Key Conundrum
(Locked bicycle on my street: Glasgow, Scotland)
I spotted this odd arrangement last week; basically, it is a bicycle locked to the railings accompanied with a sign reading,
“PLEASE !
Phone me (and leave your number)
Or just unlock my bike.
I NEED IT”
Now, I’m not entirely sure what this means. By all accounts, the situation appears to involve a person leaving their bike unlocked outside and another person, instead of stealing it (as often occurs) has used a lock to clamp the other person’s bike wheel. Why that would occur I have no idea. However, the note is quite cryptic and it’s unclear as to whether the bicycle had a lock and somebody has stolen the key, or the lock was provided by this mysterious beneficiary, but without the matching key. It is positively baffling. I am almost unreasonably tempted to call the number and find out the full story, but I’d venture that would infuriate the poor cyclist even more.
These are the most glorious things I enjoy finding in cities, the bizarre notes left by people concerning their effects. I always wonder who they are and how the situation has arisen, and especially, what prompts them to write a note or poster in the first place. One day, I should love to collect all these notes and signs into a small book and map them with dates and locations, but perhaps they are of interest only to those who like to have their beaky noses in other people’s business – I find it all intensely interesting.
Just a quick one today; I’ve hardly had a second to myself between being companion to mother, collecting 48 bottled beers from a brewery, as well as a vacuum cleaner, bombing off in a taxi, creating several OxFem posters, running out of printer ink, sending mother to the shop for some more, going back to the shop to exchange an incorrect ink cartridge (not mother’s fault), sending my mum to the train station, carrying said beers and vacuum up the stairs to my flat, attending a final two hour meeting with the other volunteers and having a one on one choir rehearsal. It’s been just one of those days. Anyway, you might not hear from me for a day or so – I’m busy again. Next time there’s news, I shall be down in Carlisle at the weekend.
– Today is the day of the mighty OxFem, but not before I spend the day with my Gran in Glasgow, UK –
what about the padlock on the spokes? weird.
Oh! You’re so naïve that it is almost adorable.
Bicycle thieves lock bicycles they want to steal with their own locks so that the owners do not have a choice but to leave their bicycle where they parked it overnight. This will allow the bicycle thief to return later, when it is less conspicuous to use big cutting tools to remove the bicycle’s original lock. If this happens to your bicycle, rush out and buy another bigger and heavier lock and a baseball bat. Lock your bicycle with the bigger and heavier lock and hide nearby with your baseball bat and wait for the bicycle thief to return…
In this particular case, they may have chosen a dud.