On Thu, 12 Aug 2021 17:52:27 -0000 (UTC), Mark Olson
<olsonm@tiny.invalid> wrote:

>Hows about I create a diversion in the lobby when you're ready to
>wheel the bike through to the lifts? I'll just go into loud obnoxious
>American mode.
>
>You'll be on your own on the way out, though.

LOL!
--
Champ
neal at champ dot org dot uk

I don't know, but I been told
You never slow down, you never grow old

YTC#1 <bdporter@ytc1-removespam.co.uk> wrote:
> On 12/08/2021 18:52, Mark Olson wrote:

>> Hows about I create a diversion in the lobby when you're ready to
>> wheel the bike through to the lifts? I'll just go into loud obnoxious
>> American mode.
>
> Lift ! In a Premier Inn, you'll be lucky.

https://i.imgur.com/Bj1eLOp.png

Not that it matters to the admittedly weak attempt at humor, but it
does appear that they have at least one lift.

--
FJR1300A, GL1000, KLR650A6F, EX250J9A, DR200SE, Vespa Ciao

In article <djnahg1sjqsav79sm0d6q0iuvsfsgbnsi5@4ax.com>, Champ says...
>
> On Thu, 12 Aug 2021 09:36:11 +0100, Eddie <eddie@deguello.org> wrote:
>
> >Google Maps suggests the car park does exist:
> >https://goo.gl/maps/Swm3RnLALxn1drmp7
>
> uh huh
>
> >... and it has its own website:
> >https://www.stnicssutton.co.uk/parking/
>
> Ooh, useful.
>
> <reads>
>
> Damn. Doesn't open til 7:30am. I probably need to be on the road by
> 6:30ish, cos I need to be in Gloucester by 8:30
> Curses

Afraid of a bit of speed biker boi?

On 12/08/2021 23:29, Mark Olson wrote:
> YTC#1 <bdporter@ytc1-removespam.co.uk> wrote:
>> On 12/08/2021 18:52, Mark Olson wrote:
>
>>> Hows about I create a diversion in the lobby when you're ready to
>>> wheel the bike through to the lifts? I'll just go into loud obnoxious
>>> American mode.
>>
>> Lift ! In a Premier Inn, you'll be lucky.
>
> https://i.imgur.com/Bj1eLOp.png
>
> Not that it matters to the admittedly weak attempt at humor, but it
> does appear that they have at least one lift.
>

Oooh, posh one.

--
Bruce Porter
"The internet is a huge and diverse community but mainly friendly"
http://ytc1.blogspot.co.uk/
There *is* an alternative! http://www.openoffice.org/

On Thu, 12 Aug 2021 10:13:27 +0200, Ace <Ace@ch.com> wrote:

>On Thu, 12 Aug 2021 00:39:23 +0100, Mike Fleming <mike@tauzero.co.uk>
>wrote:
>
>
>>Honda CB400T (recovered)
>
>That's very sad.
>
>The fact that it was recovered, I mean. I guess even bike thieves have
>_some_ standards.

Harsh, man.

--

-Pip

On Wed, 11 Aug 2021 21:22:02 +0100, YTC#1
<bdporter@ytc1-removespam.co.uk> wrote:

>I do tend to not park the bikes overnight in such places, and chose
>hotels accordingly (if only I had thought more about my Monday parking).
>And I have shite bikes that no one with a sane mind would pinch.

The only bike I ever had stolen was a slightly foxed CB250RS

--

-Pip

On 14/08/2021 11:42, Pipl wrote:
> On Thu, 12 Aug 2021 10:13:27 +0200, Ace <Ace@ch.com> wrote:
>
>> On Thu, 12 Aug 2021 00:39:23 +0100, Mike Fleming <mike@tauzero.co.uk>
>> wrote:
>>
>>
>>> Honda CB400T (recovered)
>>
>> That's very sad.
>>
>> The fact that it was recovered, I mean. I guess even bike thieves have
>> _some_ standards.
>
> Harsh, man.
>

Makes me feel the Peg wasn't so bad after all.

