Thieves!

Today is "fix my bike so I can get to work day."  More about biking to work later, but for now, listen to this.  I started my day off by heading to Economy Hardware and the bike shop to get some metal epoxy and a screw for my rack on my bike.  The weight of my bag is taking its toll and I have to use my 3 years of mechanical engineering education at MIT to duct tape, epoxy, and bolt it back together to reinforce it.

On the way to the hardware store I stopped by my bike (which I keep locked up outside) and, lo and behold, the back bag was open, my track jacket was on the ground, and everything looked rather rummaged through.  Wonderful.  Damage done?  Extra tire tube was stolen, along with my bike pump and patch kit.  I was not thrilled.  But, I can't really get too angry because I don't lock my bag up, mostly out of convenience.  I can see now that that habit has to change.  But, even with a locked bag, the bag is still only velcroed to the rack, how do I prevent them from stealing the whole bag?  Affix it to the bike rack?  Cable lock? 

Anyway, both Economy Hardware and the bike store were closed until noonish.  Now my trip to Economy will include the purchase of a new tube and new bike pump, a nice little $40 expenditure I didn't expect, perfect way to start my week.  The trip to Economy will now include the purchase of a small lock for the bag.

But, like I said, it was my fault, and to give whoever stole them some credit, they did leave my track jacket, chain oil, and tire inflation can in the bag.  They just went after the emergency flat materials, meaning they probably needed them.  I'm making enough money this summer that I can afford to replace what was lost, but still, it's not fun.

Also, the bike gets parked inside from now on.  Maybe.  It'll be a bit of a hassle, not sure it'll be worth it if I'm locking everything, but it may.