The Most Shameful Londoner

Last Friday when my colleagues and I were returning to the office after lunch, we witnessed a bicycle theft in front of us. It took a while before we knew it. After all, London is a world-class city. So you would not expect petty thefts like this to happen here, right?

Wrong!

It was not until when one of the youths ran across the road with a bike on the shoulder that we realised he was stealing a bicycle in broad daylight and in central London! There were two other accomplices.

It's petty thefts like this that people could get away easily because the law seems to have placed too much emphasis on "popular" crimes like stabbing and terrorism. So, thefts like this will only be swept under the carpet. Thieves just get away with it. Isn't it frustrating?!

You see, I started cycling to the office three weeks ago in my old faithful. I inherited it from a friend in Cambridge and it went to Reading and now here.

After the bike theft incident, Yong, my colleague asked if I had my bike locked away properly. I told him, "Trust me, only a fool will take my bike! It will cost him more to repair it! The rear tyre is almost going to explode! Good riddance! Then I could buy a new one."

I told him about my bike conditions. It's a squeaky female bike. In fact, some friends in Cambridge used to laugh at me using it. And a housemate once said, "It must have taken someone with lots of confidence to ride on it!"

Even though all these comments appeared to be amusing rather than advisory, I was thinking of getting a proper bike as it would be much easier to make a decision when there is a triathlon race to sign up for.

Today, I cycled to Elephant and Castle to join a walking tour of Charlie Chaplin. The tour lasted one and a half hours. I was knackered after the walk because I had also spent an additional one and half hours on a Charles Dicken tour earlier. But I was very happy to know so much more about this place. So I headed for my bike.

The rear wheel was stolen.

I was neither amused nor shocked. I just stood in front of my old faithful and looked at it for a while just to make sure I've got the right bike. I'm probably the only cyclist in London with a basket in front so when I spotted it, it became clear it was my bike! It looked like someone has lost a limb and chained to a rail.

There was a bike shop nearby. So I went and asked. They quoted 35quid for a second-hand wheel replacement. It costs more than the bike! No way! It sounded like a scam. So I walked out and took the bus home.

In the bus, the conversation last Friday came flashing back. I became very angry because I was made "immobile" for at least until I get it fixed or I get a new bike. Either way, I have to be more careful next time. I'd probably invest in another D-Lock soon.

When I returned and told Chane, my housemate about it, her look of disgust showed immediately. She took it worse than I should be!

She said, "These people are just f*cking pathetic aren't they?! You just can't leave anything outside nowadays!"

The incident was just unbelievable. If the person had wanted a severely worn rear wheel from me, I would have so willingly handed it over along with the bike! But no, what happened was a crime in its lowest form by the most shameful Londoner.

Old Faithful. Take care for now. I'll be back soon to bring you home.