Post Bike-Theft Trauma

So my actual bike theft happened a while back - better part of two years I think - but that hasn't lessened my annoyance. It hasn't lessened the whiplash-inducing head wrench that I engage in every time someone goes by on an even remotely similar bike. I've now moved across the country, and I still spin my head.

Let me back up a little so this all makes sense. A few months after I moved to Baltimore (call it March of 2006) my Trek 930 Singletrack (green/black/green, outfitted as a commuter bike and tweaked over a year of travel back and forth across the Oakland hills) was stolen out of my pick-up. It was my own fault since a camper shell isn't all that protective, but I was still irked at whoever did it. I made a brief tour of the closer pawn shops just in case, but mountain bikes are popular transport for the unlicensed pharmaceutical industry in Baltimore so I didn't have much hope. From that point on I took a look at every bike I saw going by to see if it was mine. For as long as I've been a serious commuter I've had swivel-head for bikes passing me by. After my bike was stolen I became obsessed. Any mountain bike got scoped out, if it was green I would stare.

I've now moved from Baltimore to California, there is no way my bike made the same trip, but I still find myself hunting for it. That being the case I've decided that I'm suffering from the bike-theft equivalent of PTSD, I just need a better name for it. Any ideas?

Cut and paste

This is a direct cut/paste from the Baltimore Spokes daily email newsletter. If you live or ride in the Baltimore area you will probably be interested.

Title: Assault while riding?
Author: The human car
Date: Tuesday, September 23 2008 @ 02:25 PM EDT

Part of the City's Bike Master Plan we are trying to track incidents. If you have been assaulted while riding if you could email the following information to the City's Bike/Ped Planner "Evans, Nate" <Nate.Evans@baltimorecity.gov>:

Date of assault:
Time of assault:
# Of Assailants:
If the bike was stolen:
Owner's name:
Street Location:
If police report was filed:

Thanks for your assistance in helping make Baltimore a better place to live.

I will also note feel free to contribute a story here on Baltimore Spokes. Our mission is to help promote biking in the city, whether its problems to be fixed or sharing positive experiences, whatever it is we are all part of a community that is out to help one another.

Read the full article at http://www.baltimorespokes.org/article.php?story=20080923142506744