Goodbye my Trek

Here is a great chance for you to say I told ya so.

I read the article here about stolen bikes, securing bikes, etc. I was told by someone here that I really need to secure my bikes in the garage I share with my neighbors. I talked about it with my husband and he promised to look into it. And we live in NW suburbs, so stuff like that doesn't usually happen

Well, guess what: 2 Treks and 1 Huffy are gone gone gone. Now I am biking blogger without a bike with a stupid look on my face stocking Craigslist all day long

 

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Permalink Reply by Steve Courtright on October 5, 2012 at 8:03am

Some of us (I am one) have to learn by doing.  Now you can blog with unwavering conviction about how (not) to secure your steeds!

 

And very sorry about the loss of your bikes.  Sometimes it's clear that the world has gone mad.

Permalink Reply by Lena Burkut on October 5, 2012 at 8:13am

I've lived in the same place for 11 years and nothing ever happened (besides drunk neighbors trying to set their condo on fire). My condo got broken into 4 months ago and now bikes are gone. 

I am packing this weekend. So done with this place 

Permalink Reply by Vitaliy on October 5, 2012 at 1:42pm

I paid $1500 for my lesson...

Permalink Reply by Far'arned Retrogrumpalunkus #63 on October 6, 2012 at 1:19am

Often folks will only become aware of the weaknesses in their bike security practices after a bike is stolen.  Unfortunately you didn't just have one bike stolen, but 3 of them -which makes this an expensive and extra aggravating lesson about the realities of bike theft in this wicked city.  I feel for your loss.  I'd be so pissed right now if I were you. 

Garages really are not safe in the greater Chicago area to store anything of value other than a locked car.  Even then, Chicago is a high-risk area for car theft.  Even crappy cars get stolen here quite often.  Heck, our own personal living space inside isn't even safe in this city (even in the nicer neighborhoods) with break-ins being all too common.  I'm not suggesting all folks lock up their bikes inside their single-family homes as that would really be inconvenient for people who ride every day, but it wouldn't be a bad idea if you lived with roomates who came and went and brought lots of friends at all hours of the day and night -especially if you have a really high-end bike that was obviously very valuable to anyone that knows anything about bikes.  A Serotta or Pinarello might just be too tempting for someone who knows a little about bikes and has poor impulse control if they think they could get away with lifting their friend's roomate's bike when nobody is looking   If a bike was in a common area that other folks in the building might have access to I'd definitely lock it up just like it was  outside.   

A garage is sort of like the common area of a home, especially if they are shared with neighbors.  Even private garages that only you have access to is a target since a garage is so easy to break into and often they are in alleys or set back from the street so that a criminal or other punk kid could work at it at all hours of the night when folks where not around. 

I hope you get lucky and your bikes are recovered.   Losing the two Treks is heartbreaking -especially if they are the higher-end models or vintage ones from back in the day when they were still a premiere manufacturer.  The Huffy I wouldn't cry over.  I'm surprised the thief even bothered with it, he (or she) must have had the time or the room to take all 3.  There probably were at least a half-dozen other things in  your garage more valuable and worthwhile to steal in your garage than that Huffy BSO.

Permalink Reply by Lena Burkut on October 6, 2012 at 2:09am

Thank You. I guess this just proves again that you can never be too safe. We didn't have super expensive bikes. I had 830 custom (technically the only 830 part was the frame) and my hubs had 4300. Huffy is not that big of a deal, but it was given to me by Huffy earlier this year and I actually need it for creating blog posts. It's not like I can go back to them with "Can I please have another bike please?" I just closed Craigslist - letting my husband handle it - spending time on it right now is worse than drinking double espresso. (I hope he does find it). Also the fact that they took Huffy makes me hope they are immatures and will list it on Craigslist (cross fingers)

James BlackHeron said:

Often folks will only become aware of the weaknesses in their bike security practices after a bike is stolen.  Unfortunately you didn't just have one bike stolen, but 3 of them -which makes this an expensive and extra aggravating lesson about the realities of bike theft in this wicked city.  I feel for your loss.  I'd be so pissed right now if I were you. 

