to bring it to my bicycle guy tomorrow and see what he has to say (and I'll pick up some fenders for the mud while I'm there). If only he had any bikes in to begin with, I wouldn't have this problem. But he told me on the phone that he's all out except for a few "collectors" types. Damn. This cheapo bicycle may end up costing me a bunch.  

[Ned-san]

Hah, that would be awesome. xD

He did say the collector bikes were 5 or 6 speeds. Classic cruiser types... They would not be bad, but probably more than I want to pay.

I did manage to fix the rear gear shifter, so now I have 6 gears and I locked down the front shifter to high gear. It's mostly just the last 6 gears I need anyways. Anything more than a 12 speed is useless to me 'cause I have strong legs and like to keep 'er going fast. The front wheel is not perfectly straight, but it'll still get me around. The tire is pretty bald on the front (okay on the back), so I won't bother fixing the front rim. I'll just wait and pick up a decent rim and tire when the time comes. In fact, I think I know who might have one...

This bike may work out for me... sweatdrop