Rockhopper RIP

I should have known better. Yesterday I volunteered at Pima Air & Space Museum’s booth at the Tucson Festival of Books, which was held on the University of Arizona campus. I knew parking would be a hassle, so I rode my bicycle. Sometime during the morning it was stolen.

I found a bicycle stand within sight of our tent and secured the bike to it with a cable lock threaded through both wheels and the frame. When my shift was over and I realized it was gone, I literally did a double take, closing my eyes and opening them again in case I’d overlooked it the first time. Nope, it was clean gone, cable lock and all.

Fortunately for me, Polly answered her cell phone and was able to come get me. When I got home I looked up the serial number and filed an online police report with the City of Tucson, then called USAA. We have a $500 deductible property policy with them, so I’ll be able to get about half the bike’s cost back. This morning Donna, always the miracle worker, was able to find the sales receipt, which I scanned and emailed to USAA. Apparently I bought the bike in January 2010 … I hadn’t realized it was that old; it still felt new to me. Maybe I’ll be able to replace it with a less expensive model, this time with 29″ wheels.

I’ve learned the truth about cable locks: they’re no good. I didn’t want to carry the weight of multiple U-locks (you need at least two: one to go around the frame and the front of the rear wheel when you lock it to a post or bike stand, another to secure the front wheel to the frame, because the fuckers will steal that out of spite), but I guess I’ll have to suck it up from now on.

And yes, I’m watching for the Rockhopper to show up on craigslist, either here or in Phoenix, but so far I haven’t seen it. My friends are telling me to check pawnshops, but do you know how many of those there are in this town? Forget it, it’s gone.

Gone, but not forgotten. It was my bashing bike, the one I used to set and ride Hash House Harrier trails, and I’ll miss it terribly.