Hi.
Last year I sold my Giant MTB to a work mate, and he's been using it as his daily transport to get around on. This year life's not been to kind to him ,and he's been suffering quite badly from depression and as a result in combating it ,he has become reclusive and isolated. After seeing the signs I've gone that extra mile in trying to help out, and after some long heartfelt chats and listening to him, I've now managed to persuade him to get professional help. I've also got him to develop his interest in cycling to another level ,which seems to have helped him in leaps and bounds over the months to overcome his demons.
Just as things were starting to look a little brighter for him , some little toe rags decided to nick his bike. I noticed at work how quiet he was for the last few
days , and when I asked him "what's wrong" he reluctantly told me what happened ,because he thought I would be angry as it was once my bike ( I don't know why he would think that in all honesty)
The good news is, the bike has been recovered , but it's been vandalized. The rear rim is dented , the bars are bent and the seat is badly ripped. He's only a young guy with no aptitude to simple bike repairs and his dad has managed to repair his bike for him thankfully.
People who go out nicking other people's bikes are real low life scum. To some ,it just simply gets replaced and life goes on, but for other's who are dealing with personal issues in there lives, such an occasion can set them back months. In a way I understand the mentality of a thief stealing something to sell on. They have a motive in it to make money ( Still very wrong and despicable) ,but to steal a bike just to vandalize it and dump it ,is pure hatred. The thieving scrum bags who did this have gained no financial rewards and have only caused anguish and distress towards the owner.
Bike thefts are pretty uncommon where I live ,but its bought home the true realities to our society and am glad that I keep my bike safely locked up in the kitchen.
Even a quick trip to the shops the get a newspaper involves the lock and a keen eye on it.Once its gone its gone and the chances of it being recovered are virtually none existent. Christmas is coming and cheap bikes sales are a gold mine this time of year. An innocent buyer of a decent bike could well be buying a stolen bike and totally be oblivious to it. I think all new bikes should be data tagged by law and must be registered to the present owner. If it costs that little extra to purchase at new so be it. In the long term it could slow the increasing amount of bike thefts as the bike owner would have to prove there ownership at point of sale. Bikes are not cheap and cheerful like there once were, and with the event of expensive E bikes ,something has to be done on a compulsory level to deter this ever increasing problem,
Bikes are only going to get more popular as the cost of car ownership soars ,and public transportation becomes even more unbearable so I personally think it high time something needs putting in place to stop the scourge of bike thefts,
All the very best,
Johnny
Last year I sold my Giant MTB to a work mate, and he's been using it as his daily transport to get around on. This year life's not been to kind to him ,and he's been suffering quite badly from depression and as a result in combating it ,he has become reclusive and isolated. After seeing the signs I've gone that extra mile in trying to help out, and after some long heartfelt chats and listening to him, I've now managed to persuade him to get professional help. I've also got him to develop his interest in cycling to another level ,which seems to have helped him in leaps and bounds over the months to overcome his demons.
Just as things were starting to look a little brighter for him , some little toe rags decided to nick his bike. I noticed at work how quiet he was for the last few
days , and when I asked him "what's wrong" he reluctantly told me what happened ,because he thought I would be angry as it was once my bike ( I don't know why he would think that in all honesty)
The good news is, the bike has been recovered , but it's been vandalized. The rear rim is dented , the bars are bent and the seat is badly ripped. He's only a young guy with no aptitude to simple bike repairs and his dad has managed to repair his bike for him thankfully.
People who go out nicking other people's bikes are real low life scum. To some ,it just simply gets replaced and life goes on, but for other's who are dealing with personal issues in there lives, such an occasion can set them back months. In a way I understand the mentality of a thief stealing something to sell on. They have a motive in it to make money ( Still very wrong and despicable) ,but to steal a bike just to vandalize it and dump it ,is pure hatred. The thieving scrum bags who did this have gained no financial rewards and have only caused anguish and distress towards the owner.
Bike thefts are pretty uncommon where I live ,but its bought home the true realities to our society and am glad that I keep my bike safely locked up in the kitchen.
Even a quick trip to the shops the get a newspaper involves the lock and a keen eye on it.Once its gone its gone and the chances of it being recovered are virtually none existent. Christmas is coming and cheap bikes sales are a gold mine this time of year. An innocent buyer of a decent bike could well be buying a stolen bike and totally be oblivious to it. I think all new bikes should be data tagged by law and must be registered to the present owner. If it costs that little extra to purchase at new so be it. In the long term it could slow the increasing amount of bike thefts as the bike owner would have to prove there ownership at point of sale. Bikes are not cheap and cheerful like there once were, and with the event of expensive E bikes ,something has to be done on a compulsory level to deter this ever increasing problem,
Bikes are only going to get more popular as the cost of car ownership soars ,and public transportation becomes even more unbearable so I personally think it high time something needs putting in place to stop the scourge of bike thefts,
All the very best,
Johnny
for being such a good mate.