--
Bruce Porter
"The internet is a huge and diverse community but mainly friendly"
http://ytc1.blogspot.co.uk/
There *is* an alternative! http://www.openoffice.org/

Mark Olson wibbled:

> I'm still amazed at how much bike (and other) theft you lot have to
> put up with.

Funnily enough, AONTL. And I rarely lock my bike with a chain in Paris
(I tend to use the steering lock only).
> I'd ask who here has never had a bike stolen, but sod's law and
> all that.

+1

--
Cab
Z1000 and CB1300 and VeloSolex 3800

On Fri, 3 Sep 2021 11:02:56 +0000, "Cab" <me@privacy.net> wrote:

>Mark Olson wibbled:
>
>> I'm still amazed at how much bike (and other) theft you lot have to
>> put up with.
>
>Funnily enough, AONTL. And I rarely lock my bike with a chain in Paris
>(I tend to use the steering lock only).

I honestly think it takes some time of not living in the UK before you
really get a perspective of just how bad it is there. We used to just
take it for granted, for instance, that any bicycle left at a railway
station for the day would stand about a 50% chance of not being there
when you got back.

Yes, scousland may be worse than most areas. I had both my SL125 and
then my XT500 nicked when I was at nautical college up there. The
latter was found abandoned with a broken steering lock half a mile
away, as there was no petrol in it, the former probably ended up in
the Mersey.

But theft across the country is considered as something to be
expected, which is frankly shameful. Not sure what the answer is,
apart from moving out of the country.

--
Ace
http://www.chaletbeauroc.com/

On Friday, 3 September 2021 at 12:33:44 UTC+1, Ace wrote:
>
> But theft across the country is considered as something to be
> expected, which is frankly shameful. Not sure what the answer is,
> apart from moving out of the country.

Small chance of being caught.
No effective penalty regardless of how many times you are caught.

Easily rectified but nobody of influence wants it done ergo...
--
Hog
2020 SD-R '89 R100RS '96 Bastard12
BOB#5 OSOS#31 COFF#22 BOTAFOT#122

On 03/09/2021 12:02, Cab wrote:
> Mark Olson wibbled:
>
>> I'm still amazed at how much bike (and other) theft you lot have to
>> put up with.
>
> Funnily enough, AONTL. And I rarely lock my bike with a chain in Paris
> (I tend to use the steering lock only).

Same here, in many places around the world.
And then one day the steering lock is not good enough.

>
>> I'd ask who here has never had a bike stolen, but sod's law and
>> all that.
>
> +1
>

--
Bruce Porter
"The internet is a huge and diverse community but mainly friendly"
http://ytc1.blogspot.co.uk/
There *is* an alternative! http://www.openoffice.org/

On Fri, 3 Sep 2021 04:54:57 -0700 (PDT), Hog <york996@gmail.com>
wrote:

>On Friday, 3 September 2021 at 12:33:44 UTC+1, Ace wrote:
>>
>> But theft across the country is considered as something to be
>> expected, which is frankly shameful. Not sure what the answer is,
>> apart from moving out of the country.
>
>Small chance of being caught.
>No effective penalty regardless of how many times you are caught.
>
>Easily rectified but nobody of influence wants it done ergo...

<sniffs> Naah, stinky bait.

--
Ace
http://www.chaletbeauroc.com/

On 9/3/2021 4:33 AM, Ace wrote:
>
> But theft across the country is considered as something to be
> expected, which is frankly shameful. Not sure what the answer is,
> apart from moving out of the country.
>
Set a trap. Kidnap the perp. Take him/them to a secure hideout. Tattoo
"THIEF" across the forehead. Cut off all 10 fingers. Take a blowtorch to
the eyeballs. Release him/them in some desolate place.

