My Bike Got Stolen

[extrapages]

totally off the subject but i need an outlet or im going to go on a terrible rampage and leave bags of rotting trash/dog shit in front of all my neighbors doors.

SOMEBODY STOLE MY BICYCLE YESTERDAY!

and a bunch of old chinese people with their grandkids that ALL knew it was MY bike let someone just walk away with it. and when i came back to find my bike missing, they just stared at me. BECAUSE THEY ALL KNEW IT WAS MINE AND DIDNT DO ANYTHING TO STOP WHOEVER TOOK IT.

it was only $20 USD and was the cheapest but STILL! ive been thinking about getting a nicer bike.. i guess ill finally get to buy it on the way out to the office... =[

so im stuck between refusing to acknowledge the existence of all these people that live in my building or just forgetting about it and continuing to be nice to everyone. havent i given them enough to gossip and whisper about by moving into the building? they love how i look chinese but cant speak any... news of me being korean american has been leaked out, they all know which apartment i live in, what is in my trash, some people also somehow know that im going to neuter my dog! I DONT EVEN KNOW THE CHINESE WORD FOR THAT.

and the kids like to stand there, stare at me, point at me and my dog, and whisper to each other. and some of them speak to me REALLY SLOWLY and LOUDLY as if i were deaf. which is, let me tell you, really encouraging when im having an already really effing bad day. yesterday, they were whispering to each other about how im the foreign girl (YEAH! shes NOT CHINESE! - which usually results in a "GASP! REALLY? then what the hell is she?" or "oh, i know already.") whos bike got stolen. her grandma was there when it happened. k;asjdhfa;sdfjkalgi;sjflksdjflsdfjdkj!!!!

UGH! AND I LIVE IN A RELATIVELY NICE AREA - THESE PEOPLE DONT NEED TO STEAL BIKES BECAUSE THEY HAVE THE MONEY TO BUY ONE. ITS ONLY LIKE 150 YUAN! THEY SPEND MORE THAN THAT ON GROCERIES!

ok. finished. sorry. hopefully, not many people will see this post because its under the "Help with actually finding application forms" thread. deep breath. that was my beijing bicycle bummer story.

anyway pez says hi. maybe i should change my picture so yall can see what the best dog in china looks like. and he has no idea im also going to the animal hospital after i stop by the office to find out about him getting neutered.

Admin Note: Moved out of the thread on finding application forms.

[roddy]

Group hug!

[imron]

some people also somehow know that im going to neuter my dog! I DONT EVEN KNOW THE CHINESE WORD FOR THAT.

Chinese-forums.com. We have a post for everything

[extrapages]

We have a post for everything

imron. im so glad you posted this.

im going to the vet in about half an hour. haha!

thanks. i know pez is ecstatic about this, as well. =]

[adrianlondon]

As for bikes ... I bought an expensive one. 800y. Brand new Giant with three (internal hub) gears. I then bought two locks (total 100y) from a different shop (Carrefour actually) in case some sneaky Giant employee simply followed me with duplicate keys.

I had no problems at all with my bike and I left it in some dodgy areas. I think having decent locks (most people refuse to spend 100y on locks when they only paid 80y for the bike! - which was probably a stolen one anyway) makes the difference.

As for them staring at your bike thief ... did you lock it well? Some people let others borrow their bikes. I'd have hated it if the people I let borrow my bike (I gave them they keys) got beaten up each time ;)

[imron]

I think having decent locks (most people refuse to spend 100y on locks when they only paid 80y for the bike! - which was probably a stolen one anyway) makes the difference.

I think having an old rusty bike makes the difference . So far out of a total two and a bit years in Beijing my bike tally stands at: Had Stolen: 0, Bought: 0, Been Given: 3. One of the three even still works.

[heifeng]

I think having an old rusty bike makes the difference . So far out of a total two and a bit years in Beijing my bike tally stands at: Had Stolen: 0, Bought: 0, Been Given: 3. One of the three even still works.

Agreed. My tally is at Stolen: 0, Bought 1, Free, Been Given to me Rusty bikes: 2. The only reason I had to break down and buy one is because my free bikes kept breaking down and I was sick of replacing spokes every week. But now I have to keep my bike in my balcony which makes me ride it much less..boo. I think I need another rusty bike for short distants trips down the street and keep my good bike for the distance rides:mrgreen: I shouldn't have sold my rusty one for 15yuan to the bike repairman...drats

Free bikes offers? Anyone, anyone?

