All's Well that Ends Well

Well - not quite.

On September 26th by prized Serotta was stolen off my deck by a thief. He was interrupted by Sheriff's deputies while attempting to burglarize a business about two blocks up the hill from where I live. During a foot chase as he fled down the hill jumping fences and running through backyards he ran onto my deck and spotted my bicycle. You can't see my bike unless you're actually on my deck so I don't bother locking it up. He grabbed my bike and used it to evade the deputies.

I actually heard him and came upstairs to investigate, thinking the raccoons had knocked over the bird bath again, trying to get a drink. I didn't see anything so I thought nothing of it until I noticed my bike was not in it's usual place when I got back from work that evening. I called the police, they knew about the foot chase and we put two and two together. I sent flyers out to local bike stores, posted on the local website, and even visited some local pawn shops to see if I could locate my bike.

I had heard nothing for over a week so I decided to buy a new bike. As my riding style has changed since I bought the Serotta I decided to get a touring/randonneuring bike. Rivendell wanted a lot of money and three-four months to deliver. I looked at others but decided to go back to my cycling roots and buy a Trek 520 touring bike. It has a touring geometry, hill friendly gears, and you can mount fore and aft racks and fenders. It even comes with a sturdy rear rack. I managed to get $200 off by buying last year's model which, IMO, is a nicer color. The bike cost $1300 and I put another $400 into it to get the aerobars, Brooks saddle, etc.

Then someone emailed me that they had found my Serotta tossed over a cliff. They saw my posting on the local website and my wife picked the bike up today - giving the finders a $100 reward. There is a broken spoke in the rear wheel and the mirror is broken. I'll take it to Redlands Cyclery tomorrow to get the wheel fixed and have a good cleaning. It'll be like a bicycle spa day.

It's been a stressful couple of weeks and I'll be keeping the bike in the house in future.