Very sad story and experience for you Andy. I ride my bike every day & the 2 wheel friend becomes an integral part of daily life, for you to have it stolen by some low life scum bag is a very sad reflection on the society we live in. Thank you for sharing this unfortunate ending to your trip and to make other bike owners aware of train bicycle theft
Funny how they have CCTV and make the point that we're being watched. However, when stuff like this happens..why do they not say, don't worry, we have it on film!?!?🤔
Please let me know how we I can make a contribution for a replacement. I guess others would be keen to help too. It would be a small thank you for all the wonderful entertainment, education and fun you have given.
RU-vid popped your video in my homepage, I’m very sorry to hear about your bike being stolen and all the knock on impacts for you in so many ways. It seems a fair few RU-vidrs have “buy me a coffee” links which I presume is a way for others to donate so maybe a lot of smaller donations adds up and could help others including me contribute to putting your world to rights? Sometimes our upsetting experiences lead us down new paths we may not have otherwise found, I hope your new paths are amazing.
Hi Andy when i did NC500 I sat in the vestibule all the way from stowmarket suffolk to Inverness with my pal and one of us kept an eye on the bikes all the way. The TM asked many times for us to take seats but we sad no thanks.
Sorry to hear this Andy, some people will never get to appreciate the bond and investment that can build up with stuff we use and enjoy regularly, but their penalty is everyday they wakeup and they are the sad little loser they've always been. Germany 2022, sat on the actual rail that the bikes fit in a carriage half dedicated for bikes, a gang of three came on at a local station and even though I was sitting right there they made no bones they were going to have my and my missus bikes. My solution was to go into one of my panniers by his hand which was now actually holding my rear rack ! and retrieved my Kryptonite shackle readying myself for a fight, they got the message, any deterrent is simply better than no deterrent, they want it as easy as possible you see.
Thank you for this video, Andy. I've started regularly going from London to Suffolk with my brand new Brompton, which up to now I've never locked up ( although I do try to keep it in sight, but of course i can' see it when I'm visiting the loo). I will make point of taking a lock with me every time, so you've probably saved me a lot of anguish!
Andy, I'm really sorry to hear about this. A bike is a very personal thing and it is an affront to feel that someone can just walk away with it. I take my bike on trains and I always lock it and remove everything from the bike - panniers, computer etc. I never take advantage of the reserved seat which can often be quite a distance from the bike storage area. I will stand where I can see the bike and wait for a seat to become available next to the bike storage area. That way I can turn and watch what happens at each station. If need be I'll stand in the vestibule for the whole journey. It doesn't always make for a relaxing journey, especially on Cross Country trains! None of the above will help right now but I hope you do get 'back on the bike' again. I can quite appreciate why you don't feel ready yet and also to edit your footage of your trip. I have been away on holiday and was looking forward to watching your northern Thankful village tour on my return so was very upset for you when I went online. Your Adventures are 100% worth continuing and when you are ready to think about getting a replacement bike, Thorn/SJS in Bridgwater are still selling (I think) the 26'' derailleur tourer - 'Sherpa'. I have 3 Thorns and one of them is the 26'' XTC (forerunner) to the Sherpa. It is superb at the sorts of routes and surfaces that you did on your Caribou. Might be worth a look at some point? Thanks for sharing your experience. I'm in awe how calm you appear when recounting your story! Best wishes, Huw
Thanks so much for sharing your story. I always assumed I was being over cautious checking my bike when not distracted. Shall certainly be more careful now.
Some cyclists I knew went off to France on a cycling holiday. They got a TGV from Paris to Nice, all had high value touring bikes. At Nice the bikes were gone. The train was so long and their seating was many carriages away, 1000's of pounds in bikes never to be seen again. Its always the same, never leave it out of sight, even when locked.
Bad news for your friends - holiday totally spoiled, as well as the hassle it causes. I've always been told you can't take bikes on the TV (Eurostar have various conditions too) so I was surprised to read your tale.
😮@@andrewnorris5415Thanks for that info Andrew. TGV and Eurostar seem to have similar rules. I'm assuming that using slower, regional services to pick your way across country requires less planning and dismantling.
