My Ribble has been nicked

[Andrij]

Lot's going on behind the scenes, though no sign of the bike.  I'll write more this evening.
 

[Cudzoziemiec]

Skurwysynki zlodzieje. 

[Ham]

Skurwysynki zlodzieje. 

That was worth googling, it could be useful where I live, too. If I could pronounce it.

[geraldc]

You made me look it up!
Google Translate

[Jurek]

You made me look it up!
Google Translate

The pronunciation is not correct. Mainly because the 'L' should have an oblique through it - giving it the sound of a 'W'.
Why is it that swearing in anything other than your mother tongue usually sounds hilarious, thereby losing all impact of having sworn in the first place?

[Cudzoziemiec]

I was in the library at the time so had to make do with a UK keyboard.
Here's the letter Jurek refers to ł nice isn't it?
I stand by my initial remarks however you pronounce them.

[teethgrinder]

I'd always try to lock my bike at a control if it were out of sight etc.  But with a lightweight deterrent lock.  I'd bring my bike in at the end at a village-hall-in-town finish as well, if I could (eg Bryan Chapman finish) but not worry at somewhere like Kings YH at the overnight stop, for obvious reasons.

It is all about risk and chance; AUK saw over 19,000 rides completed last year so mostly audax riders don't seem to face such bad odds.  But it happens - a bike was stolen from an intermediate control on a 200 a few years ago.

+1

Even on clubruns, not everyone locks their bike at the cafe.
I always carry a cheapo lock. Just replaced one that I lost as it happens. I'm always loosing bike locks. My recent investment in cycle security is a Tesco Value lock. not very robust and easily cut with a hack saw. But very lightweight and a deterrent.
I locked my bike at every control for this event, as I usualy do.
However, I didn't at the finish. I left it in sight of the organiser (not that I expected him to be responsible for it, but it's only visible to passers by and it's not a throughfare. I did consider locking it, but as I was stopping briefly, there were people about and it was an 83" fixed gear bike, i reckon the chances of it being pinched were very slim. plus i sat down where I could see it\ and did keepp an eye on it.
I do sometimes get comments that I'm bothering to lock my bike up, but I always say that it's a long walk home for me and it's bad enough cycling this far. It only takes a minute to lock up my bike.

I never bother with insurance. In over 20 years of cycling, I've yet to have a bike pinched, so I can afford to have my titanium ATB stolen, but I'd much rather keep it thanks.

[jogler]

I bought one of these


   Wiggle | Abus CombiFlex 202 90cm Cable Bike Lock Bike Locks


for deterent of casual theft.It's cheap,light weight, compact ,simple to use & provides some peace of mind.
Tealeaf is more likely to nick someone else's bike that can be simply wheeled away than mine which is cabled locked to something immoveable or another bike.

[mAsTa RiDaH]

Why so angry? And bravo on calling me that name you must be very proud.

The fact of the matter is I'll lock my bike up where ever I go when I leave the bike out of sight. If you don't do this then you do run the risk of the bike being stolen. What is so illogical about that?

Since we don't know who you are, we can't confirm that you ride an SR series carrying an Abus 54 or similar! If you do, why not enlighten us.

I've never rode a SR series but would have no trouble doing so and would carry a lock. You never know on a bike ride and I'd rather have that extra bit of security and the option to lock my bike up and go and have something to eat (or whatever) without having to worry that maybe my bike will get nicked.

Still can't believe the amount of abuse thrown at me for simply raising a point that has now caused some discussion with respect to locking a bike up at controls and what can be done. It's nothing to do with victim blaming, it's asking what can be done so you don't become a victim in the future - after all is this not how we learn? Ah well.

[Sergeant Pluck]

Still can't believe the amount of abuse thrown at me for simply raising a point that has now caused some discussion with respect to locking a bike up at controls

It's simple - as has been mentioned, it's because forum regulars see your needling, slyly inflammatory post in the context of your history of almost exclusively similar posts. Don't play the innocent.

[Seineseeker]

Let's get back to the point! We have all seen thousands of pounds worth of bikes left unlocked outside events. Put that on another thread to discuss.

Looking forward to hearing Andrij's update. It's a pretty distinctive bike, fingers crossed.

[mAsTa RiDaH]

Still can't believe the amount of abuse thrown at me for simply raising a point that has now caused some discussion with respect to locking a bike up at controls

It's simple - as has been mentioned, it's because forum regulars see your needling, slyly inflammatory post in the context of your history of almost exclusively similar posts. Don't play the innocent.

Hmm, reason to call me a c***? I think not. TBH I've think I've leave YACF behind, 'tis a simple place where folk can't have an opinion and apply a bit of blue sky thinking about an issue for fear of being flamed by YACF's finest clique.

