My bicycle was stolen today. It wasn’t my first bike, which was stolen.
The first bike I remember for good was a three-speed DBS. I got it when I was something like 8-years-old. It was a great bike, which was later named as “Kossu”. The bike lasted definitely more than 5 years, through all summes and winters, heavy daily use, lots of customization, until it simply rusted out. It was my last bike, which wasn’t stolen.
The next one I got when I was like 12 (I still drove with Kossu at nights). This one was an adult-size 10-speed tunturi. It was my bike the next 7 years or so until it was stolen from Riihimäki railway station. It happened soon after I had started to drive regularly to the station since I went to the University of Helsinki. I didn’t mind too much about this bike because it was almost rusted out and I had left it to lie at the station for over a week for some grazy reason. I mostly wondered who was so stupid to get it.
My dad educated me about bike thieves at the Riihimäki station. He needed to buy a bike typically once a year because they were frequently stolen (He went by bike to the station every morning and came back at night). That’s why he always bought the cheapest used women’s model there was. The most unlike model to be stolen.
I moved on to one of such cheapies, a fifty euro worth 10-speed DBS. I don’t remember too much of it because it was stolen within 6 months from the Riihimäki station. That was the last bike I owned in Riihimäki. I thought I will never buy again a bike there.
I moved to Helsinki and lived almost a year without one. But then something struck and I bought a used good-looking body from police auctions. One more fifty euros and another fifty for new black paint, new tires, new chains and such. I really liked the new paint and named the biked Indurain. I used a lot of time for refurbishing it. Indurain lasted for less than two months. It was stolen from Pasila railway station in Helsinki. After Indurain, I thought I will never again own a bike in Helsinki.
That promise lasted for the next seven years or so. Last fall I bought a new K2 mountain bike from Berkeley and brought it eventually into Finland. I added the biggest Kryptonite lock and some other additions into it. It cost me something like 300 euros. It was a good bike to drive, 21-speed, front suspension etc.
Today, my mountain bike was taken from Ruoholahti metro station. I left the bike at around 16 and returned around 21, something like an hour after it became dark. Man, I was pissed off! After I realised what had happened I walked around the neighboring blocks just to ask if anybody had any idea who idiot took it.
My little sociological field study consisted of meeting with two gangs of 12-15 year-old Finnish kids and two Somalis. The first kid-gang, mainly girls, was talking quite loudly how they had experimented with “speed” and other hard drugs when I approached them. Apparently they didn’t like me and I got nothing. The next gang, just five boys, looked like they were trying to sneak through the backdoor of a store. I approached the guys and asked about my bike. One guy comes to me a little bit ashamed. He looks like stoned. “No, I don’t know about your bike”. When I leave, another boy whispers back “…and what if we did?!” I decide to walk to home when I finally see the Somalis. Two tall guys, not very well clothed, scouting all the corners, heads turning all the time. Just like looking after a new bike… I’m outta here! Who ever it was, and there are many possibilities, needed the money from it badly.
I will buy a bike again, that’s for sure. Bikes are too useful not to have. However, my budget is limited to 50 euros and it must be the oldest and ugliest women’s model available.