A real bummer that, feel for you. Not just the loss of the bike but also the tour and the bad feeling. Will take heed now to lock bike when train travelling. Here in Portugal where I live the inter city trains automatically reserve the 'bike seat' for you when you book, which is next to the bike hanger inside the newer carriages seating area or next to the glass door so you can see your bike in the vestibule area in the older ones.
I think most of us have lost a bike at some point time, its a bastard. You will probably find your bike at a migrant hotel trashed, rather than looking for it for sale. It took me a lot of time before I invested in another good bike, as I thought whats the point. I have now and like you "I've learnt never take my eyes of it"... Thanks for post and putting the information out there.
Very sorry to learn about this loss, Andy. The audax community is very large and your bike is quite unusual: there's a reasonable chance that someone may spot it. I've seldom use trains with my bike and thought that bikes were not to be locked when on them. Your advice, however, is very sound and if/when I do use a train again in future I will be locking up my bike. Look forward to the videos of your latest trip when they become available
Oh, no, so sorry to hear this, Andy. I often take my bike on the train, and i will certainly be locking it in future. I really hope you manage to get it back 🙏
Your video came up in my RU-vid feed and I watched it. Sorry to hear that you have had to experience this. It never ceases to amaze me how entitled thieves think they are to other people’s property. I’ve not ridden my bikes for a really long time, thinking about getting back on it. I remember around 15 years ago, my lovely saddle and seat post, with front and rear lights were stolen off of my bike - it’s such a violating feeling. I’ve never travelled by train with a bike, so this is an eye opener for me. Hope you’re able to get past this loss.
Sorry to hear this Andy and thanks for posting in case as you said, it prevents others from experiencing the same horrible experience. I had a nice touring bike stolen many years ago. I wasn't on tour at the time just shopping in town but it's still a kick in the guts. I hope you are back and enjoying your adventures again soon.
Sad news Andy. I already lock my bike when its been on a train , but you've convinced me to get a tracker and fix on my bike now. Hope it all works out for you and we get to see the tour when you're ready 🙂
Very sorry to hear about your bike being stolen and appreciate you raising awareness of what can happen when taking bikes on trains. I hope you find it. If it's any use for the future, I've fitted an apple baggage tag to my bike - in the hope I can locate it if stolen.
I’m so so sorry to hear this. I live near Bristol Parkway and always go by train with my bike (don’t have a car). Like you always assured it is safe. Back at n Jan I had my bike stolen in town and so far six months without any transport so I know how you feel. I’m picking up my new bike by train in August and will definitely make sure it is locked. Again so so sorry you have had to go through this 😢
As I said elsewhere Andy, I'm so sorry this happened to you.... I have thought a lot about my bike being stolen and as I don't expect to stop a professional thief, I just use a frame lock and cable. I have an Apple tag on it, but I'd expect a professional thief will have a scanner to find it, however if someone just dumps it somewhere it could help track it down.
I was on an LNER Kings X to Newcastle a couple of weeks ago. I was getting up to check before every stop then at Newark I think it was the train manager told me he was locking the bike storage to stop any thieves. Possibly worth checking in with the TM to see if this is an option when travelling with your bike.
Thank you for posting, very informative and useful, it must be horrible. I intend to take my bike on the train this summer and will now take more precautions than I had intended. Is it possible to take a seat facing where the bike was racked?
So sorry to hear this Andy, I once had 3 bikes stolen from home. Worse for it to happen on tour. There was a situation in Manchester a few years ago where a man was kicked off his bike and robbed of it, on reporting to the police nothing was done. He needed an ambulance and it turned out 10 people had suffered the same fate over a matter of weeks.
That's awful Terry. I haven't 'liked' this comment as a heart doesn't seem right somehow. It has shocked me though. Thanks for sharing. All the best, Andy
@@andysadventures3910 hoping that doesn’t make you feel worse about the situation. For every one of these thieves there are a hundred decent people and you bring a smile to many of our faces. Hope to see you on the road again soon. If you fancy trying something different I have an ebike that you could borrow. It’s suitable for a little tour
To be fair Manchester police will be to busy dealing with investigations against them, regarding incompetence. There seems to have been something on the news every 12 months for years.
