My question isn't about the commute itself, but how I might keep my bike safe when it's locked up outside lecture theatres. When I got my bike (8 months ago), uni seemed much too distant to commute to and so I, being superficial, picked the prettiest in-my-garage lock-up-able Electra Amsterdam Balloon 8 I could find. Having moved house, uni is just a tantilising 11 kms away but now I am worried that my brown leather grips and cream tires are too flashy and ridiculous and expensive looking for outside safety. Should I just throw a bike cover over the lot of it? Or maybe a dodgy-looking tarpaulin ...