Dear Bike Thief,
I have no idea what your motivations were. Well, that's not entirely true, I have my own speculations fueled by anger and frustration that, I'll be honest, don't really give you the benefit of the doubt. Although, seeing as I'm the wronged party here, I'll go ahead and enjoy myself with the speculation.
I'm writing you because I think what bothers me the most about this situation is that to you, the thief, the thing you took is just a bike; an object, a means of transportation, and/or some quick cash. To me it was much more and this fact is something that I don't believe you'll ever fully understand.
Let me give you some background.
First, the practical stuff. The bike was originally purchased at a Sportcheck for $400 and it was a birthday present from my parents who wanted to support my efforts to incorporate the development of some healthy habits. Recently, after storing the bike for the winter, I dropped $350, or so, on it to get it back into working order: new brake & gear cables, new rear wheel, new chain, and a full tuneup.
Now, for the more personal stuff. When I was growing up I was never particularly athletic but there was one class in Jr. High gym that I actually kind of enjoyed as was fairly decent at: The Mountain Biking Unit. Our gym teacher would take us around the city's bike trails during gym class and I seemed to always find myself near the front, enjoying the experience, and always wanting to go faster. That is, until, the cool kids noticed this fact and my investment and decided to make fun of me, effectively closing off any further development of this budding interest in mountain biking.
Fast forward until about three years ago when I found myself moving to the neighborhood of Crescent Heights and realizing that this particular neighborhood offered easy access to some very nice bike paths that would take me straight to work. So, with this new information in mind, I headed to my parents place to pick up my bike (you know, the one you stole) which, had spent the first two years of it's life with me collecting dust in either my parents garage or my building's parkade. In my defense, biking to work just wasn't a practical option for my during that time given any development that might have given me the confidence to find a way to make it work, was stunted all those years ago in Jr. High Gym Class. Damn cool kids, why can't you just let people like things...
Anyways, I dusted off my bike and began riding it to work on a daily basis. This, on it's own, was a nice treat; no stress from driving the morning or evening rush hour, no being crammed into an either too hot or too cold C-Train, and no 40 minute walking commute. My biking commute to work was 15 minutes along the beautiful Bow River Pathway. My biking commute home from work forced me to deal with the Centre Street Hill which was, as you might imagine, initially very daunting and intimidating. However, after a few weeks of dealing with that incline I began to get used too it and it soon just became part of the ride home; which was a nice little personal accomplishment.
Then something started to happen. I started craving more interesting trails. The descent down the hill in the mornings became invigorating. I began to want more. I began to reacquaint myself with that feeling I had lost in Jr. High; that feeling of liking something and being half-decent at it. I began to pursue more interesting trails around Calgary, incorporating longer routes to, or from, work as my daily exercise routine. Once it became apparent that the Calgary Commuter Bike Paths would only ever be so interesting I began working out at the Eau Claire YMCA, which was an easy stop between my home and work, and looking into actual Mountain Bike Trails. Not long after looking into this I embarked on a quick camping trip with a best friend to Tunnel Mountain with the intention to tackle some Mountain Trails.
I only ever managed that one trip after rekindling my interest in Mountain Biking but I was resolved to finally, really pursue this interest. I began researching Mountain Biking techniques on Youtube, began familiarizing myself with the culture, and starting to get a sense of the skills I would need to develop for next season. My workouts at the Gym became much more than a daily exercise routine, now I was thinking about what I would need to do to be able to handle the Mountain Trails more effectively. My gym attendance has always been a hard habit for me to establish but I kept trying and this was, for the most part, because of my interest in Mountain Biking that my bike (again, the one you stole) helped reignite.
And this is what you stole. What really bothers me about all this.
You stole a symbol of a personal interest that I didn't know I was still connected too. You stole something that was helping me live healthier or, at least, work towards a healthier lifestyle. You stole something that I was connecting too. You stole something I cared about. It was so much more than just a bike to me.
I needed you to know that.
Sincerely,
Joseph McGuire
P.S. You suck.
