The Life-Sized City Blog

Here we go again. Out into the backyard this morning with The Lulu, heading for school and then off to work. Something was missing. It was big and red and quite gone. My Bullitt cargo bike was not where it should be. Locked with the mother of all chains in our bike shed. It was stolen. The first thought was "Damn... my logistics this week are screwed." Second thought... "I liked that bike". You know you live in a mainstream bicycle culture when the thoughts occur in THAT order. I walked around the backyard in vain hope. Then I noticed that another Bullitt wasn't parked in its normal spot. It was gone, too. Double Bullitt thieving in the dark of the night. In a secure, locked backyard. Fun having to explain to The Lulu, aged 7, about why people do such things. She's no stranger to bike theft, but still, she was as upset as me, so we had to tackle the subject on the spot. It's just a bike, I know. But it's a bike that we use alot. For tran...

No, it wasn't my Bullitt , unfortunately. But two weeks before the Bullitt got stolen, my other bike - pictured above - was nicked. It's a 1955 Swedish Crescent. Bloody irritating. Vintage bicycles are in high demand at the moment, fetching a high price. Bicycles that only three years ago wouldn't even garner a second glance by bicycle thieves are now targeted. I was sad to see it go but didn't bother blogging about it. However. A month or so ago, Hans from Larry vs Harry was standing with Claus, who works at Larry vs Harry. Hans spotted a bicycle rolling past and noticed that it was the Crescent. It's an incredibly unique bicycle and it's hard to miss. Hans mentioned it to Claus. Claus - the reigning Danish cargo bike champion by the way, we call him Copenhagenthighs - took matters into his own hands. He hopped onto his Bullitt and set off after the Man on the Crescent. He gave him a bit of a shock braking hard next to him and shouting "Where the...

Photo by Diego Franssens - from interview in Belgian magazine Knack. Here we go again. Some of you may remember the fairytale ending the last time my Bullitt cargo bike got stolen, back in May 2011. What started with this blogpost ended happily with this one . Last night, it happened all over again. I have just moved flats - last Saturday - and this real estate agency have not yet given me keys to the backyard, where there is a bike shed. It's a secure backyard, requiring a key to get in or out. (nor have they given me a key to the postbox, so if you've sent me a postcard, I haven't read it yet...) In lieu of being able to park the Bullitt in the backyard, I parked it on the sidewalk outside the flat. It is a busy street, right next to a busy intersection and a bus stop. I bought an extra lock - super thick Amsterdam style - and both locks secured the bike to a metal railing. Not optimal, but hey. This morning, the locks lay curled on the sidewalk like sleepin...