someone stole my bike ;(((((

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

I have no idea how to ride a road bike,its going out of my comfort zone ,but I hope to learn quickly, In the mean time I have my husbands TREK hybrid which I think it too big. The bar just about hits my crotch when I'm standing flat...maybe 1 inch room? .....I'm going clip less..ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

Suzie, Sure it will take a few adjustments to get used to a road bike....but it's just a BIKE, remember. Think of the difference between sitting up straight in your chair and then leaning forward with your hands on your knees instead.

Keep in mind that you don't HAVE to go clipless if you don't want to. Or you can get 2 sided pedals so you can start "regular" and then try out the other clipless side anytime you want to practice. I don't use clipless, and I have a great time riding my road bike! I go 40 mile rides with no problems despite not having clipless. Clipless are pretty much essential for racing/competing though, that's for sure. If you "compete" with your husband they would help! I ride for fun and fitness, so I care more about having fun than increasing my speed, etc.

If you have an inch to spare in standover height on your DH's bike, that's plenty. Adjust the seat height and fore-aft position now, you should be just fine temporarily.

Think of this: your bike is just the TOOL that you use to fly over the face of the earth at high speeds on your own power, freeing your soul. YOU are the power, not the bike. Try to envision that you will use various TOOLS (bikes) during your lifetime as you fly across the earth surface on your own body power. I know it's hard to envision a bike as merely a tool, because we all DO get very attached to our beloved bikes. But it helps to keep in mind that it is WE who are the important element here, the driving force. They can't steal THAT off your car rack.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

I'm thinking my last post was stupid because if someone stole my bike I would trying to calm myself with the "it's just a tool" thoughts, but in reality I would be FURIOUS and so, so, upset.
I guess you need to just feel awful about it right now Suzie- you have every right to cry your eyes out. Crying helps us heal too, so might as well get it all out. I'm so SORRY that creep took your bike. Time will heal.

[Trek420]

Lisa S.H "I'm so SORRY that creep took your bike. Time will heal"

yes, time wounds all heels. I hope he gets two flats then bonks then.....

[DarcyInOregon]

I can understand Suzie's pain. When your bike is stolen, and especially when it is the first bike, it is like you are raped. It is a nasty feeling. When someone does harm to your loved ones, your pets or your bike, the anguish is unbearable.

Here is a good link that shows options for locking the bike based on the crime severity of your neighborhood. Keep in mind, though, that Suzie does not live in a high crime area, that her bike was most likely stolen by somebody passing by in a pickup truck, with bolt cutters. Perhaps the solution for locking the bike onto the car's carrier is to use a heavy cable, plus a U-Lock.

http://www.kryptonitelock.com/inetis...cleFind@Public

Darcy

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Darcy, that link is not working for me.

[pooks]

Suzie, I hope you're feeling better today, and even more, I hope you stumble across somebody with your bike!

What kind of bike rack did you have?

[Tali]

[QUOTE=When your bike is stolen, and especially when it is the first bike, it is like you are raped.[/QUOTE]

And I must say, that analogy is not working for me.

Suzie, I'm very sorry your bike was stolen. A violent, physically invasive crime against a person is just not the same. Not even close. Being robbed is bad enough, but not equatable to rape in my book. No offense, Darcy, nor Suzie.

[suzieqtwa]

Hey sisters,
I'm doing much better today. I got on my husbands Trek ,and although my legs are completely straight when I'm pedaling ,it should work for a couple of weeks till I get my new bike. My bike was like a old friend ,even though I only had it 4 months. I felt so comfortable on it (but I didn't at first). The Bike Gallery told me to bring it in,( the Trek) ,and they would adjust it to fit me the best they could.
I was looking at all the bikes on my way home from work tonight to see if someone was riding mine...no luck. Thanks for all the lost bike sites. I know the road bike is going to be out of my comfort zone....I cant afford a bike , all the accessories ,and a trainer ,so Ill have to resort to parking lots ,and lots of bruises to learn.
Lisa ,thanks for the words of wisdom. I also ride for fun ,and fitness...but I still compete against myself. I plan on doing century's etc...but no racing. I want to learn clip less when I first get the bike ,otherwise Ill get to comfortable with the straps ,and wont want to switch. I'm also terrified of flats on a road bike. I went to a class ,but never tried it myself. I do think I would panic if alone when it happened.
MIMI...why is the bike so hard to learn on? How long have you been riding.
I'm not going to let the looser who stole my bike steal my life.....I don't want to be depressed,so I'm going to just try ,and let it go ,and think about my new bike.
As far as the insurance...it would be a wash if I claimed it. I still have that 500.00 deductible on my car ,and house. Yes, I have a Jeep ,and I had the rack the goes into your spare tire. I had a pretty thick cable lock on it. I guess I'm Nineveh.
I'm going to try a couple of bikes tomorrow.....Ill let you know. : )))

