This article was published in 2006, in Newsletter 64.
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Yes, thanks to many people, I now have my Bike-E back. I want to thank the folks like Lisa and Dave and members of the Cycling Campaign who printed the flyers that went out in the last Newsletter mailing. As I continued to look for my bike, I was heartened by the many people, including the City Rangers, who knew it was missing and what it looked like. It felt like I had a thousand eyes out there looking for me.
I also paid a visit to the giant lost bike room at Parkside Police Station. I was amazed at the number of bikes of all varieties. It really was worth a look. I would certainly recommend that you take the time to look at their stash if you have lost a bike. It will be important that you have the frame number of your bike so you can prove that the bike is yours. If you don’t have this number written down in a safe place, take the time to write it down today.
Don’t assume that just because there is a CCTV camera in the area where you parked your bike, that there is actually tape in the camera, or that the camera is working, because there might not be. It is also important to let the police know that there was a camera in the area because they won’t automatically ask about CCTV footage unless you press them a bit. In my case, the (City Council public car park) camera was known to have been faulty for some time.
It is always nice to have a supportive friend or two. The bike was more than a piece of metal. It had a lot of sentimental value. The folks around me realized how important it was to me and were suitably sympathetic. This was important as it took me three weeks to retrieve the bike. Don’t give up looking too quickly.
My last resort was to put a picture advert in the Cambridge Evening News. It wasn’t cheap but I felt the photo was an important part of the ad. A very kind member of the public gave me a call because they had seen the bike in someone’s front garden. (Thanks, too, to Simon Nuttall for keeping his almost identical Bike-E off the road for a few days – to avoid any possible cases of mistaken identity.)
The bike is now home. Whatever could be ripped off has been but the bike itself is intact for which I am thankful. They no longer make the Bike-E so I am very happy to have mine back again. Thank you all for your help.
Jannett Klinke