Apologies to anyone reading this on a free software planet. If you don’t live in the South UK then this is likely of zero interest. Skip it.
Travelling on the 17:03 First Great Western Train out of Gatwick heading to Reading, I got off at Farnborough North station without my bike. Someone had taken it off already. It was quite a busy train and like an idiot I didn’t keep my eye on it.
The train Stopped at Reigate, Redhill, Dorking Deepdene, Guildford, Ash and North Camp. So it must have been taken by someone getting off at one of those stations. If you know anyone who recently came into a Black Brompton with silver trim, let me know. There is a sticker on the side for East Street Cycles (where I bought it), and it has a metal right non-folding pedal rather than the usual plastic one.
I’m a bit stuck and considerably out of pocket without it.
Update: I have been contacted by the police who have requested the CCTV footage from the train company.
11 Comments
I hope police to catch the thief. You should be more careful in those trains , there are lots of criminals out there .
I hope you get it back .
I hope they catch them.
I hope they lock them up… (by now the likelihood has hit rock bottom)
That would be British Transport Police? Any news of the CCTV? I should very much cocoa. Like so much else to do with the detection of crime that afflicts ordinary people, its function in practice is largely cosmetic.
This issue (bike theft on trains) & yours in particular, has just been revived by a friend of yours linking to this on the Brompton Users’ Yahoo group. Which is what brought me here.
My Brompton was stolen couple of months back. Not surprised to find the Met are even less interested than if your car is stolen or your burgled (the two crimes against property that afflict most people). Far too busy polishing their helicopters & keeping their eyes skinned for Brazilian electricians – and, of course, generating blizzards of obfuscatory press releases. Any reason to believe the Transport Police are any different? Just wondering.
Nothing for months. They called me up a couple of times and started the conversation with “as you know” and ended asking me if I wanted more updates. I explained to them that I didn’t know anything about what they told me I “know”, and requested more updates. Not had any since.
What a bummer. I read your blog for the open source stuff, but I’m a cyclist, too. That sucks.
Jason
I hope you can get it back, somehow.
I think is time to buy another bike…
That sucks! I hope you get it or another one back. I’m waiting for my first Brompton to be built and delivered. Your story makes me realized that not only will it be easier for me to carry it around when folded, but easier for others to walk away with.
Cheers.
I do have the serial numbers, yes, and so do the police.
booooo. )-: I presume you know its number and have been scanning ebay?
Bad news. Hope it gets recovered.
I’m slightly amazed to hear the cops are actually requesting he CCTV footage, nice to know that in some parts of the country they do get off their arses and do something, and not just mark crimes as unsolved 10 minutes after opening them as has happened to me in the past!
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