[hiker chick]

I'm thinking my last post was stupid because if someone stole my bike I would trying to calm myself with the "it's just a tool" thoughts, but in reality I would be FURIOUS and so, so, upset.

LOL! I thought maybe my Saudia Arabian-style cut their feet off pitch was a little extreme and hesitated to post it, especially since I haven't posted much else. But the truth is, after Buck was stolen, discovering my convertibles had been slashed and the latest episode with the smashed side window -- cutting feet off pales in comparison to the fate I wished for the thieves.

If there were a security system that would electrocute puppy thieves, car thieves, bike thieves and home intruders... I'd consider it a public service. Not a lethal shock, necessarily, but at least make their hair sizzle.

Suzieqtwa -- perhaps revenge fantasies would be therapeautic.

And I need to train Gidget, my new pup, how to use a tazer.

[pooks]

LOL! I thought maybe my Saudia Arabian-style cut their feet off pitch was a little extreme and hesitated to post it, especially since I haven't posted much else. But the truth is, after Buck was stolen, discovering my convertibles had been slashed and the latest episode with the smashed side window -- cutting feet off pales in comparison to the fate I wished for the thieves.

When my dogs were stolen (or more likely, released from the yard) I had just gotten through reading THE GODFATHER and wanted so desperately to have a godfather to go to who would inviscerate the bastids who did it.

That's why they don't let us wreak our own vengeance, I guess. (wink)

The dogs were found and all was happy ever after.

[hiker chick]

When my dogs were stolen (or more likely, released from the yard) I had just gotten through reading THE GODFATHER and wanted so desperately to have a godfather to go to who would inviscerate the bastids who did it.

That's why they don't let us wreak our own vengeance, I guess. (wink)

The dogs were found and all was happy ever after.

Thank goodness you got the dogs back! I could not bear for anything to happen to Gidget. I carry Mace to protect her from dogs off leash and, more importantly, thieves. (you would not believe how often I'm asked on the street how much she cost) Hell hath few furies like a woman whose dog is stolen. Let alone all your dogs!

I was carrying Mace the night I was attacked walking home from work but, alas, the Mace was in my pocket when I needed it. Does no good there, ladies, keep it in your hand when you're out alone or feel threatened. I was tackled, about 20 feet from a very dark alley. Fortunately, I heard him running behind me and heeded the gut feeling that they were not the footsteps of a harmless jogger. So I turned, braced myself and recalled a security course ("Refuse to be a Victim," for anyone who is interested) directive that if attacked like that outside you should yell "FIRE!" "FIRE!" "FIRE!" And so several people came running out of their rowhouses. He ran off. Cops were quick to respond, but not quick enough.

I was traumatized, of course. Shaken. But not angry. Don't think I ever got angry about that. Too consumed with being scared and relieved to have survived serious injury (and kept my purse, too) and left the next week for a long-planned month in New Zealand (that was great therapy). Didn't walk to work for the next year and have never again carried a purse in the neighborhood after dark.

The robberies and vandalism, on the other hand, elicited pure fury in response. In those instances, no emotion was siphoned off for other feelings, like relief.

No, property crime is not rape, that is an inartful comparison. But theft is a violation. And how one perceives it is based in large part on their own experiences and situation.

I would be particularly livid if my newest bike were stolen. I adore that bike.