--
The erstwhile Thomas
FJR1300, R1200GS, ST1100 (in memoriam)

Ace wrote:

> I honestly think it takes some time of not living in the UK before you
> really get a perspective of just how bad it is there. We used to just
> take it for granted, for instance, that any bicycle left at a railway
> station for the day would stand about a 50% chance of not being there
> when you got back.

I'm not so sure about that - I used to cycle to work regularly and
locked my bike at work (Brighton railway station - plenty of junkies
here looking for quick cash), it was a Condor so emminently nickable
and I never lost it.

Same for motorbikes. I accept that in highly populated country with a
wide gap between haves and have nots crime is going to be higher than
perhaps Switzerland and in many areas much higher than others but I
don't think it's quite anarchy, yet.

There are real areas of poverty and unnecessary deprivation, lack of
maintenance due to council budgets being slashed lends an air of
menance.

However, I use public transport at all hours, I frequent ropey parts of
towns, go to run down areas [1], dodgy pubs but I've never been fearful
of being mugged or worse. Propositioned, yes [2].

The real crime is the casualisation and precariousness of low paid
work, that to make ends meet you need to take multiple jobs or work
outside the formal economy - housing costs rapidly outstripping wages.
The dearth of a safety net and the removal of social services for the
vulnerable.

Ten years of this is it any wonder the place looks shit, but a crime
ridden hell hole a la the Daily Mail - not in my experience.

[1] Cleethorpes - even the pawn brokers are closed and boarded up.
[2] Worksop - four suited middle aged blokes in a hire car, about
midday. We were asked if we wanted business by two teenage girls.

--
Simon

Hog wibbled:

> > But theft across the country is considered as something to be
> > expected, which is frankly shameful. Not sure what the answer is,
> > apart from moving out of the country.
>
> Small chance of being caught.
> No effective penalty regardless of how many times you are caught.
>
> Easily rectified but nobody of influence wants it done ergo...

OK, I'll bite. What makes you think it's better elsewhere? When I had
the scumbag come into my house and nick my laptop/phone last Feb,
FrogPlod did bugger all. I had video and picture proof. Hell, I even
found the fucker on Facebook.

In August this year, I got a letter saying that they weren't pursuing
it.

--
Cab
Z1000 and CB1300 and VeloSolex 3800

On 3 Sep 2021 12:12:51 GMT, "sweller" <sweller@mztech.fsnet.co.uk>
wrote:

>Ace wrote:
>
>> I honestly think it takes some time of not living in the UK before you
>> really get a perspective of just how bad it is there. We used to just
>> take it for granted, for instance, that any bicycle left at a railway
>> station for the day would stand about a 50% chance of not being there
>> when you got back.
>
>I'm not so sure about that - I used to cycle to work regularly and
>locked my bike at work (Brighton railway station - plenty of junkies
>here looking for quick cash), it was a Condor so emminently nickable
>and I never lost it.

Well, TBF I was specifically thinking of Milton Keynes, which has
quite a few low-end housing estates close to the centre, and the
physical layout of the place probably made it easier for the lowlife
to strike.

>However, I use public transport at all hours, I frequent ropey parts of
>towns, go to run down areas [1], dodgy pubs but I've never been fearful
>of being mugged or worse. Propositioned, yes [2].

I recall when I first moved to Basel being surprised at the attitude
to late-night travel. As in, it would never have occured to anyone,
old or young, male or female, _not_ to take the last bus home at one
on the morning if they'd stayed out that late. They honestly didn't
understand why one would even ask the question.

I'm not saying that Crime doesn't exist in Switzerland, although TBF
most Swiss people will attribute it to foreigners anyway, but the
levels thereof, and the resulting attitude towards personal and
property safety, is so far removed from the UK it's difficult to
really appreciate without getting used to it and then visiting the
UK again.

