A Thousand Times No

I learned a long time ago not to leave my bikes out on the street overnight in Philly. Two bikes Houdinied into thin air from right in front of my house, both of them U-locked to large, stationary metal objects. (Thieves in town are so crafty that they’ll strip the suspension forks off secured mountain bikes in the blink of an eye.)

Part of my daily routine is walking my commuting bike up and down nearly thirty feet of stairs in order to house it indoors. On Wednesday, I locked it up outside when I returned from work, intending to run errands in the evening. I ended up staying home and working on various other things, forgetting about the bike until Thursday morning.

The bike was still there, fork and all, but the headlight wasn’t. (Oddly, the taillight was still in place.) Ah, Philly: you snooze, you lose.