Having a bike stolen is a bummer. Stealing a bike makes someone a bum, or worse.
Sometimes I think the authorities don't take bike theft seriously because of a perception that we're all recreational rider; that for an adult, being on a bike doesn't serve a real purpose.
Of course, you know better: You may be a bicycle commuter. Your bike might be your primary, or only, vehicle, whether by circumstance or choice.
Sometimes, it seems, we're not "redeemed", and the thefts of our mounts are not taken seriously, if we're not using our bikes for some "higher" purpose. That is why I had mixed feelings when I read about Jim Plummer Jr. of West Warwick, Rhode Island.
Of course I empathised with him in losing his bike, and rejoiced on reading that a Facebook campaign enabled him to buy another. I had to wonder, though, whether the incident would have been noted at all had he not been riding as part of a benefit for the Children's Cancer Research Fund.
I don't mean to disparage charity rides or campaigns: I've done a few, and intend to do more. But I don't believe we should have to do them in order to justify our riding, or for the thefts of our bikes to be as worthy of attention as other thefts.
Sometimes I think the authorities don't take bike theft seriously because of a perception that we're all recreational rider; that for an adult, being on a bike doesn't serve a real purpose.
Of course, you know better: You may be a bicycle commuter. Your bike might be your primary, or only, vehicle, whether by circumstance or choice.
Sometimes, it seems, we're not "redeemed", and the thefts of our mounts are not taken seriously, if we're not using our bikes for some "higher" purpose. That is why I had mixed feelings when I read about Jim Plummer Jr. of West Warwick, Rhode Island.
Of course I empathised with him in losing his bike, and rejoiced on reading that a Facebook campaign enabled him to buy another. I had to wonder, though, whether the incident would have been noted at all had he not been riding as part of a benefit for the Children's Cancer Research Fund.
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| Jim Plummer, Jr. |
I don't mean to disparage charity rides or campaigns: I've done a few, and intend to do more. But I don't believe we should have to do them in order to justify our riding, or for the thefts of our bikes to be as worthy of attention as other thefts.
Justice is an oxymoron...
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