It's not just a recent thing, either. I don't think it's really got
that much worse since I was a kid - I was mugged for pocket money or
bike lamps several times over the years, on the way back from scouts
or choir practice, and had a fair few bikes nicked over the years too.
Nor was the attitude of police any different - a shrug of the
shoulders and a "what did you expect" attitude was the norm even back
then.
--
Ace
http://www.chaletbeauroc.com/

On Friday, 3 September 2021 at 12:58:39 UTC+1, Ace wrote:
> On Fri, 3 Sep 2021 04:54:57 -0700 (PDT), Hog <yor...@gmail.com>
> wrote:
> >On Friday, 3 September 2021 at 12:33:44 UTC+1, Ace wrote:
> >>
> >> But theft across the country is considered as something to be
> >> expected, which is frankly shameful. Not sure what the answer is,
> >> apart from moving out of the country.
> >
> >Small chance of being caught.
> >No effective penalty regardless of how many times you are caught.
> >
> >Easily rectified but nobody of influence wants it done ergo...
> <sniffs> Naah, stinky bait.

It's a statement of fact and a guarantee that it will not change. Sadly, also in Dublin not just England.

Be why vigilante groups spring up, for both motorcycle and bicycle theft. Bad as the former may be, the latter is off the scale. At least it is practical to carry serious security clobber on a motorcycle.
Every decent motorcycle needs a tracker/movement alarm, but I don't think that many bikes are stolen out and about if they are wearing a 13mm+ Almax/Pragmasis chain and some worthwhile form of D-Lock.

When my 1290 GT was in for service marking on the rear wheel and pragmasis chain was pointed out. Sure enough, you could tell that croppers had been applied, but to no great effect. So it's worthwhile.
--
Hog
2020 SD-R '89 R100RS '96 Bastard12
BOB#5 OSOS#31 COFF#22 BOTAFOT#122

On Friday, 3 September 2021 at 13:20:24 UTC+1, Cab wrote:
> Hog wibbled:
> > > But theft across the country is considered as something to be
> > > expected, which is frankly shameful. Not sure what the answer is,
> > > apart from moving out of the country.
> >
> > Small chance of being caught.
> > No effective penalty regardless of how many times you are caught.
> >
> > Easily rectified but nobody of influence wants it done ergo...
> OK, I'll bite. What makes you think it's better elsewhere? When I had
> the scumbag come into my house and nick my laptop/phone last Feb,
> FrogPlod did bugger all. I had video and picture proof. Hell, I even
> found the fucker on Facebook.
>
> In August this year, I got a letter saying that they weren't pursuing
> it.

What are you biting? I haven't assumed it is only England and Dublin.
I'd be surprised if areas of Paris were any different, particularly as stolen vehicles En Continent don't have to be Containerised/shipped (as some are).
--
Hog
2020 SD-R '89 R100RS '96 Bastard12
BOB#5 OSOS#31 COFF#22 BOTAFOT#122

On Friday, 3 September 2021 at 13:30:31 UTC+1, Ace wrote:

> I recall when I first moved to Basel being surprised at the attitude
> to late-night travel. As in, it would never have occured to anyone,
> old or young, male or female, _not_ to take the last bus home at one
> on the morning if they'd stayed out that late. They honestly didn't
> understand why one would even ask the question.

I spent a couple of weeks wandering the streets of Basel at night. It is indeed most civilised.
Still wouldn't want to actually live there, mind.
--
Hog
2020 SD-R '89 R100RS '96 Bastard12
BOB#5 OSOS#31 COFF#22 BOTAFOT#122

On Friday, 3 September 2021 at 13:11:53 UTC+1, Turby wrote:
> On 9/3/2021 4:33 AM, Ace wrote:
> >
> > But theft across the country is considered as something to be
> > expected, which is frankly shameful. Not sure what the answer is,
> > apart from moving out of the country.
> >
> Set a trap. Kidnap the perp. Take him/them to a secure hideout. Tattoo
> "THIEF" across the forehead. Cut off all 10 fingers. Take a blowtorch to
> the eyeballs. Release him/them in some desolate place.

