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Ahmfae Paisley, and in 1994 moved to London (Putney) rode fixed mostly.
Recently moved to Dubai. Won't ride fixed at all, in that cycling = possible injury, fixed cycling = certain death.
The difference is people swerving as they look round with that "is he really on fixed?".

Individual cyclists are rare, but there's a weekly group ride with Landcruiser in attendance, bedecked with ornage flashy lights, warning signs etc. Very pro.

I sort of miss the commute, but not the weather or the money :-)

Could you let Boris know about the Police inaction? He's a cycling nut up for election whcih might make him more receptive, and it would be good press for him to sort this out and make an example of the thieving scrote.

FWIW, I got this note from a mate - one for the justice squad !!!

"I was in Southwark for an opticians appointment this afternoon. Left my bike locked up outside the office building I was visiting with a regular Chubb lock & wire chain to one of those steel "n" shaped things for locking bikes to. An hour or so later I come out to find my bike has a 2nd lock on it only this one is a seriously industrial motorbike with a chain like you'd find on a boat anchor. Clearly the owner of the lock was planning to return later to my immobilised bike, remove his lock, snip my lock and have away with my bike. I was livid!

Having ascertained that it wasn't someone from the opticians who objected to my bike parking I went to the local police station to report the incident & hopefully get them to sort it out. Unsurprisingly Mr Plod couldn't give a monkeys. Next I went to a local motor factors to borrow some bolt croppers. They wouldn't lend me some but would sell me a pair of the biggest, ugliest set of nail clippers you can imagine. With my wallet £17 lighter and about 20kg of bolt cropper in hand I return to the bike.

First attempts are not positive. Despite 3ft of leverage the chain is barely scratched by the croppers and the teeth are bent out of line. At this point I'm feeling really p1ssed off at the thought of loosing the bike & walking back to the office having spent money on a useless lump of iron. The other option is to attack the paddle lock. It's about the size of a kitchen matchbox and has a hardened steel loop. Still, I can mangle the plastic coating and make it difficult for the crim to get to the locking mechanism with the key. And it might make me feel better.

With the case chewed off the lock body underneath isn't so impressive looking - the case is cast in two halves out of the sort of metal that they make dinky toys out of. Another few minutes with the croppers and it's in bits and I have a liberated bike!!! I also have 4ft of motorbike chain and the satisfaction that a scumbag not too far away is out of pocket to a not inconsiderable degree.

Surprisingly, during the 15 or so minutes it took me to do this no-one passing by said anything. Is it any wonder bikes get nicked? "

A bloke goes home to his wife with a duck under his arm, and says "This is the pig that I fuck when I'm not with you"

His wife says "It's not a pig, it's a duck.!

He replies "I wasn't talking to you..."

Most LED light sets are adequate for being seen - just make sure they run from AA or AAA batteries, as the tiny camera ones are much more expensive. I have two lights front and rear, one solid, one flashing. Also means that if one packs up you're not totally in the dark.

Great to hear you got it back - it has raised my ever dampening spirits that I might find my Mercian.
Like you it means a lot to me, and I would dearly love it back. You're right that blowing up at the current owner is the wrong thing to do, as they aren't necessarily the thieving scrotes who nicked it.

Death's too good for them !

Ideally one of those is a 'sting' bike wired to the national grid.

Or perhaps the police take theft more seriously there?
I assume there were no Litepseed / Colnago / Pinarello / Boardman bikes in that batch !!!

Posted a pic in flickr (me and my mercian in manhattan) but don't know how to edit the link (duh...)
If you see it, please drop me a note - ta muchly.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/13695903@N05/1398250282/

So if someone stomped on your nice Colnago, would they leave a carbon foot print ? :D

Besides - if you cycled without any carbon emission, what happens when you breathe out?

I own an old car, only use it when required, e.g. carrying tons of shopping, travelling to the velodrome, visiting folks miles away etc. I'm certainly far from a tree hugging hippy, but agree that less (new) cars can only be a good thing.
I don't mind cars as long as they're not trying to run me off the road !

http://www.towerhamletswheelers.org.uk/campaigns/stolenbikes_bricklane.html

It's a start - printing off the generic form and recording the details.
Having a string of pics of your trusty steed would also go some way to proving it was yours - especially if you're in the picture too.