So sorry to hear this Andy. Any contribution I can make to help with another tourer let me know. I take my bike on a train regularly. I will kick mine in future. Like you I’ve always thought they were safe. Who would steal a bike from a train? Now I know differently. Your gut reactions about how it happened are probably spot on. Take care and I hope you’re back in action pretty soon. Julia
One idea would be to purchase an alarmed lock . They have motion sensors inside and if someone tries to snatch a bicycle the alarm is activated. The alarmed lock probably wouldn't go off from the train's movement but just when someone handles the bicycle or bicycle lock .
So sorry to hear your news, just awful. I know if I lost mine it'd upset me and make me angry in equal measure. I deliberately don't clean mine very often with the hope that being dirty and not valuable or high tech the thieves won't be tempted. I have never locked it up on a train but do if it's left outside a store or I'm visiting a church. I'll heed your advice from now on. I hope it hasn't completely spoilt your trip. Reading the nice comments and offers of help you realise that there are more nice people than bad in this world; Feeling your loss mate and hoping you sort out a replacement.
Emotionally very painful when someone steals your bike. We cyclists bond with our bikes and when we lose our two wheeler it can be devastating. I just ride around a medium sized city on my hybrid bike and I have an expensive U-lock, tough cable lock and a remote motion sensor alarm. But most importantly I always use the U-Lock and I sit inside or outside of the coffee shops where I can always see it and am never more than five seconds away from it. That’s my policy because as a kid someone stole my beautiful bike and I promised myself I wouldn’t allow that to happen ever again. All you can do is buy another bike and be sure it’s safe wherever you go. Don’t rely on locks. Keeping your bike in your line of sight at all times is best. Even took my bike in a public restroom in a park a few times as I didn’t have time to lock it and wouldn’t have been able to see it. That’s how obsessed with bike security I am. Try to get back to being your happy and energetic self again right away. At least you are safe and sound. You’ve grieved and now let it fade away.
So sorry to hear about you having your bike stolen a lot of evil bad opportunistic people out there i hope somehow you get it returned safely all the best ...colin 🚴♂️.
I have a couple of folding bikes which I regularly take on the London Underground and National Rail but I have never experienced any problems. Both bikes are registered with Bike Register and they have the stickers prominently displayed on the frames. I also have an invisible security code sprayed on to the bikes that shows up under an ultra violet light. I guess another thing you can do is fit an Android or Apple tracking device to your bikes and secrete inside the frame.
I feel you pain Andy, it's as much the memories you have with it. With a different hat on you will get a crime reference number but will take a few days, everything you add any complexity increases the time, it will be trialed and allocated, least wags that's devon and cornwall. It does appear one of the easier crimes to commit, and to solve, like you say even with a photo of a suspect you then need to work out who it is and where they live, let alone where the bike is.
Sadly bike theft is now becoming an epidemic in this country right now the police dont seem to take it seriously . Even of you get CCTV images inless theyre crystal clear studio quality which is very unlikely to happen you'll just be told the images wernt clear enough, so they're virtually useless. Even locked theyre not safe, my almost new Raleigh urban bike was stolen by two chavs last month it was locked but they forced the lock, so I share your despair, unfortunately a very very small proportion of victims ever see their bikes again. We'll just have to learn any lessons and try to prevent in future 🙁
I know how you feel. I had two bikes stolen one was found by someone who was looking at pic of stolen bikes. It’s worth posting a pic. Even when it was returned it never felt the same. It always felt different and I could never get idea of someone else riding it out of my mind. I love watching your adventures. You include us like we were there.
Know how you feel. I got robbed on a cycle tour while in a bothy by a young lad. We chatted and slept in the bothy. He robbed by brand new stove, an expensive base layer, brand new head torch, reflective layer, gas canister. I right confidence trickster and liar. Took me a while to get my head round it. Time heals though. Funny thing was I said I had not used them on the trip! And he stole them. I guess he was thinking of me lol. Anyway. Worse for you with your bike. Did you take panniers off? Appreciate the heads up, often use Manchester stations. Will be extra careful!
Was it the Caribou? I can set up a search online on various platforms (marketplace, gumtree) etc. There are not many Caribou's out there and it will be hard to pass on.
