Our Bikes Stolen – What We Learnt

After a day trip, we returned to our caravan park in Midland, Perth, to find our bike locks cut with bolt cutters and our beautiful mountain bikes stolen. Further investigation revealed that they had probably been taken from the back of our caravan while we were sleeping. Unfortunately we hadn’t noticed their absence in the morning.

This was of course a very unpleasant surprise. However, our shock and sadness deepened when we contacted our insurance company and realized that our bikes were drastically under-insured for their value.

So that others can learn from our mistake, the only cover we had in these circumstances was Unspecified Contents Away from Home Insurance, with a maximum claim amount of $1,000 per annum with a $100 excess.

We were in a tricky situation. This happened on Thursday and we were due to travel north on Saturday. Derek wanted to act quickly to get one new bike (we couldn’t afford two), as he felt that Perth was the best place for us to get a suitable replacement.

Friday was a crazy day of visiting four Perth bike shops and phoning several others. We also attended the Midland Police Station to give our statement.

We had intended to buy another Giant. However, as we both prefer Large size frames, we found that our choice was a bit limited. In the end we came away with a beautiful Scott Spark (“Sparky”) at a very good price from TBE (The Bicycle Entrepeneur) at Osborne Park. I want to also thank Midland Cycles for their excellent advice.

Bikes Stolen - Sparky on her inaugural adventure at Jurien Bay WA
Sparky on her inaugural adventure at Jurien Bay WA

Hoping to reduce our chances of being raided again, we bought a Giant Surelock Protector featuring a 14mm ultra hardened steel bar.

If thieves want to steal the frame of the new bike, they will need to come with some serious high tensile steel cutting equipment. Unfortunately the wheels will still be vulnerable to a bolt-cutter attack.

If you ride a lot, there’s a lot of sadness, as well as anger, in losing a bike this way. It’s like losing an old friend. These two bikes had been with us on all our recent travels, in Victoria,

Bikes Stolen - on the Lilydale to Warburton Rail Trail
My bike “Wanda” on the Lilydale to Warburton Rail Trail VIC

South Australia

Bikes Stolen - Cape Bauer Loop
Wanda on the Cape Bauer Loop SA
Bikes Stolen - Derek on his bike on the Little Para Trails SA
Derek on his bike on the Little Para Trails SA

and Western Australia.

Bikes Stolen - I borrowed Derek's bike to ride the Old Timberline Trail WA
I borrowed Derek’s bike to ride the Old Timberline Trail WA

I guess it is a blessing that the bike that I completed the Mawson Trail on is still sitting safely at home.

Bikes stolen - at least this one is still home in the garage

Lessons Learnt the Hard Way

So in summary, what we have learnt is

  1. While it may not be practical to carry around a heavy Giant Surelock Protector lock when you are out riding your bike, it is advisable to use one when the bike is locked up to the caravan.
  2. We have insured the new bike as a Specified Item under our Contents Away from Home Insurance to its full value. Because the risk is high, this insurance is not cheap, but it was less than 10 % per annum of the value of the bike. Well worth it in our travelling situation.
  3. Lastly, when your bike is stolen, it’s like losing an old friend. You lose a tangible connection with the memories of the places you have visited. Having said that, I am grateful that we have been able to buy a good quality replacement bike.

Time now to cycle on and start making some new memories with “Sparky”. Hopefully Sparky will have a friend in the not too distant future!

16 thoughts on “Our Bikes Stolen – What We Learnt”

  1. Best of luck in your future journeys and may the new memories you make on your cycling journeys be as wonderful as the past ones….. 😁

  2. Oh Helen…so sorry this happened in our state 🙁 Could have been much worse I suppose especially if they came during the night like the rotten thieves they were….So onward and upward and starting new adventures with a new friend! Best of luck to you both and keep on writing..all the best…Sonia

  3. Good luck with the new bike and give it some amazing adventures.
    Lucky the buggers didn’t do anything to your van.
    Travel safely, enjoy 😊🚴🏻‍♀️

  5. I feel for you Helen. When living in Sydney I went down to the undercover car park at work to find my bike gone. It’s an awful feeling even though I wasn’t as attached to that bike as you are to your old friend.

    Theft of bikes has occurred in caravan parks we stay at. This is one reason why I take a Brompton away on our caravan trips. It can be locked away in the car or van BUT it just won’t tackle MTB tracks with it’s 16″ wheels!

    I bet Sparky will give you a boost though.

  6. Beautifully written story, I have learned something about cycling… becoming attached to your ” friend”.

  7. I’m sorry to hear this news Helen. That’s a terrible thing to experience. Bikes bring such wonderful memories. I hope you’ll create many new ones with Sparky. Best wishes, Gail.

  8. Hi Helen I stumbled over your posts by accident and so glad I did! Great reading and full of good advice and images ! Im going to try out the O’keefe track, looks good . Sorry about your bikes being stolen ..not good. Im going back now to read more of your posts…thanks again 😊

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