It's a sore feeling, this "being wise after the event..."

Excellent list - there's markets I didn't even consider visiting!

I'm off to Billingsgate to check out some fishy characters... :-D

I'll be strolling around Brick Lane Market on Sunday afternoon, on a luminous yellow 90s Trek, so please say hi if you see me.
I'll be the angry bloke with a BFO spanner....

More than happy to join in the bike recovery posse. This is (only) the second bike I've lost in 13 years living in London, so I'm pretty lucky all round. Still want to maim some scrotes - could we do a sting operation in one of the hotspots?
Nothing official - just make the criminal fraternity aware that if they go to steal a bike they might get a serious kicking into the bargain.

I'm sure plod would turn a blind eye to that as much as they don't give a toss about stolen bikes.

Having said that, they were round yesterday to interview me and take prints from the shed so either the tide is turning or it was a slow day for them.

Vigilante law rules.

My shed was broken into over the weekend, and both my and my wife's fixed were nicked. Both were locked to each other. It has to be someone watching us commute, as only one other shed was attacked. The others which contain junk weren't touched.
Mine is a emerald green Mercian track bike, with Profile bullhorn bars, a crud catcher, bottle bosses and mudguard lugs added by the previous owner. It's about 22inch frame, and has a goldtec rear hub.
Wife's is a silver condor, with rear mudguard, drop bars and suicide brake, about 52cm.

I will be heading to Brick Lane on Sunday, tooled up and ready to rock. Death to tea leaf scrotes.
Also surfing eBay and gumtree as they're pretty distinctive bikes - especially the Mercian. It's fugly.

I have a pic of it as I was riding across Manhattan Bridge in July, which I'll try and post.

Riding with headphones on isn't as bad as some make out. It's like driving with the stereo on in a car - if it's way too loud, you deserve all you get. Background noise / music is fine.
What if there's a car behind you? YOU'RE IN LONDON - THERE'S ALWAYS A CAR BEHIND YOU !!!

Not being able to hear the chav make a decision, probably won't drastically affeect what happens. If you have your wits about you, you should (touches wood) be ok.

That all said, it's definitely personal preference.

I got three Hokey Spokes from the USA (red, white, blue) and use them on my rear wheel in the winter.
Fantastic, but I can't see them... :-(

A couple of mates also bought them - they are kinda cool, but 9xAA batteries aren't lightweight !
Good winter resistance training though.

Not cheap at $20USD each either.

You can't have sprouts now - it's not Christmas !

They only make me cry when she makes me put them notinmymouth...

A mate of mine did it, and was concerned at some of the marshalling at roundabouts, where two sets of marshalls - one for traffic, one for bikes - waved on both directions at the same time.
Cue some near misses and driver / rider interaction !

I dont think I'd do it as it's just stupid busy. More than happy to do it in a smaller bunch.
If it's sunny.
And not windy.
Coz I'm soft.

"a bike and rider with two aero spoke wheels, aero brakes, aero bottle, ANSI approved aero helmet, one-piece skinsuit, aero shoe covers, gloves with Lycra backs, silicone filling the gap between tires and rims, shaved legs and pump under the top tube "

No mention of the BFO rucksack, panniers, mudguards, lighting system, mirrors...
:D

Would a plethora of chunky zip ties do the job for the duration?
Easy enough to remove when they're no longer required.

LUMKFO @ Limmy.com.
:D

Nice fixed wheel in my ideal workshop ...!!!

http://www.flickr.com/photo_zoom.gne?id=135276192&size=o

Paisley Buddy born and bred, came to the Big Smoke to seek fame and fortune.
Still seeking...

Currently in Putney, got here via Romfordinnit, Brentwood, Waterloo, Chiswick, Barnes, Roehampton.

Wayne 182 / Slamm - I ride home up Putney High St, (Sloane Sq, Kings Rd) on a green Mercian with bulllhorns and a crudcatcher. Gimme a wave as you whizz by !

Bon Jovi - "Ride, Cowboy, Ride"

Although they may not be referring to a bike.
Possibly.

If you put everything into a huge melting pot, wouldn't you end up with a big loump of metal, smelling of burnt rubber?
:D

I'll get my coat.

Bigger gearing.