Took me a bit to calm down but since it's done, it's done and I have to live with it so I might as well share my loss. It is infuriating but somehow bizarrely funny at the same time. Also a polite reminder that we have to lock our stuff, a few short years ago no one was stealing old bikes but now they are expensive and expensive brings thieves. Anyway don't need condolences, it's on me and I'm living with it and just venting here.

I had been rebuilding my decks and cutting down a large Linden tree and I hadn't time to ride so bikes were unappreciated. "Normally" my garage is locked but because we were in and out and had boards and parts piled up and were constantly in and out, I hadn't locked it during the day - for several days in a row. I had tools and boxes scattered on the floor.

I went to take my truck to get some deck boards and saw that my bike rack had vanished. Since my son had told me that someone had been stealing at his job site where he parks, I assumed it was stolen from his work. It was a home made rack but very useful. Frustrating but since there was no provision for attaching it to my truck I hadn't considered theft as a possibility.

Even though I was busy at the time I recall noting that for some odd reason I had mounted my primary rider (my Corsaro) "backwards" on the work stand (NDS facing out). I was too busy to change it but I recall wondering why did I do that? Anyway, when the deck work and tree clean up were done, I decided to work on my Peugeot Competition and took the Corsaro off of the stand. The Competition had been left hanging on a hook,without it's rear wheel mounted as the wheel was too badly bent to be salvageable when I got it. I reached for the Competition (which was slightly hidden behind my tool chest) and it was off the hook on the floor and leaning on the wall, resting on it's crank! I knew I hadn't put it there and wondered who had leaned it there. I then looked for the box from Level 9 which had my new chains and the box was not where I'd left it. At that point I knew and instantly I began to notice there were other things missing as well.

The list was bizarre and seems random.

Ultimately I lost several sets of cheap bar tape from China, as well as Brooks bar tape. I lost some bar and stem sets (including a Cinelli set which I didn't notice was missing until Bertinjim asked about it later) but also a few old rusted sets of bars from some Raleigh Sports! A couple of Campagnolo derailleurs but also some old Shimano and Suntour cheap derailleurs (Lark and others) and oddly, thief went through my seat post stash and took only some of the old straight-post steel ones, most of which were rusted. I think I lost a leather Brooks seat and know I lost several of the cheap "mattress" style Brooks ones. Thief took my Piave frame and left the Piave forks but took two pairs of forks leftover from Raleigh Sports and a set of 600 cranks that had been underneath the fork stash. Most parts boxes had been rifled through but boxes were put back at random on different shelves. Almost all new chains were taken as were a single set of new tires hanging from a hook, though the thief left several sets of boxed tires (easier to carry) and better quality.

Here is the part that is bizarre and kind of funny. I had recently ridden through some new paving and had struck a pothole that rendered the rear wheel well out of true and so I had installed a set of clinchers and placed my tubulars leaning against the wall behind my Corsaro. it seems the thief removed my bike from the stand, fished out the tubular rim set and then hung the bike back (albeit backwards)!?!?

So - the thief is knowledgeable enough about bikes to want tubulars and not clinchers but didn't notice rear wasn't straight? Knew to take the Piave frame but not the correct forks? Comfortable enough to stay in someone's garage and search through box after box and then return the boxes to the shelves but take a bunch of junk as well as good stuff, and leave better?

Older picture of the Corsaro with tubular rims but a miss-matched set of tires. Tubulars rims had Vittoria Rally's mounted. It has a new brown Brooks carved B17 instead of the black one that's missing.

So, my question was my bike junk and not good enough to steal??



Anyway, all jokes aside, I'll be installing an interior security camera and I think I will add eye bolts and chain my bikes.

I have a set of 32 hole tubulars for my sons Peloton and have a second set coming from Mattdiano but just realized those too are 32 hole so will need some more 36s.

Anyway, use my complacency (stupidity) as an example and lock your gear!

As for me, I'll be watching the local sale ads quite carefully for my stuff.

Wesley