26 July 2016, 2PM

Where’s my #(@!%$ bike!

A lot of us know that sinking feeling when you’ve possibly just left the coffee shop after your early morning ride, Zymil skim milk flat white in hand, only to find all that’s left of your locked up deadly treadly… is a wheel.

This is when the change curve kicks in;
Shock ‘What the….!!!”
Denial “Maybe I locked it somewhere else?”
Anger “You son of a…”
Depression “Man, I loved that bike, it was my best mate”
Experimentation “I suppose I could get a better one”
Decision “Yeah, I do deserve a better one”
Integration “I’m gonna be so much faster now!”

This is also a scenario that a few of us at the YTF have experienced first hand, and not something that we would wish on any cycling enthusiast. With that in mind, here are a few obvious ways you can keep your bike… yours:
1. Learn the high-risk areas in town by asking locals and also the local bike shop, and don’t park your bike there.
2. At home store your bike inside.
3. When out and about if you can’t take your bike inside, always lock it.
4. If you don’t have a lock park it near a window, flick the chain off and clip your helmet through the wheel. Someone looking to grab and ride will just grab and face plant.
5. Use two locks and lock your bike to something that can’t be moved. Use a chain lock and a U-lock, most crims don’t carry what’s required to dispatch both types.
6. Mark or tag your bike. This can be high tech such as using a Tile, a little Bluetooth tracker, so you can track the fella down if it goes astray. Engraving your name on it somewhere or writing your name on a bit of paper and jabbing it inside the handle bar can help identify your bike if you come across it in future.
7. Make it ugly! If you’re more functionally minded than aesthetic simply rip the brand stickers off, then put on some ‘save the trees’ stickers and maybe some kids tassels poking out of the handgrips. An eyesore is usually not going to sell, so pointless to pinch.
8. Insure it! If your best mate is worth a few dollars then you may want to consider insuring it. At least this way you can tear through the first part of the change curve straight to ‘going faster’!

Insuring your bike isn’t as expensive as you may think either, it can usually be added to your Home and Contents insurance, so keep it in mind.

Our major sponsor Shanahan Swaffield Partners’ good mates Gordon and Dylan at Insureright Risk Management can help you with this if you’re keen. They even offer cover for when you’re out riding anywhere in Australia and NZ and also while it’s locked in a public place.

It also has coverage for GPS Cycle Computers and accessories, Damage in Transit and Public Liability.

Sweet!

GET IN TOUCH WITH INSURERIGHT AND SSP HERE