Now you see it, now you don't, now you see it!

Okay... here's that story I briefly mentioned yesterday. Radhika got 25% of the way to work Monday morning when she called me to say her tire was flat. I took the pump and rode the other bike to where she was. I couldn't get air in the tire, so she took the "good" bike to work and I walked the "bad" bike to the local bike shop. So as you may know, I am using a borrowed bike until I get one to replace mine which was stolen earlier in the year. Vikram, a GE colleague of R's and my tennis partner had an extra bike that I have been using. I used his bike that morning to go over to R's dentist office to get copies of her x-rays for a 2nd opinion she was getting. I locked Vikrams bike back up when I returned where I normally do. I left the apartment around 2pm Monday to drive to a camera store, passing the locked bike as I went to the car parked around the corner on PC Hoofstraat. Ninety minutes later I returned, parked the car, and as I came up on the apartment building noticed the bike and BOTH locks gone! Stolen in broad daylight! Now the irony of this is the bike was being returned to Vikram at 5pm or so that day, as we were to play tennis and I would leave it with him. Radhika had bought a bike she liked better then the one we brought over from the US from a GE co-worker a week or so ago, so we technicall had 3 bikes...her old one, her new one, and Vikrams. So, I would ride her old one until I got one that I liked after returning Vikrams'back to him. I had been in possession of his bike for at least 2 months if not longer, and it being stolen just hours before I was returning it was just unbelievable! So, I emailed Vikram who was at work, told him the tale, and he basically said "Shit happens" and to not worry about it. We, of course, intended to compensate for his loss. He seemed "skeptical" at first, because he had a very heavy duty chain on the bike. He thought maybe the authorities had removed it thinking I had locked it to a road sign or other location where it's not allowed to do so. But it was secured to our private, apartment building. In the meantime, I went to the bike shop around 5:30 when they told me it would be ready. I paid, and then drove to a bike store to look at locks to get another one. I bought one and when I came out I found the front tire on R's bike flat again!! So I walked it back over to the shop where they said they would fix it for free (no kidding!) and it would be ready when they opened at 9 the next morning. Fast forward to Tuesday morning. I describe where the bike shop is to Radhika, but she hems and haws about going. After 18 years of "exposure", I translate this behavior to mean she wants me to go with her. She also "fesses up" and asks me, but I had already used my "husband filter" to decode what she wanted (in this case...I haven't perfected it yet and don't expect I ever will...but that's where some of the excitement comes from!). So, she wants to walk to the bike shop using a certain route, but I say the route I use will be shorter. We take my route. As we near the shop, I spy a bike 3 feet to my left that is locked near a tree that looks a lot like Vikram's. Something like holyfu%kingshit comes out of my mouth as I realize IT IS the very bike that was stolen 19 hours earlier!!!! Disbelief, joy, anger, tension... yeah I'm feeling it all! Seeing as how it was to be a quick walk to the shop, I left my cellphone at the apartment that had the police number in it from when they told me if I were to ever find my bike that was stolen months ago to not confront the possessor of the bike, physically assault them, or steal the bike back, but to call them immediately. Radhika, of course, does not have the police number programmed in her phone. Luckily I ask a passerby and he gives the equivalent of 9-1-1. We call it and they send someone out. In the meantime I call Vikram, tell him what has happened, and to get here as soon as possible to ID his bike. The police get there 60 seconds before Vikram does. He 100% identifies the bike to the cops, but they say they can do nothing! Even if he had serial numbers and a purchase receipt, they still can't do anything! This discussion went on for a while, but ultimately they said to "steal it back" but only after they leave!! I was later told that one has to get the person in possession of the bike to sign a statement indicating that they are not the owners of the bike!!! And you thought the US had the monopoly on stupid laws?! So, the cops leave. I run to the bike shop to see if they have bolt cutters and can tell me where to buy them. No real help there so I went back to the bike. R had to get to work, so they stayed there while I went back to the apartment to get my cellphone. Once there, I noticed Vincent (our landlord) had left a hacksaw on our stairs as I had asked to borrow one about a week ago. PERFECT TIMING!! I went back and cut off the lock and brought the bike back to the apartment (inside and upstairs off the street!). Vikram used a piece of paper and lipstick from Radhika to let the person/possible thief know that it was stolen Monday and was stolen back on Tuesday. He stuck it to the pole the bike was locked to with chewing gum. A little closure for him, I guess! Anyway, we played tennis that afternoon. The bike is safely back in his possession, and we are thinking of methods to use to keep our bikes nearby and safe from any further thievery. You see.... Hollywood hasn't cornered the market on happy endings (or Thailand). We can have them too in Amsterdam!