An awful experience all round. I hope you get backnon 2 wheel quickly. Sadly, it seems like it's getting to the point that you have to expect a bike to get nicked, and plan accordingly. I.e. Buy an entry level bicycle without much resale value, so thieves are less interested. Spend some of what you save on VERY good insurance, so you can replace what you lose. And always use a lock. Live long and keep pedalling!
And luggage, never leave luggage in the racks at the end of the carriages, only if you can actually see them from your seat. Thieves will target them at any bust intermediate stop, especially York, Newcastle etc
I’m very sorry to hear about what happened on the train. Many years ago I had a dropped handlebar 10 speed bike stolen from the side of my house. It was double locked. I was devastated about it being stolen. I contacted the police and they came to my house. And basically said that you’re not going to get it back. They advised me to go and buy a new bike and keep it inside the house. Fortunately I had a kitchen at the back of the house and in the kitchen was a door that went under the stairs. The only way to get to work was having a bike. I hope that you can get another bike and keep it locked and if possible out of sight. I do feel your frustration and pain. I’m 72 and last September purchased a Eskuta 250 series iii. Which is Electric. I keep it locked in a shed. All the best my friend. Ron from South Derbyshire. Which is hilly.
The bike can’t be really moved while the train is moving..I always get up and look to make sure it’s there at every stop and that knowbodie is going to lift it off when the train reaches a stop .
Don't beat yourself up. There are scumbags everywhere now. Losing a bike is an awful experience as my first brompton was stolen in London from outside London University's Senate House in 2006 while I was inside at my Master's graduation ceremony I was NOT allowed to take it in with me. A Kryptonite D-lock was as good as cheese as the thieves used a Bic Biro to open it. The CCTV camera watching directly over it at the main entrance was conveniently NOT working. The building security just shrugged their shoulders and directed me to BTP who were useless. But I did get a crime number. At the time I had house insurance so claimed on that and fortunately got a replacement one quite quickly. But the theft of it hurt as I had been all over France, the Pyrenees on it and rode everywhere on it and I was very attached to it. Was there any CCTV on the train? I thought there was on all trains now. Request any footage. I never sit away from my bikes on transport and have locked them in the past, but I haven't taken a full sized bike on a train for many many years. Forget the police they are bloody useless. What was your bike, make and model? Pictures would help. ATB.
hi Andy sorry about your bike getting stolen , you say you are sorted for a bike? if not I have a Dawes galaxy for sale on face book , its med/ large 23 1/2 " frame , I am 5' 9" , you can have it for free if things dont work out on the other one, regards David.
this video is about Andy's bike been stolen. Why are half the people in the comments bragging about themselves and their bikes been stolen. Cop on and stop bragging about yourselves, focus on Andys bike
Hello Andy, what a horible story. I saw your video just by chance, glad that I did. I'm hoping to cycle down to The Lizard, and then on to Penzance, and return by train. You've done such a wonderful and positive thing by making this video, because it has made me think about the safety for my bike. Thanks so much. My first idea was to lash out on a really strong lock, but may be a simpler idea is to remove the front wheel and keep it with me when I'm sat on the train. Surely these idiots woudn't steal a bike with one wheel? In the meantime, keep your dignity and values. You're a better person than those idiots. Look forward to some new trips on your next two wheeled friend! Take care, Simon.
Come on you can’t expect the police to look for the bike they’re too busy pulling down England flags and catching people going 1 MPH over the speed limit
Tragic, I lost a few as a student in Edinburgh…..however I didn’t lose one travelling north to Edinburgh via Carstairs. Bike was in the guards van at the end of the train, but it changed direction!
Hi Andy , sorry to hear about bike loss. I work on the railways and use them also for Bikepacking trips and I have never locked my bike, but that will change. Unfortunately the trains carry all walks of life and some not so good. Seems like this was a chancer who just grabbed it on his way off, sadly I doubt you will see it again. I am a mate of Ian who emailed you, and like him I can offer a few items to help build up a new bike if needed. I have various bits and pieces that could be possibly used free of charge. My email is in my bio Andy . Atb Dave
Sorry to hear your bike was stolen Andy, but you should be covered on your House Insurance up to a certain amount. But you need to pester the police for a crime reference number for a claim