Garages really are not safe in the greater Chicago area to store anything of value other than a locked car.  Even then, Chicago is a high-risk area for car theft.  Even crappy cars get stolen here quite often.  Heck, our own personal living space inside isn't even safe in this city (even in the nicer neighborhoods) with break-ins being all too common.  I'm not suggesting all folks lock up their bikes inside their single-family homes as that would really be inconvenient for people who ride every day, but it wouldn't be a bad idea if you lived with roomates who came and went and brought lots of friends at all hours of the day and night -especially if you have a really high-end bike that was obviously very valuable to anyone that knows anything about bikes.  A Serotta or Pinarello might just be too tempting for someone who knows a little about bikes and has poor impulse control if they think they could get away with lifting their friend's roomate's bike when nobody is looking   If a bike was in a common area that other folks in the building might have access to I'd definitely lock it up just like it was  outside.   

A garage is sort of like the common area of a home, especially if they are shared with neighbors.  Even private garages that only you have access to is a target since a garage is so easy to break into and often they are in alleys or set back from the street so that a criminal or other punk kid could work at it at all hours of the night when folks where not around. 

I hope you get lucky and your bikes are recovered.   Losing the two Treks is heartbreaking -especially if they are the higher-end models or vintage ones from back in the day when they were still a premiere manufacturer.  The Huffy I wouldn't cry over.  I'm surprised the thief even bothered with it, he (or she) must have had the time or the room to take all 3.  There probably were at least a half-dozen other things in  your garage more valuable and worthwhile to steal in your garage than that Huffy BSO.

Permalink Reply by Lena Burkut on October 6, 2012 at 2:14am

For Columbus Day my husband was planning to go to Kettle Moraine State Park for some fun. Since that is no longer an option, he is going to McMillers Shooting Ranch 

I think he needs it

Permalink Reply by Lena Burkut on October 6, 2012 at 2:14am

:)

h' said:

And not to minimize your loss, but I can't help myself...

Goodbye to you, my trusted friend.
We've known each other since we're nine or ten.
Together we climbed hills or trees.
Learned of love and ABC's,
skinned our hearts and skinned our knees.
Goodbye my Trek, it's hard to die,
when all the birds are singing in the sky,
Now that the spring is in the air.
Pretty bikes are everywhere.
When you see them I'll be there.
We had joy, we had fun, we had seasons in the sun.
But the hills that we climbed
were just seasons out of time.
Goodbye, Papa, please pray for me,
I was the black sheep of the family.
You tried to teach me right from wrong.
Too much wine and too much song,
wonder how I get along.
Goodbye, Papa, it's hard to die
when all the birds are singing in the sky,
Now that the spring is in the air.
Little children everywhere.
When you see them I'll be there.
We had joy, we had fun, we had seasons in the sun.
But the wine and the song,
like the seasons, all have gone.
Goodbye, Huffy my little one.
You gave me love and helped me find the sun.
And every time that I was down
you would always come around
and get my feet back on the ground.
Goodbye, Huffy, it's hard to die
when all the birds are singing in the sky,
Now that the spring is in the air.
With the flowers ev'rywhere.
I wish that we could both be there.
We had joy, we had fun, we had seasons in the sun.
But the stars we could reach
were just starfish on the beach
Permalink Reply by Julie Aberman (Hochstadter) on October 6, 2012 at 2:33am
Yeah, I've had a bike stolen. It was recovered but I still haven't written down the serial numbers of all my other bikes even if I write it as a psa once in awhile The Chainlink newsletter. The irony!

What is your bike blog??
Permalink Reply by Lena Burkut on October 6, 2012 at 2:38am

It's not really a bike blog (more like a family blog), but I am moving into biking direction more and more. It is mainly for newbies and families who want to bike - www.way2goodlife.com


Julie Hochstadter said:

Yeah, I've had a bike stolen. It was recovered but I still haven't written down the serial numbers of all my other bikes even if I write it as a psa once in awhile The Chainlink newsletter. The irony!

What is your bike blog??
Permalink Reply by Martin Hazard on October 6, 2012 at 7:48am

I thought Huffy had gone out of business years ago. Has someone resurrected this ah, venerable name? The return of the gas pipe special.

Permalink Reply by Far'arned Retrogrumpalunkus #63 on October 6, 2012 at 9:21am

Huffy is owned by the same people who own Russel Athletic, Jerzees, and the people who make Spaulding and Dudley sports balls.   

All their bikes are built under contract by whatever Chinese factory wins the low bid that year and stamped (or stickered as the case may be) with the huffy name before being shipped to the USA.  I don't think any other country is dumb enough to buy their garbage under that name -they buy the same junk under other local names probably. 

Permalink Reply by Lena Burkut on October 6, 2012 at 9:27am

You sure did get more expensive lesson

Vitaliy said:

I paid $1500 for my lesson...

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