These things happen, I know. I was down the street this afternoon, running a brief errand on a Dutch bike. Having spent the morning suffering in the wind on my fixed cross bike, I couldn't bear the thought of even another minute on the thing. So I locked it to itself in front of the shop as I do on a daily basis. When I returned, it was gone. Oh, well.

If you see it, say hello to the bike and wish the new owner well. It's a rather dangerous ride for the uninitiated.

One thing I should point out is, that as unique as this bike is -- please don't assume if you happen to see another custom steel orange glitter cross bike around town that it's stolen. There are about a dozen in circulation since these are, after all, team bikes. But this one is the only one with (a) this geometry and (b) this, er, unique, drivetrain.

• Custom geometry steel cyclocross frame with downtube shifter bosses and derailleur hanger. 54.5cm ST, 55.5cm TT, small wheelbase. Custom RAL 2011 orange powder coat with gold glitter flakes. Rather hard to miss. Very light.
• Matching 9cm stem, 31.8mm bore. Custom RAL 2011 orange powder coat with gold glitter flakes.
• Campagnolo Chorus cranks and BB. 39T single ring. 172.5mm
• White KMC track chain.
• Rear wheel: 32h orange Velocity Aerohead OC laced with silver 14/15g DT Swiss spokes to silver White Industries ENO hub. 16T fixed cog.
• Front wheel: borrowed from another bike... generic 32h silver road hub with QR laces to silver rim.
• Fork: Black straight leg IRD steel cross.
• Headset: Black Tange 1 1/8" threadless
• Seatpost: Silver Kalloy
• Saddle: Perfectly matching Soma Ensho vinyl. Orange with gold glitter. One of only thirty made.
• Cage: Nitto Type R, silver brazed steel.
• Handlebars: 42cm black ergo bend Eleven81 with no tape. Put on temporarily, strangely enough.
• Tires: Schwalbe CX Pro 700x30c clinchers.
• Pedals: TIME Alium clipless

The bike looks essentially as shown in this photo, except for the front wheel and the fork steerer, which has been cut down to size since then. The bars are also 1cm lower, as the brake hanger/spacer has been removed.