Update on My Bike

About a week ago I went down to the police headquarters to claim my recovered bike. I was confident because I had found the key to my old lock while doing laundry. Sure enough, the key fit, and the police were convinced. The bike was mine again.

But it was still unrideable. I tried to inflate it's rear tire with an air pump, but it must have had a leak in it somewhere. I walked the bike into town and took it to the Bikeman, a stall in market square that sells used bikes and does repair work. I was interested in either A) selling it for a good price or B) fixing it so I could sell it myself on bulletin boards.

Here I learned why the bike had been abandoned without a lock. The rascal who stole the thing must have pushed it pretty hard. Both wheels were crooked and wobbly, the brakes were missing parts, and the rear tire, and possibly wheel, would need to be replaced. I was given the enviable choice of selling it to the bikeman for £3 or having it repaired for £35.

It being the gift buying season, I wasn't prepared to spend money on a bike that I didn't need. But of course, £3 was simply ridiculous. So I locked it up in town and went home. Someday I'll walk it home, when I have 45 minutes to kill.

Anyway, yesterday I went to see how it was doing, and it had a sticker on it, advising that the bike was being regarded as derelict and would be confiscated unless I called a number quickly. So I pulled the sticker off and moved it to another bike rack. I think I'll be doing that for a month or so.

In other news, Grace is in London today, standing in line at the French Consulate so she can get a visa for our trip to Paris with my family. And we have amazing frosts in Cambridge now, but my camera usb cord is busted, so I can't put up photos yet. Sorry.