No matter how strong your legs,
No matter how quick your reflexes,
No matter how wide your peripheral vision,
No matter how proficient a cyclist you are,
In, ahem, midlife you realize that you will never again do some of the rides you did when you were young!
A San Jose automotive shop owner’s appearance in court has confirmed something many of us have long suspected.
From April 2020 until April 2021, a series of residential burglaries in SanFrancisco targeted bicycles costing between $3000 and $9000. Those machines were brought to Victorio Romero’s shop, where they were photographed and disassembled before they were sent to a co-conspirator in Jalisco, Mexico.
That co-conspirator re-assembled the bikes and used a virtual private network (VPN) to ensure that only people in Mexico could see his Facebook advertisements.
According to accounts the co-conspirator kept —from which Romero took a share of the profits—the bikes sold, on average, for $1000.
Romero has been charged with one count of conspiracy to transport goods in foreign commerce, which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison. In addition, he been charged with two counts of transportation of stolen goods in foreign commerce. Each of those charges carries a maximum sentence of ten years.
So, Romero faces up to 25 years in prison. The court may also order him to pay a fine and restitution. Once he is released, the court could also order an additional term of supervised release.
He has been released on bond to reappear in court on 10 April.
We’ve all seen sprockets and other small bike parts turned into pendants and charms that dangle from necklaces and bracelets made from bike cables and chains.
Some components, however, better lend themselves to what people in India call “jugaad:” creating a unique solution to a day-to-day problem. You probably have have used blown-out inner tubes to tie things down—in essence, turned them into hookless bungee cords. And Pedro’s turned trashed tubes into “Blowout” tool bags and other bike accessories and tools.
Now a video of a man using a major bicycle component as a piece of furniture is making the rounds. I’m not talking about the Brooks saddles turned into bar stools that had a moment about 15 years ago. Rather, the man—considerably less bourgie, it seems, than anyone who would’ve bought one of those bar stools—is using a major part of a bicycle as a major home furnishing.
I have to say that man certainly has ingenuity. Not only did he turn (pun intended) a bicycle wheel into a rotating table. He is exploiting its qualities In service of the particular qualities of an Indian meal. Small bowls and plates containing dal, sabzi, curry, chilies and other foods and spices are balanced on the spokes.
Because the wheel is balanced on an axle, he can rotate the table and not have to leave his seat or stretch across the table to reach any of those plates or bowls. I would guess that he left the tire on the wheel because it’s easier to grip and turn than the metal rim.
I would love to see something like that the next time I go to an Indian restaurant. I wonder whether the man realizes there is a market for his innovations. Who knows: Maybe he’ll make enough money to buy his next table at Sotheby’s!
