Assassins! Murders! 僕の自転車を刎ねられた！

On Saturday afternoon I went up to Taipo to go bike riding.  It had only been two weeks since my biking trip w/ Swang and Elena, and i was looking forward to going on a nice long ride further into the Plover Country Park...  I walked from the station to the underpass that I've been leaving my bike underneath on and off for the last 6 months.　先週末僕はタイポ駅へ行った、あそこで二週前自転車を放た。でも見た時、早く問題見つけた：

but i was greeted with a shocking sight! My bike was still there,  or rather SOMEof it was still there:

my bike has been decapitated! 

Some wiseasses came in and stole the handle bars AND seat...which was locked down w/ a chain lock!   (and  they even took the quick release to keep the front tire on!)

悪人は僕の自転車を剥した！糞!!! 何でもへずた！ハンドル、座面、シフター、ブレーキ。。。

Of course it wasn't /just/ the handle bars, its everything that goes on them:

brake levers, cables, shimano click gear shifters...

and most importantly -

even my beloved 'I my bike' bell... doh!

ベールもヘずた。残念！

After almost 2 years of being parked outside in various parts of the New Territories, someone finally got around to stripping it...   (and mind you at at least one or two periods, i didn't move it for like 1-2 months at a time).

I was cursing the whole way as I carried the three distinct pieces of my bike to the (not that nearby) shop...    I asked them for an estimate to fix it...  the guy went down the list and was like "yeah, they took all the expensive stuff... "

Cost to fix my bike = HK$550

Cost to buy the whole bike in 2006 = HK$800!

The guy was like "you should just get a new bike, we'll sell you one for $600"...  but it was a steel frame...  no,  not worth it.

I was then trying to decide between paying the $550 to get it fixed or just renting a bike every time (~$60 at a time).   it was a tough call - i'll probably use the bike more than 10 times over the next 3 or 4 months, but the handlebar/seat thieves could just strike again tomorrow...

I decided to pay the $550 to fix the bike,  renting a bike puts a lot of restrictions on your riding (you gotta come back to the same spot or a designated pick-up point and you gotta be done by 7pm... which i don't always do).  I also got a thicker chain lock to lock the seat down...  too bad there's no easy way to lock the handlebars up... 

Anyway,  here's a photo from September 2006 when my bike was new:

二年前、新時：

doh, rest in peace! 

i picked up the fixed bike on Monday morning before work...  It was good as (ney, BETTER than) new and I rode it down to a distant (safer) train station... (... and forgot to take a picture).   hopefully it'll all be there when i get back to it next weekend. :-P