GSA Stolen On The First Day of Tour nr Reims
- Thread starter PembsGSA
- Start date
Yep, I wasn’t wrong.
The apartment £37 per night*. It would’ve been cheaper and safer to spend £10 per night on a safe and secure campsite.
*once again, nothing wrong with a cheap apartment if you are on the budget. Nor is it Olivier’ fault that the bloke whose bike was stolen, was a bit chilled out about leaving it unattended. So I am not knocking Oliver’ business. I am sure that should the bloke had arrived on food or by Uber he would’ve had a great time enjoying his stay.
Just make sure you know where you are and what and whom surround you.
The apartment £37 per night*. It would’ve been cheaper and safer to spend £10 per night on a safe and secure campsite.
*once again, nothing wrong with a cheap apartment if you are on the budget. Nor is it Olivier’ fault that the bloke whose bike was stolen, was a bit chilled out about leaving it unattended. So I am not knocking Oliver’ business. I am sure that should the bloke had arrived on food or by Uber he would’ve had a great time enjoying his stay.
Just make sure you know where you are and what and whom surround you.
We stayed in Reims on our way to Mandello 3 years back . The hotel had private parking, a prefab garage with a dodgy door off a courtyard but you needed a code to access that from the road. As we were on the LeMans, I was paranoid about it, and had a disc lock on the front wheel and a chain through the rear wheel and over the saddle.
(The GS has a steering lock, keyless, tracker and I put a disc lock on that too - so far so good)
We liked Reims. Hotel was pricy but comfortable, the cathedral is worth a gander, strolled around town, found a couple of nice bars and a decent restaurant, and the weather was kind. Recommended.
(The GS has a steering lock, keyless, tracker and I put a disc lock on that too - so far so good)
We liked Reims. Hotel was pricy but comfortable, the cathedral is worth a gander, strolled around town, found a couple of nice bars and a decent restaurant, and the weather was kind. Recommended.
Is it me, or does he come over as being a bit dim ?
Why would anyone think it’s the job of his bike insurer to get him home.
Why would anyone think it’s the job of his bike insurer to get him home.
Spot on.
I got lazy in Covid and lockdown. Then I gave myself a kick up the arse. I don’t think you need to go mad. Carting a bloody great chain around, is next to useless if the bike is only chained to itself. That said, even a simple chain is better than nothing at all.
Whether he had any security at all, we may never know and, in truth, it doesn’t really matter, as the bike is gone. Thankfully, a half decent insurer won’t judge him and a penny to a pound, says his ‘Rip off’ insurance will now look like the bargain of the century.
One thing though that might have helped him is a decent quality tracker. Too late for that though, apparently. Let’s hope he hadn’t declared that a ‘Rip off’ and decided to save the money.
Likewise. Bike parked at the Akena Reims Hotel, everything locked up. Tram in to town, mooch around, bit of a grub in the main square and a drink, then trammed it back. Hotel gate was shut, so used code provided to enter the premises, bike was where I left it. No complaints, would stay again. Bike was still where I left it the following morning.
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Then again, I left my Neotec lid, my mesh rukka jacket, ant bikes steering unlocked as well as no lock fitted. On recent trip to France, but it was in the small medieval town, mostly visited by families and OAPs, whilst we were having a lunch 0.5 of a kilometre away. I wouldn’t have done same on the outskirts of Reims. In fact I would’ve been sat coiffing up my lunch atop of my awesome steed.
Most insurers pay to put you back in a position you were before the claim. Unless it is specifically excluded (or the bod saved a tenner by deliberately not selecting the cover) he may well get a hire car, to continue his jaunt and / or to get himself back home.
At a push, he might even get a hire bike, especially if he bought ‘business’ insurance and declared his ‘business’ as motorbike film maker extraordinaire. That’s French, by the way.
My first call after reporting it to the police, and insurance would be to my travel insurance Co. It’s them I would expect to help me get back.
Whilst I’d agree that chaining it to something immovable would be an improvement, I don’t think it’s useless. Removing a chain takes time and makes a noise, so they’re better to simply move on the an unprotected victim.
If they’re turning up mob handed with a van & two lengths of scaffold pole, then most, if not all bets are off.
I’m in two minds as to location. I tend to try to park in a private parking space to which the great unwashed do not have access, but of course, if a scrote can get in, then he (or indeed, she) may proceed in their nefarious activities largely unobserved.
I think I’ll keep doing it, as it seems better than leaving the trusty steed in plain view of all & sundry on the public highway, particularly unsecured, and possibly with the keys in.
“There’s our bikes…. We’ll probably move them closer”. If he’d kept looking he’d have video’d the deed. Or ripped a curtain pole from the wall and set about ‘em.
To his mate: “Have you got a lock?” which might suggest that, when they went out to see the empty space, the bikes were not locked.
It’s an easy mistake to make, we’ve all done it. Get off the bike, walk into the hotel / digs / accommodation, faff about signing in, getting into the room, lob the luggage in the corner…. Make a video of your life…. And plan to ride into town that evening for dinner…. Twenty minutes or so goes by…. Bingo, bike gone.
I might imagine the thief or thieves watched them walk into the Air B&B and knew that even if they came straight out, they’d probably have a minute or so to nick the bike. “But I was only gone a minute…” is the usual cry. Next time, make it 30 seconds, mate. You might just be lucky.
To his mate: “Have you got a lock?” which might suggest that, when they went out to see the empty space, the bikes were not locked.
It’s an easy mistake to make, we’ve all done it. Get off the bike, walk into the hotel / digs / accommodation, faff about signing in, getting into the room, lob the luggage in the corner…. Make a video of your life…. And plan to ride into town that evening for dinner…. Twenty minutes or so goes by…. Bingo, bike gone.
I might imagine the thief or thieves watched them walk into the Air B&B and knew that even if they came straight out, they’d probably have a minute or so to nick the bike. “But I was only gone a minute…” is the usual cry. Next time, make it 30 seconds, mate. You might just be lucky.
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Roadlock (mounted on my front caliper) is all I take. I have taken a great big chain with me in the past. It was to heavy and due to the nature of where I was staying overnight, it largely wasn’t used. You can’t remove Roadlock without a key, you will have to make a mess of the bike with the angle grinder to take it off without the key. The only way the bike would disappear, if it got lifted into the back of a van. But then again I do not nor wouldn’t dream leaving it in places like those in the video.
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Doc better chain Jayne to the Indian tonight!
Oh... that reads a bit dodgy too!
Oh... that reads a bit dodgy too!
They don’t bother to remove the chain. They lift the bike and chain into a van and it’s gone.
They won’t even be too fussy if the bike goes onto its side in the van, as they’ll probably break it up for parts anyway or give it a false identity. Leave it in a back street or field for a day or so, to see if it’s got a tracker and, job done.
Hopefully a lock and tracker will feature.
Only the English say “ Reems “
Just like we say KiEV
“It is an Englishman’s right, to pronounce foreign words, much as he pleases”.
Winston Churchill
PS How do YOU pronounce Paris? As it is spelt or all twee, like Pareee?
No one takes out travel insurance if they are biking only if flying to the Costa del Spain
Quite right just as we drink shampain“It is an Englishman’s right, to pronounce foreign words, much as he pleases”.
Winston Churchill
PS How do YOU pronounce Paris? As it is spelt or all twee, like Pareee?
Aah, sorry. I didn’t know. I better cancel my policy immediately
