I curse you *** UPDATE ***

2

Comments

  • Reply 21 of 41
    haraldharald Posts: 2,152member
    [quote]Originally posted by ColanderOfDeath:

    <strong>I will pray that this scumbag is forced to spend an eternity porking Margaret Thatcher doggie style whilst watching 1980s American indoor soccer league matches on a giant tele.</strong><hr></blockquote>



    Damn Colander, that's a bit harsh isn't it?
  • Reply 22 of 41
    defiantdefiant Posts: 4,876member
    next time, get <a href="http://www.kryptonitelock.com/inetisscripts/abtinetis.exe/PublicArticleDetails@public?artid=3035&atf=product s_item&pgrp=20" target="_blank">this</a>. It even has a Anti-theft protection.



    !
  • Reply 23 of 41
    xionjaxionja Posts: 504member
    My bike is either being used or its sitting in my bedroom, warm and toasty. I can't really imagine people breaking into my house and stealing my bike.
  • Reply 24 of 41
    roborobo Posts: 469member
    Oh.. did your lock have a anti-theft guarantee? I forgot about that. Most higher end locks in the US and Canada do. I think my Kryptonite (one model down from the NY lock when i bought it) had a $2000 guarantee... but it didn't apply in certain places, like NY City.



    You might want to check into that.
  • Reply 25 of 41
    [quote]Damn Colander, that's a bit harsh isn't it?<hr></blockquote>



    Well justice may be harsh at times but he did steal the man's bicycle.
  • Reply 26 of 41
    Well, I have my bicycle back.



    It cost me £150 to buy my own bike, the saddle's lower, the handlebars are in a weird position (although not for long) and the paint's chipped on the top of the frame.



    I do not care. I have my bicycle back.



    Brick Lane market is where you go to buy stolen bicycles. Everybody knows this. They get stolen on the Saturday and go to the market for Sunday to get shifted quick, so you've got to be up at dawn to get a bargain. I left my girlfriend's flat at 11:00, got the BUS (the BUS I tell you, the BUS) to Old Street, and for some reason I actually ran to Brick Lane.



    The very first bike I saw, leaning up on the kerb with a pedal, was mine.



    "This is my bike," I said. It was being sold by a Francophone North African man who was a) shorter than me (hence change in saddle and bars) and b) obviously violent (hence I did not punch him in the face immediately. That and he was surrounded by other thieving scumbags like him.) "Prove it," he said. I have no juice on my telephone (I KNEW this would happen) so I can't phone the police. If I go to phone the police, my beautiful bike is gone forever. I also have £30 on me. Damn.



    "I'll buy it off you. I don't care," I said.



    "£150", he says.



    "OK", I replied (my fiirst mistake.)



    We walk to the cashpoint. I try to get him to come to my brother's house nearby "where I have the money," but he's not having it. In a back street, at the junction to my bro's, we have a tussle over the bike. This is where I could have punched him the the jaw and ridden off. I didn't. (My second mistake.)



    We go to the cashpoint. He's from Bobingny in Paris (very large, fücked-up project / estate) and he is, he tells me, a champion pentathelete.



    He is lying and I hate him.



    We have to go roundabout ways because there's three motorcycle policemen at the cashpoint at the Texaco Garage on Shoreditch Hight St. We walk further. We find the cashpoint outside Hackney Community College. I give him £150.



    "Now everybody's happy," he says.



    "I'm not happy," I say, and ride off on my bicycle.



    But you know what?



    I am.



    [ 12-16-2002: Message edited by: Hassan i Sabbah ]</p>
  • Reply 27 of 41
    Now downstairs, locked up with the most expensive lock I could buy (Arbus Granit Maximum 15 D-lock) with a Kryptoflex cable to protect the quick release wheels and new all-weather brake blocks. I've got the saddle back up to the right height and I'm going to do the bars before I go to my girlfriend's in about an hour on the other side of London. I think I might drop it in at the bike workshop to get a new chain and block for my beautiful bicycle.
  • Reply 28 of 41
    Oh yeah: and he's tuned the gears! The front derraliure's good and he's tightened the cables so it changes quicker at the back.



    Expensive for a service, I grant you, but hey.
  • Reply 29 of 41
    murbotmurbot Posts: 5,262member
    This is an online message board... no one here knows you. You're supposed to lie and say you gave the bitch the beating of his life.



    Glad to hear you got your bike back, even if you did get ripped on the service. Heh.
  • Reply 30 of 41
    outsideroutsider Posts: 6,008member
    Hassan, does your front wheel have a quick release? When possible bring the wheel in with you at home. It would make stealing the bike more work and less profitable.
  • Reply 31 of 41
    newnew Posts: 3,244member
    congratulations on having your bike back, hassan. <img src="graemlins/hmmm.gif" border="0" alt="[Hmmm]" />

    *pad on the back*
  • Reply 32 of 41
    bellebelle Posts: 1,574member
    That's good news. 150 seems a lot, but given that the alternative would be a new bicycle, it's a decent enough deal. And the guy didn't stab you, which is a bonus.
  • Reply 33 of 41
    powerdocpowerdoc Posts: 8,123member
    You have been wise Hassan, even if you have may drop the prize to 100 £.



    It was not a mistake to avoid to fight him, he is certainly have the habit of these sort of thing and perhaps someone followed you unnoticed ready to help him in the case of need ...



    Now i will curse him for you . this damn **** man from Bobigny deserve horrible scars on his face !
  • Reply 34 of 41
    outsideroutsider Posts: 6,008member
    I agree with powerDoc, 150 pounds is not worth getting into a fight with a slippery guy like that, you never know what they might have in their pocket. A small jack knife can do serious damage. At least you can chalk it up to experience and be wiser from the experience.
  • Reply 35 of 41
    defiantdefiant Posts: 4,876member
    That's great news ! wonderful !
  • Reply 36 of 41
    Glad you got your bike back and given the alternatives it sounds like you got the best you could out of a bad situation. Still is a lousy deal, though. What parasites that thieves are! Look at it this way: you had the misfortune to cross paths with this lowlife and he got some of your money. Even so, you can be glad you're not him.



    [ 12-16-2002: Message edited by: spaceman_spiff ]</p>
  • Reply 37 of 41
    trumptmantrumptman Posts: 16,464member
    Next time you go bike shopping for the same reason, bring a trenchcoat and a bat.



    Better yet I have seen these very nice sticks that extend out an then stay that way to form a nice club. A nice investment in my opinion.



    Nick
  • Reply 38 of 41
    You need some a friend or two from Tacoma. Then, next time someone steals your bike, your friend can just pop a cap in the punk's ass and that will be that.
  • Reply 39 of 41
    torifiletorifile Posts: 4,024member
    [quote]Originally posted by murbot:

    <strong>This is an online message board... no one here knows you. You're supposed to lie and say you gave the bitch the beating of his life.

    </strong><hr></blockquote>



    So, you've been lying to us all about your mac exploits? And your ebay vigilante-ism, too? murbot, you were my hero.
  • Reply 40 of 41
    I was kind of hoping that this story would have a happy ending...now it does....mostly. For a ::really:: happy ending you might stalk Mr. Francophone NA and snap some pictures of him for us. Build a nice little online profile of the bastage.



    D
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