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I've been reading on portland.craigslist.org about all of the bikes that have recently been stolen in portland. It makes me really worried. Has there been an increase in bike theft, or am I just noticing it more?

I had a bike stolen once, about 6 years ago. I had a car at the time as well, and just saw the bike as a secondary mode of transportation which I did not take advantage of enough, so the loss did not bother very much at the time. However, now that I've moved to portland and switched to a bicycle-oriented lifestyle, it bothers me much more.

I'm wondering if just a U-lock is enough. Maybe I should get a kryptonite chain. If I were to loose Paco (my current bicycle) I would be devestated.

My bicycle is my closest friend. He is a mechanical extention of myself. He is a part of my soul. I am my bicycle.

I really shouldn't worry about it, my bicycle has not been stolen, however, I am tempted to end this sentence with... yet. In this city, it seems like it really is just a matter of time.

On a positive bike-related note, I helped fix up my neighbor's bike today. He bought it at the goodwill bins for super cheap, and then took it apart to paint it, but couldn't get it back together. It took me about an hour, but I figured out exactly how many pieces he's missing on it (three: two nuts and a bolt) and tomorrow it will be ridable. horray!

Lisa has a bike very similar to his that is broken. They're both internal three-gear shifters, which are an enigma to me. However, I might have learned enough from fixing Josh's to get Lisa's in working order. Rock on!