Bank Holiday to Racing Bike

[Arrowfoot]

Walked into Decathlon in Surrey Quays on a Friday evening in August as it was the only place open at that time. Was wondering what to do for the bank holiday long weekend.

Saw a MTB going for 99 quid. Picked it up and was pleased. It seemed that I had covered the weekend gap in planning. Also picked up a cable lock. Rode around exploring the neighbourhood. On Tuesday as I was leaving for work in the morning, found the bike missing. That weekend went back and got the same model and a U lock, more to show that I was not going to be beaten.

To cut a long story, its 2 mths later. I am now on my 3rd bike, a racer, with lycra, jersey, helmet, kryptonite, computer, etc, making weekend runs to Oxford Street and back.


And I only wanted to cover a bank holiday weekend.

 

[rowan 46]

Welcome to the forum

 

[gary in derby]

Strange how that happens lol.
Welcome and prepare to spend as much time on here as cycling.

 

[DiddlyDodds]

And I only wanted to cover a bank holiday weekend.

Did the same , looking on ebay for bike to potter round during the summer , bought an old Townsend for £60 and never looked back

 

[PoweredByVeg]

Hooked!

 

[Arrowfoot]

Thanks for the welcome folks. Not only hooked but the there is more to this story than the use of the term "to cut a long story short". One bike and a long weekend led to a series of discoveries within this short 2 months. Here are some of the snippets;


1) the bike theft phenomenon, blown away by the numbers, seems like we chasing our tails on this and where do they finally end up?

2) this forum and the raft information in it. Really helpful people ready to share. Until the theft and the looking into this forum, had no clue that U/D locks exists ( obviously I did not notice them on bikes.)

3) signed up to ebay, learnt about sniping and the general approach

4) for some reason had thought that all bikes are made of steel, that punctures are rare and that it can only be mended by a LBS(now thats a new acronym)

5) a dedicated bike traffic light at north side of Waterloo Bridge junction. Must feel a bit grand when 3 sides of one busy junction comes to a halt for a a cyclist to have his moment in time.

6) the amount of smashed beer bottles that seem to accumulate on the curbside