Stolen bike. (long)

[Python]

I'm very lucky that I can park my bike next to my desk at work. In town we have a lot of bike stands. The safest place to leave your bike is the one which is watched by manned CCTV cameras - always the most popular bike stand in town. My bike's older so less of a risk of being stolen (although age doesn't put some thieving little gits off). When I get the new bike next month, I won't be leaving her anywhere out of my sight.

I think if I caught anyone trying to steal my bike, I'd thump them!

Another way to help protect your bike, or at least if it becomes stolen/recovered is to mark it in various places with an ultra-violet pen - the type that fluoresces under a UV light. You can get these pens from the police. Here in Britain they give them away free. You put your house number and postcode (zip code) on various places on the bike. Once the ink dries you can't see it. These have been invaluable in reuniting people with their stolen goods. You can use them to mark TVs, videos etc. Also take a note of the serial number although some thieves will file off the number, many don't.