Realities of Urban Cycling

There is nothing better than cycling in the city. I truly enjoy riding along side cars (not so much buses, though), maneuvering around the streets, and exploring the city on two wheels. Until today, I had yet to park my bike anywhere in the city. I would just leave my apartment, go on a ride, and come back to my apartment.

A good friend of mine, T.N., needed help putting together an Ikea dresser. As a self-proclaimed Ikea-furniture-assembly pro, I volunteered to help her put it together. I had an appointment near her earlier in the day, so I decided to ride my bike. I also wanted to practice locking it up outside.

I parked my bike around the corner from T.N.'s building, on a bike rack, in between two bikes. I noticed that one of the front tires was missing on one of the bikes, but I thought nothing of it. T.N. lives in a great part of town, Dupont Circle, about 2 blocks from where I lived my 1st year of law school.

I locked everything up. My helmet, wheels, frame, and net I use to keep things tied down. I thought my bike and accessories were secure.

I helped my friend assemble her dresser and we ate lunch. All and all I must have been away from my bike for about 2-3 hours. When it was time to go, I got back to my bike and checked it out. I saw that my hand air pump was missing. Someone stole my $30 hand air pump that I forgot to take off on the side of my bike. In 2-3 hours, with 2 bikes parked on either side of mine, in one of the nicest parts of DC, the theft found the one vulnerable, albeit inexpensive, piece of my bike and STOLE it. SMH.

After that, I rode over to a local bike shop to buy a new one. The guy at the store heard my story and said "...next time, you should take the pump with you." Really? You think?

DC is infamous for bike theft. One thing I realized today is that I'm glad I followed the advice of the bike salesman when I originally purchased my bike. He convinced me to purchase the mega-lock that must weight about 10 lbs. and is so large I can't mount it on, I have to tie it to my rack. It was worth it, though, because my bike was in tact. All the thief got was the measly pump.

Lesson learned for the day: take everything with you, check everything twice, and LOCK EVERYTHING UP!!