[adrianlondon]

Although you can get hundreds of 5y repairs done to a bike before it comes close to being 800y, I liked the idea that I could cycle out of Beijing for 3-4 f hours at a fast speed, and back in again, without it breaking down or throwing me in front of a bus ;)

I initially thought of using a free bike for short trips (eg from BNU to carrefour and back) but in the end I had no problems at all with mine even if I left it overnight somewhere iffy.

I cycled loads in Beijing and also cycle loads in the UK, so for me 800y was cheap. About a tenth of the cost of my UK bike ;)

[extrapages]

so today, i bought a new bike. much nicer, much more comfortable, much more efficient, double the price - but thats ok.

i am very, very satisfied with the purchase. has some kinks that im going to get ironed out when i take it back tomorrow.

BUT anyway, after this i was on my way out to take pez to the vet

and guess what appeared, in fine condition, outside the main entrance of the building...?

the stolen bike, unlocked, ready for me to take it home.

except its already been replaced. I WAS AND STILL AM FURIOUS.

i dont know if it was a sick joke or if that was their idea of trying to teach me something?

but now i have two bikes and a whole lot of anger. since im going back to the place i bought my new bike (to switch seats, etc), can i just get someone to ride my old one with me and sell it to the guy?? i never want to see that bike again. ever.

[johnmck]

Having your bike stolen has ruined your day? I wonder how your dog will feel after he's had the snip.

[extrapages]

haha!

actually having it returned really pissed me off..

but youre right. pez is really miserable right now - in pain, drugged up, and hes not even with me. i have to go away for a few days, and i left him in the care of the animal hospital until thursday. its terrible being home without him here - its never been so terribly quiet. i feel like a really crappy mom.

[Rincewind]

You haven't really lived in China untill you've had your bike stolen. I did have a bike. I don't any more. My frends told me: "You live in China now."

[extrapages]

so whats it mean if they gave it back?

is that how theyre telling me to go back home? hahah!

ride my ass back to the states? lol

[adrianlondon]

I didn't fully understand - was it returned to the place where you left it? If so, then it could have ben taken by mistake. The cheap locks only have a few key combinations (one?) so it's easy to use your key to open someone else's lock.

[extrapages]

they left it pretty much in a place by the main entrance where everyone can see it.

and it wasnt a mistake - i have tied HUGE ribbons on the bike - which are still on. definitely was not a mistake.

i dont know. i got a new lock - the chain kind that can wrap around stuff - with the new bike... so i guess im covered in that department now.

[roddy]

Maybe it was someone's birthday . . . they saw the ribbons . . . easy mistake . . .

[extrapages]

hahaha. i dont know if i should laugh or cry at that joke! hah!

anyway, i hate it now. and my new bike is much better.

so im just going to sell it later today. =]

[zhwj]

As a counterpoint to all of the "junk bikes don't get stolen" rubbish up thread, I had a piece of crap bike stolen from where it was locked at the front of my building - I would have stored it in the bike park (as is wise to do at all times), but the guy there just laughed when I tried to rent a space.

In your case, why not think of it like this: you know those movies where the main character has just split with his girlfriend, but he's finally realized how much she means to him, and he needs to get to the train station before she leaves on a long trip out west where she'll probably fall in love with some handsome, mysterious stranger and forget all about him? Except his best friend has borrowed his bike to go take the gaokao and he doesn't have the money for a taxi. So he picks up the closest bike at hand and makes it to the station in time, intending to return it as soon as he expresses his feelings to his former girlfriend. He gets so caught up in the moment that it doesn't occur to him to return the bike until a few days later.

See - you were just part of the most romantic story in the world!

[extrapages]

haha my friend said something similar:

think of it this way, that guy really really needed your bike. maybe he had to go somewhere really fast and you helped him escape murderers. good job, helen.

haha. yall are so silly.

so now ive helped someone tell the love of his life the truth AND helped an innocent man escape killers. maybe china aint so bad after all. dont matta - i still hate that bike. =/ HAH!

[Lu]

My tally on bikes in China:

Bought 1 Had stolen 1 Unintentionally stole 1 Returned to owner after realizing theft 1

Net total: zero bikes.

Extrapages, that extra bike is going to come in handy if one of them gets stolen again, or if a friend comes over and you want to cycle to Yiheyuan together.