Should’ve Been Astuter With Astuto

Someone stole my Astuto bike and I’m feeling pretty lousy about it.

The bike was special because a lot of people showed me kindness and generousity so I could build it up from scratch.

I should have kept her inside the house, but we simply don’t have the room. I thought she was covered by insurance, too, but it turns out not to be the case because the bike was not taken from inside the home.

Apart from the benevolence I received, the bike also promised to help me rejoin the cycling community.

I was once an avid and highly active cyclist, but over the past few years, arthritis has robbed my grip strength and braking is precarious.

The Astuto had disc brakes tuned to work on a feather touch, and being able to brake easily again raised the prospects of riding in groups for the first time since probably 2021.

I only finished her build last autumn, registered her with the police in January and rode her to work for the last time earlier this month. I had started building her around the end of 2023.

I’m praying that we’ll be reunited. It’s not the first time I’ve had a bike stolen. I still vividly remember the last time, and that was in 1983, as well as the theft of a motorcycle in 1995.

I don’t fancy my chances of letting this slide as easily as my mind tells me that it would be in my best interests to do so.

I tell you what, though, hundreds of people online have rallied around to help, which has been an enormous filip.

I may have been unlucky to lose a bicycle, but I was reminded again of how extremely fortunate I am to be embraced by the people and community I have around me.