A while ago a friend sent me a link on Twitter. I keep coming back to it. I just love it. I love that it's made out of Other Stuff and turns Unwanted Stuff into Useable Stuff.
And it involves yarn.
You can read more about it here. Isn't it fab? I am resisting the urge to see if I can scavenge an old bike...
Showing posts with label bike. Show all posts
Showing posts with label bike. Show all posts
Monday, 10 December 2012
Tuesday, 8 May 2012
Moving on
It's been a couple of days now since my bike was pinched and I guess I'm starting to come to terms with it. Although it still sort of stings that someone stole from me, at least they just took it when I wasn't looking. I wasn't mugged for it, nobody broke into my home for it and (I assume) nobody was hurt (although it is due for a service...).
I guess whenever something like this happens, you are forced to reevaluate a few things. In this case, my first thought was how I was going to get home. Then I worried about how and whether I was going to get it back. Then I wondered what I would do in the medium term about commuting. The answers to all of these have sort of surprised me. For starters, I ran home. It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be - even The Hill (Dartmouth Park Hill, for those who may know it) was pretty manageable. If I ran home say, three times a week, at least I could stop feeling guilty every time I opened the biscuit tin.
As for whether I would get it back, I blogged, I tweeted, I Facebooked. And people came back with suggestions, offered sympathy, etc. People I have never met in real life asked their friends to look out for my bike. A friend from the other side of the world even dropped a message in to say hi, sorry and recommend a couple of his favorite children's books. The number of nice people far outweighed this single horrid, selfish thief. It restored my faith in humanity, to say the least.
And what am I going to do now? Well, it was always on the cards that my office would move, I just had to bite the bullet and move it. One reason to put it off was that it won't be moving to within cycling distance, I will have to drive. I'd been putting off buying a car too, but it must be done. It's part of the plan for the next chapter of my life: the post-London years. Having my bike stolen has forced me to knuckle down and start dealing with the nitty gritty of moving everything on, and I really do want to move on.
So, do I want my bike back? Yes, of course I do. And if I ever meet the thieving little toerag who pinched it, I might not be wholly responsible for my actions. But there is usually a silver lining if you look hard enough for it, and I think I've found it here: I am lucky to have such depth and breadth of friendship (both in person and in 140 character messages) the time is pretty ripe for moving on, and nobody has stolen my running shoes (to be honest,you'd have to be pretty desperate - give a whistle and they'll come running of their own accord....).
I guess whenever something like this happens, you are forced to reevaluate a few things. In this case, my first thought was how I was going to get home. Then I worried about how and whether I was going to get it back. Then I wondered what I would do in the medium term about commuting. The answers to all of these have sort of surprised me. For starters, I ran home. It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be - even The Hill (Dartmouth Park Hill, for those who may know it) was pretty manageable. If I ran home say, three times a week, at least I could stop feeling guilty every time I opened the biscuit tin.
As for whether I would get it back, I blogged, I tweeted, I Facebooked. And people came back with suggestions, offered sympathy, etc. People I have never met in real life asked their friends to look out for my bike. A friend from the other side of the world even dropped a message in to say hi, sorry and recommend a couple of his favorite children's books. The number of nice people far outweighed this single horrid, selfish thief. It restored my faith in humanity, to say the least.
And what am I going to do now? Well, it was always on the cards that my office would move, I just had to bite the bullet and move it. One reason to put it off was that it won't be moving to within cycling distance, I will have to drive. I'd been putting off buying a car too, but it must be done. It's part of the plan for the next chapter of my life: the post-London years. Having my bike stolen has forced me to knuckle down and start dealing with the nitty gritty of moving everything on, and I really do want to move on.
So, do I want my bike back? Yes, of course I do. And if I ever meet the thieving little toerag who pinched it, I might not be wholly responsible for my actions. But there is usually a silver lining if you look hard enough for it, and I think I've found it here: I am lucky to have such depth and breadth of friendship (both in person and in 140 character messages) the time is pretty ripe for moving on, and nobody has stolen my running shoes (to be honest,you'd have to be pretty desperate - give a whistle and they'll come running of their own accord....).
Friday, 4 May 2012
Stop! Thief!
If you follow me on Twitter, you may know that my bike was stolen today. It was stolen from outside my work some time this afternoon. Hundreds of bikes are stolen in London and very few get returned. It has been reported to the police and they have been very helpful so far. The thief cut through the lock with what I presume was a pair of bolt cutters. They left the lock though, and we're hoping they also left finger prints on it. There's also CCTV in the car park. This is a very high-traffic area, someone must have seen something!
It's a real bummer as I love my bike and it's my primary mode of transport. I'd very much like it back. I know my chances are slim, but nothing ventured, nothing gained and all that...
Here are the details:
Trek 7.5 FX 2009 model
17.5" frame
Suspension seatpost (this isn't standard with this frame)
Black saddle
Bontrager wheels, tyres and handles
Colour: Satin Nickel (it's a kind of golden colour)
On the handlebars there are: (left to right) a bell, a red knog led light and a mount for a cat eye odometer.
The fork is carbon fibre and has the magnetic doofah for the odometer on it.
On the front wheel there's a wee magnet, also for the odometer.
The back wheel is filthy as hell.
There's a rear light on the back, below the seat.
On the frame, there's a bottle holder and a mount for a D lock.
Stolen from the Russell Square car park of Senate House, London WC1E 7HU between 1pm and 6pm ish today, 4th May 2012.
I'd be immensely grateful if as many people as possible could Tweet/FB/Stumble/etc this. Meanwhile, I'll be scouring Gumtree and eBay.
Edit to add: It looks exactly like this one, but with lights, a bell and a squidgey seat post:
UPDATE: Forensics have been and printed the remains of the bike lock. Wrong kind of surface to retain prints (this never happens on CSI...), so last hope is CCTV, or finding it listed for sale somewhere.
It's a real bummer as I love my bike and it's my primary mode of transport. I'd very much like it back. I know my chances are slim, but nothing ventured, nothing gained and all that...
Here are the details:
Trek 7.5 FX 2009 model
17.5" frame
Suspension seatpost (this isn't standard with this frame)
Black saddle
Bontrager wheels, tyres and handles
Colour: Satin Nickel (it's a kind of golden colour)
On the handlebars there are: (left to right) a bell, a red knog led light and a mount for a cat eye odometer.
The fork is carbon fibre and has the magnetic doofah for the odometer on it.
On the front wheel there's a wee magnet, also for the odometer.
The back wheel is filthy as hell.
There's a rear light on the back, below the seat.
On the frame, there's a bottle holder and a mount for a D lock.
Stolen from the Russell Square car park of Senate House, London WC1E 7HU between 1pm and 6pm ish today, 4th May 2012.
I'd be immensely grateful if as many people as possible could Tweet/FB/Stumble/etc this. Meanwhile, I'll be scouring Gumtree and eBay.
Edit to add: It looks exactly like this one, but with lights, a bell and a squidgey seat post:
 |
| Evans cycles |
UPDATE: Forensics have been and printed the remains of the bike lock. Wrong kind of surface to retain prints (this never happens on CSI...), so last hope is CCTV, or finding it listed for sale somewhere.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)