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Tuesday, September 11, 2007

Vehicular Violations

I felt a little violated when I woke up this morning. It wasn't because I remembered that six years ago terrorists hijacked at least four planes and attempted to kill innocent people, destroy american morale and shock our government. It was because something was wrong with my front yard.

As I unlocked my car after having slept through my alarm and awakened late for work, I realized that my roommate's bike lock that she uses to lock up her two bikes was in my driveway and not wrapped around the bikes... and was it...? it was... snipped, clean through.

We were robbed.

I surveyed the area: my roommate had owned two bikes. There were still two bikes at the house (three counting mine). One i found in the backyard, the one with the flat tire that busted last month. It was leaning against the house next to my piece of crap bike which is locked in only by the giant weeds entangling it. The other bike was laying on the ground in the side yard where her two bikes had been locked to a pole.

I was confused, so i called her at work. No answer, but she promptly texted back. Ah the beauty of communicating undercover. "If you're calling about my bike, it was stolen. Will you put the blue one in the back yard for me?" "Um, sure." But why are there still two bikes at my house?

Later I came to realize that not only did someone steal my roommate's $350 bike, her bike headlights, bike basket and helmet, but he left his own bike in my front yard as a trade-in! Apparently, after spotting Melissa's bikes, taking both of them for a test drive and then choosing the bike with the non-flat tire, he decided hers was better than his and he swapped bikes! And of course took all of her accessories.

Ridiculous.

So now, inside my house in my roommate's room are her busted tire bike (cause she doesn't want to risk it being stolen too) and the thief's bike. Very strange.

Very strange to have lost something and yet be left with something of the person's who took it. A constant reminder of your loss.

I suppose she will take the bike to Good Will after the police look at it, but still, the thief's bike is in her bedroom. The perpetrator's possession is in the victim's possession.

I'm having trouble processing that.

3 comments:

jenA said...

aw. poor you and your roommate!! I've got an extra U-lock that's not being used if you want me to send it to you. I think those can only be cut with a welding torch or liquid nitro

Michelle said...

Chris had a pretty red bike while he lived in Waco. He didn't use it much and it was U-locked in front of the stairs leading to his apartment.

It was stolen. They took a torch to the lock. We could see the burn marks.

But your story, by far, gets the prize for weirdest bike thief stories yet.

Your prize? Maybe a bike? I dunno.

kristen said...

Let's hope the thief is really stupid, and left lots of finger prints!!