My Bike Was Stolen

Photo by Diego Franssens - from interview in Belgian magazine Knack.

Saturday morning, 11:30. Came out of the flat with the kids, heading for a toy store to buy a present that Felix would then take to a birthday party. Lulu-Sophia and I would then run some errands and hang out in the backyard.

All of this would happen with my red Bullitt cargo bike. Which, I discovered, wasn't where I parked it.

First thought... "Hmm, I thought I parked it there..."
Second thought... "Maybe I parked it in the other spot..."
Third thought, gradual realisation... "It's been nicked..."

Not a foreign line of thought. Hell, I've had loads of bikes stolen before. But the fourth thought really says all about the role of the bicycle in Copenhagen - and in my life:

"Shit... how I am going to get around today?!"

Standing there with two kids - Felix was on his own bike - with things to do, places to go and stuff to buy and the cargo bike rug was pulled out from beneath me. My uattainable schedule that day flashed before my eyes, followed by the following days.

Rather telling that all the practical uses for my missing bike were the primary thoughts filling my head. Only after a while I said to the kids... "Damn... I really liked that bike."

Cue a couple of minutes of restless, confused lingering on the sidewalk. Logistical solutions presenting themselves. I called the kids' mum to borrow her cargo bike. In conversation with her I realised we could still get Felix to his birthday party on time. So off we walked. Legs are our alternative transport in this neighbourhood.

I still didn't have any way of getting Lulu-Sophia around after that. My Velorbis was loaned out to a friend and it was rigged with a bulldog seat. I called him and he was kind enough to hurry over with the bike so I could transport The Girl, like we've done before:

There's a lot of bike theft in a mainstream bicycle culture. Such is life. Where cargo bikes are concerned, however, it's not intoxicated fellow citizens needing a bike right then and there who take it. It's more organised. There's big money in cargo bikes. So much so that backyards are infiltrated in the search for them.

The funny thing is that whoever nicked it probably doesn't realise that it's the most famous Bullitt in Copenhagen. Not least because I blog about it often. That just make it possible to spot it on the streets.

If you spot it, I'm really looking forward to hearing about it. There are loads of Bullitts on the streets of Copenhagen, but not many red ones. It's also quite unique for a Red Bullitt.

- It's red with a Brooks saddle and handlebars grips.
- The red side panels are quite rare.
- There is a black cover on the cargo box.
- It has a foldable seat in the box.
- On the cross bar there is a seat for the kids.
- Which is on top of a Cycle Chic sticker.

- On the right side there is an FC St. Pauli sticker (as above) and a "Du må gerne køre uden cykelhjelm" sticker.

On the right side there is a I Bike CPH sticker. Sure, I'm sure all these stickers will get peeled off, but... what makes it rather unique is that the Bullitt logo on the sides - at the bottom - is in a yellowish colour, whereas many Red Bullitts have white lettering. This is quite an important detail in recognising it.

There is also a secret mark underneath the bike that I'll be able to recognise.

There were no sleeping children in it. Shame, I might have gotten it back if there were.

If anyone here in Copenhagen spots it, or sees it for sale, please let me know. Let's see if - against all my expectations - this social media lark can help me get the bike back. :-) Thanks in advance for any help.

Hvis du bor i KBH/FRB og ser cyklen send gerne en sms til 26259726.

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