Gone to a happy home. Maybe.

My first thought was that senility had kicked in prematurely. That I had simply forgotten where I left it.

Returning to my appointed municipally-provided bike rack, courtesy of no less than the City of San Francisco, even the least observant would have remarked that BikeCamâ„¢ was not in its appointed place.

Nah!, thought I. Must be on the wrong block. But, no, Market and Fremont. I’m sure that’s where I left it. Then I looked closer. And this is all that was left of BikeCamâ„¢:

The remains of BikeCam

Yes, my bike had been pinched. A pro with wire cutters had done his thing on my admittedly limp locking cable and made off with it, leaving me with a long trek to the Caltrain station and another from my destination to home on the Peninsula.

Now the rational reaction would be four letter words in abundance, a red face, and general street performance. But all you could see on my face was a smile of joy. You see, BikeCamâ„¢ had delivered me to the location of no more than 2,000+ ‘keepers’ over the past two years in the City, and at that rate with its all in cost of $100, I reckoned that 5 cents a snap was a really good deal. Kodachrome and TriX cost more back in the day. I had truly realized value. Anger would have been the meanest expression of ingratitude and, let’s face it, the bike had gone to a needier home.

Still, by the time I had made the trek back to the Caltrain on Shanks’s Pony and then added a like trek at the other end, I was feeling a tad less forgiving. Then I loaded up today’s ‘roll’ into Lightroom and all was sweetness and light.

All snapped on the Panasonic G3 with the kit lens.

So, Mr. Thief With Wire Cutters, enjoy my bike and I hope you take some good pictures using it.

But the former owner of BikeCam is prepared. (For the lawyers reading this, bikes are like bearer bonds. Ownership and possession are synonymous). Like with most things, he has a back up, and BikeCamâ„¢.BAK will be in service soon. The cobwebs are coming off, new tires are on order, a gel saddle to soothe the nether regions, and BikeCam will soon be in business.

And I’m just on my fourth. That model for all us bicycling street snappers, Bill Cunningham, is on Number 27 ….

I managed to order two new smooth road tires using the iPhone on my (bikeless) trip home and just installed these on the back-up bike, and old Giant made in Korea. I recycled the knobblies which are awfully unstable on roads and sidewalks, waste energy owing to high rolling resistance and are noisy to boot. I bought this bike well used from a cycle tour operator in San Diego some 13 years ago and now it will see action again. A gel saddle is on order and all should be sweetness and light soon.

The massive lock visible on the downtube came with it and I even found the key! This one has a steel frame rather than the alloy one on the Raleigh predecessor, which experts assure me absorbs shocks better at the expense of added weight, and has no front shocks meaning less energy wasted. Or so I tell myself. And it even has a CatEye cyclometer so I can record the miles ridden up to the point it’s stolen.

You can’t keep us cyclists off the bike for long!

BikeCamâ„¢ is back.