Love her, lock her up and be happy if you see her again
Oh, Byron. You are beautiful and when the sun shines, everyone smiles and warmth radiates out of your core. You attract so many different people with your immense energy: lost souls, surfaholics, backpackers, yogis, hedonists, spiritualists, and everything in between.
But unfortunately you also attract some bad people. People who think nothing of cutting apart a chain and lock, bundling yet another bike into the back of a truck and then trying to make a quick sale further up the coast.
The police are polite and take details but don’t expect to see the bikes again. It’s sad to hear how common it is to get cycles stolen. One girl I chatted to was onto her fourth bike in three months.
And then there’s the case of my bike helmet. Why steal a helmet from next to a bike with a baby seat? Where’s your conscience? My friends, the owners of the bike and helmet were understanding, but it soured my feelings towards you a little. Broke some of the trust.
And my friend Julie. She loved her set of wheels. I mean really adored them. Her bike wasn’t a fancy thing. In all honesty, it was a bit of an old and battered city cruiser but she found it to be beautiful. And she relied on it to get her to work every day. And then one night, some of your bad citizens snuck out whilst she worked her second job of the day and whisked her beautiful bike far away, leaving Julie stranded at midnight, six kilometres from home. Feel good?
Ah, Byron. Whilst I like so much about you, I am holding back from letting myself be fully seduced. I have loved cycling your paths every day and really appreciate the respect given to cyclists on the road. Maybe your bad sides help to accentuate your positives, but seriously, do you really want to make more people like Julie sad and frustrated? Thought not.
travelola 
That’s mad. If they’re stolen with THAT much regularity, why aren’t the thieves getting targeted by the police and caught? It would be cheap/easy to leave alluring bikes covered by covert CCTV. Or chip them so they can be tracked. Being on a peninsular one imagines most end up in vehicles leaving on the Pacific Highway. So you’d only need 1 police car in either direction to pick them up. And if you’re having a crackdown, simply seize and destroy their trucks, then see how keen they are to steal them. Or is it not worth the effort? Discuss :-p
I don’t know… maybe they do do regular crackdowns on bike crime… in February the police focus was on ‘vanpacking’ – people who rock up into Byron having hired/bought a van who park anywhere, bring their own food, litter the place with rubbish and empty beer bottles, and contribute very little to the community and local economy. Real pity because it spoils it for the good van people out there.
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