Only a retired gentleman could conceive of investing so much time in recreational retribution :o)
--
Hog
2020 SD-R '89 R100RS '96 Bastard12
BOB#5 OSOS#31 COFF#22 BOTAFOT#122

On 03/09/2021 20:44 Hog penned these words:
> On Friday, 3 September 2021 at 13:30:31 UTC+1, Ace wrote:
>
>> I recall when I first moved to Basel being surprised at the attitude
>> to late-night travel. As in, it would never have occured to anyone,
>> old or young, male or female, _not_ to take the last bus home at one
>> on the morning if they'd stayed out that late. They honestly didn't
>> understand why one would even ask the question.
>
> I spent a couple of weeks wandering the streets of Basel at night. It is indeed most civilised.
> Still wouldn't want to actually live there, mind.

I remember a French colleague being horrified that I used the metro at night to
go back from the bars. There were some weird and wonderful characters but it
never felt dodgy. I did along with the same colleague end up mugged in Toulon.

--
Ian

"Man will never be free until the last king is strangled with the entrails of
the last priest"

On 03/09/2021 20:11 Turby penned these words:
> On 9/3/2021 4:33 AM, Ace wrote:
>>
>> But theft across the country is considered as something to be
>> expected, which is frankly shameful. Not sure what the answer is,
>> apart from moving out of the country.
>>
> Set a trap. Kidnap the perp. Take him/them to a secure hideout. Tattoo
> "THIEF" across the forehead. Cut off all 10 fingers. Take a blowtorch to
> the eyeballs. Release him/them in some desolate place.

Bit lenient but I suppose if it is a first offence you have to be.

--
Ian

"Man will never be free until the last king is strangled with the entrails of
the last priest"

On Friday, 3 September 2021 at 13:11:53 UTC+1, Turby wrote:
> On 9/3/2021 4:33 AM, Ace wrote:
> >
> > But theft across the country is considered as something to be
> > expected, which is frankly shameful. Not sure what the answer is,
> > apart from moving out of the country.
> >
> Set a trap. Kidnap the perp. Take him/them to a secure hideout. Tattoo
> "THIEF" across the forehead. Cut off all 10 fingers. Take a blowtorch to
> the eyeballs. Release him/them in some desolate place.

You've given up pot for amphetamines?

On Fri, 3 Sep 2021 05:32:35 -0700 (PDT), Hog <york996@gmail.com>
wrote:

>On Friday, 3 September 2021 at 12:58:39 UTC+1, Ace wrote:
>> On Fri, 3 Sep 2021 04:54:57 -0700 (PDT), Hog <yor...@gmail.com>
>> wrote:

>> >Small chance of being caught.
>> >No effective penalty regardless of how many times you are caught.
>> >
>> >Easily rectified but nobody of influence wants it done ergo...
>> <sniffs> Naah, stinky bait.
>
>It's a statement of fact and a guarantee that it will not change. Sadly, also in Dublin not just England.

It's your "easily rectified" that's nonsense. Bring back hanging to
tackle knife and gun crime, anyone?

--
Ace
http://www.chaletbeauroc.com/

On Fri, 3 Sep 2021 05:44:52 -0700 (PDT), Hog <york996@gmail.com>
wrote:

>On Friday, 3 September 2021 at 13:30:31 UTC+1, Ace wrote:
>
>> I recall when I first moved to Basel being surprised at the attitude
>> to late-night travel. As in, it would never have occured to anyone,
>> old or young, male or female, _not_ to take the last bus home at one
>> on the morning if they'd stayed out that late. They honestly didn't
>> understand why one would even ask the question.
>
>I spent a couple of weeks wandering the streets of Basel at night. It is indeed most civilised.
>Still wouldn't want to actually live there, mind.

Worked there for 15+ years, but living in a house 25km away. We had a
crashpad in town for 10 years or so, for the occasional night out.

TBH I wouldn't want to live in any city, but as cities go it's not
half bad. Certainly preferable to any sizeable town I can think of in
the UK.
--
Ace
http://www.chaletbeauroc.com/