Bike Update
Mar. 9th, 2007 10:32 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
brrm(nearest userpic I have to a bicycle ;-))
Further to my bike being stolen and confirmed recovered last night, I went to the police station this morning to pick up my bike.
It seems a Community Support Officer saw a 14 year old boy riding it on Bath St, near St Clements last night, and thought the bike and rider didn't match. So he pulled him over, and called the police station to see if it matched the description of any stolen bikes. It's a bloody good job I reported my bike as soon as I did, with accurate details, as they decided it was a match and hauled him in. He claimed, of course, that a friend lent it to him.
They took some details, asked me not to change or dispose of the bike in case it was needed as evidence in court, though said it was likely the incident would be dealt with under 'restorative justice'. Either way, they will be contacting me when it's sorted. I'd be more peeved about not being allowed to change the bike if I didn't have my Brompton as a backup, I think. Plus, I'm mightily impressed with the quick and efficient job the police did in matching the suspicious bike to mine, and informing me the same night - though luck played a large part too ;-).
The bike is in a fairly sorry state. My handlebar mirror, Airzound and squeezy-bulb horns are all missing, and they snapped off the front light and damaged the back light beyond repair, as well as cracking the back mudguard in half. Why break the lights off? They're decent Lumotec lights, over 45 quid's worth new - surely worth something to someone, but not in a broken-off state.
Ah well, at least the bike is in one piece, though I had to borrow an allen key from Walton St Cycles to adjust my seat height back from 14-year-old height. I also bought myself 30 quid's worth of D-lock, although as the chap in WSC confirmed, it's unlikely they picked the lock - I probably didn't click it properly home when I locked it.
The bike, pictured locked to the rack it was stolen from, some months ago.
Photos of the bike's current state
Further to my bike being stolen and confirmed recovered last night, I went to the police station this morning to pick up my bike.
It seems a Community Support Officer saw a 14 year old boy riding it on Bath St, near St Clements last night, and thought the bike and rider didn't match. So he pulled him over, and called the police station to see if it matched the description of any stolen bikes. It's a bloody good job I reported my bike as soon as I did, with accurate details, as they decided it was a match and hauled him in. He claimed, of course, that a friend lent it to him.
They took some details, asked me not to change or dispose of the bike in case it was needed as evidence in court, though said it was likely the incident would be dealt with under 'restorative justice'. Either way, they will be contacting me when it's sorted. I'd be more peeved about not being allowed to change the bike if I didn't have my Brompton as a backup, I think. Plus, I'm mightily impressed with the quick and efficient job the police did in matching the suspicious bike to mine, and informing me the same night - though luck played a large part too ;-).
The bike is in a fairly sorry state. My handlebar mirror, Airzound and squeezy-bulb horns are all missing, and they snapped off the front light and damaged the back light beyond repair, as well as cracking the back mudguard in half. Why break the lights off? They're decent Lumotec lights, over 45 quid's worth new - surely worth something to someone, but not in a broken-off state.
Ah well, at least the bike is in one piece, though I had to borrow an allen key from Walton St Cycles to adjust my seat height back from 14-year-old height. I also bought myself 30 quid's worth of D-lock, although as the chap in WSC confirmed, it's unlikely they picked the lock - I probably didn't click it properly home when I locked it.
The bike, pictured locked to the rack it was stolen from, some months ago.
Photos of the bike's current state
