New Bike for the Cost of Two

It took me a week to write this entry, because I have been so pissed off, I tried to wipe it out of my mind. My brand new Kona mountain bike got ripped off ("nicked" in Brit lingo) last week. The full suspension golden beauty was devlivered last weekend, and I quickly assembled it and went for a great ride through Battersea Park to test it out. Come Monday, I figured the CO2 my M3 pumped into the atmosphere everyday on my 10 min drive to work could use a breather, so I opted for the eco-friendly option and rode my new bike into work. Now, it was probably more about having a new toy than being green, but that's my excuse. Anyways, a group of my former colleauges from Boston were in London for the day and wanted to grab a drink after work. So, I rode down to Aldywych, central London, securely locked my bike with an equally shiny new Kryptonite lock, even removing the front tire and seat to avoid those being "nicked". The bike stand was 10 yards from the front door of the hotel and I was inside for a total of 30-40 minutes. That's all it took. I came out and saw an empty space where my Kona once was. Those b*stards left nothing behind - the lock was completely gone along with the bike. All I had left was the saddle, still in my work bag.

Nothing compares to the violatin of having something stolen. About six months ago, I had dinner at The Woolsley, parking just 40 yards up the street in Mayfair. I returned to see my window smashed and my glove box open sans the Tom Tom that was the thief's target. Gotta love London!

So, I decided it would feel worse to again have no bike and decided on buying a new one right away. Similar to my decision on flats, I went with an upgrade to soothe and swap the pain of loosing something you once cherished with a little bigger pain in the wallet.