Sunday, May 24th, 2026, 9:49 am
Petty Theft Risks Lives
Filed under: 
his morning I was astounded to discover, and only because I was vigilant enough, that the integrity of my bicycle was no more. The front wheel was jittering a little bit just when I was about to embark and set off (and after inflating the tyres). Upon closer inspection a part of the mechanism (see above) was totally missing – it had been stolen, it could not possibly fall off without me noticing it and without a hell of a long-winded effort of tampering, unscrewing, etc.
Who stole it and why? I don’t know. I probably will never know.
If I didn’t check carefully enough and simply rode off, there would be a real chance of an unforeseen accident or high-speed fall (basically a wheel falling off completely due to no stern support). I read about such things online a decade ago; sabotage like this is sometimes done intentionally.
If someone stole it to make or save money, then this person has total disregard for the safety of other people. If this was meant to hurt me, I would never be able to prove it.
The search for a replacement part continues (whatever it is called).
