The bicycle kidnappes

As I mentioned before, a bicycle in Holland is an obligatory item. Every statistic citizen of this country has at least one bike. Bicycle stores and the ones with bicycle parts are a very lucrative business, while prices of some of the models reaches even over a thousand euros. It's also one of most popular targets of the thieves.

According to Dutch Statistics Office (CBS) in 2010 police received 105.000 notifications about stolen bicycles. That's a lot if you realize that many people just don't report about the theft to the police, because chances for getting their bicycle back are hmmm... low. Especially if the bike was one of most popular models, just like our omafiets and didn't have any characteristic or unusual details... well, let's be realists. And that is how we joined the club of robbed tonight. Our bike got stolen :(

After some deliberation and consultation Maurice decided to report it the the police. Not because we believe we're gonna get our bike back, but because of the fact, that if your bicycle was stolen and you report it, after a month if the police still didn't find it, you can buy one of the abandoned ones they store. And it's quite cheap... even 50 Euros. For the Dutch standards it's a very reasonable price for a good quality. This time, were're also gonna buy a solid chain with big lock and we hope, that we're not gonna be robbed again. 

To cheer up... Sometimes the owners get back their losts. I lately read an optimistic story about a woman from Utrecht, whos bicycle was stolen in 2001. She reported that fact to the police and they found it... after 10 years. A bit late, but still!