[Peter]

I always carry a cheapo lock. Just replaced one that I lost as it happens. I'm always loosing bike locks.
it was an 83" fixed gear bike....
[/quote]

Steve, I think you've hit it on the head: it's the gear itself that is protecting your bike.  But the thieves have professional pride and so steal your locks.

[Martin]

Still can't believe the amount of abuse thrown at me for simply raising a point that has now caused some discussion with respect to locking a bike up at controls

It's simple - as has been mentioned, it's because forum regulars see your needling, slyly inflammatory post in the context of your history of almost exclusively similar posts. Don't play the innocent.

I've never read any of MR's posts before so I'll not pass judgement*; or for that matter hardly ever taken a lock with me on an Audax ride either; but he has a point, what on earth would the insurance make of it? "err yes it's an £x00 bike but I thought it was safe as they never normally get nicked from there"

There are plenty of very simple wire /cable type locks which would deter the opportunist thief / towrag and I've seen many AUK's use them, although in this case they would have probably just taken the next unlocked one instead my maxim tends to be to always keep the bike in sight ; to me (and most AUK riders) it's irreplacable.

* apart from maybe to say "think before you leap into what's obviously a very emotive thread"

[clarion]

Bye.

[Julian]

Indeed.  Apols to anybody other than MR who was offended by my use of the Anglo-Saxon, but I've never seen anybody post in such a consistently spiteful way.

I've never rode a SR series but would have no trouble doing so.

Oh aye, there's nothing to it.  In fact I suggest you sign up to a 600 immediately and show us all how it's done.  

I've done two SR series, and I carried a wire lock on both of them.  I even locked the thing up at the YH on the Bryan Chapman, which is taking paranoia to a whole new level.  FWIW, I agree with marcusjb's well-reasoned post on the subject.  

I don't think I've ever locked it at Chalfont St Peter though - IIRC there is nothing to attach the lock to, and bikes are usually stacked against each other.

[rogerzilla]

No-one locks bikes on the Dun Run either, at the halfway stop or the finish.  Mind you, after a night on the road, few people care if they never see a bike again.

If I may inject a note of practicality into the flamage, the reason audaxers don't normally carry a lock is not down to stupidity or hubris.  It is merely that lugging an extra kilogram or two of steel around a 200km (or more) route is a serious consideration and doesn't add to the general enjoyment factor.  I've done 200k on four different bikes and the hardest rides have always been on the slightly heavier bikes - when you get rolling terrain towards the end of a ride and you're struggling to develop 100W, a few kg really make a difference.

[Kim]

I must say that it amuses me that people on here seem to think of Chalfont St Peter as some sort of idyllic English village.  I spent my teenage years living not a million miles away, and for me it was associated primarily with a (sadly no longer with us) Local Computer Shop and the area's nightclub of choice for kevs^[1]and underage drinkers.

 


_{[1] Think 'chav' but without the class implications.}

[rogerzilla]

But it has half timbered houses so it must be nice 

[teethgrinder]

I've never rode a SR series but would have no trouble doing so.

Your ability, or not, to ride a Super Randonneur series wasn't the point being made IMO. It was more to with your seemingly apparent lack of knowledge of Audax events.
What you said seems very logical and indeed is. Most AUKs to my knowledge will always lock their bike at commercial controls, such as supermarkets. But village hall controls, such as the one in this particular case, is more akin to having your bike in your front garden while your friends and family are milling around in and out of the house. Often in the very early hours of the morning and in one horse towns. Andrij was just extremely unlucky. I don't think that a bike is stolen even once a year on average. Considering that there are 100s of events each year, that's very good odds that your bike will be safe.
It'd be good to have another Super Randonneur within AUK, so I look forward to seeing you on a 600 sometime and you will always be welcome on the September 600 from Milton Keynes if you can't make a calendar event.

[Chris S]

Good post TG.

[gordon taylor]

Perish the thought... but is there any possibility that it was taken by another rider?

[Feline]

Perish the thought... but is there any possibility that it was taken by another rider?

I would say not, because they would never be able to ride it on an Audax event and I think they would know that. That, and Audax riders don't nick bikes ....

[Ian H]

But it has half timbered houses so it must be nice 

The timber's mostly nailed on.

[Tim Hall]

Just adding my two penn'orth:

I did this ride with Adamski, Andrij and, until she packed, Pippa.

I was aware I'd forgotten to bring a lock, so got a share of Pippa's ski lock at Pangbourne. Very much in the "putting off the villains in the hope they'll go elsewhere" mode, it was still very welcome.  I generally do take a lock on Audaxes, although I don't ride many anyway, but that lock wouldn't present much resistance to a decent pair of cutters.

By the time we finished there weren't many people around. Two fast blokes who'd done the 200k ride, us and von Broad. We just left our bikes outside without a thought. Thing is, they were just about in sight, especially adamski's and mine.  I consider myself very lucky indeed. I'd left my bag on my bike, with credit cards, phone and car key in it.  I think I'll be taking more care in future.