A salutary lesson here for all those getting an e-bike (or any bike) at Christmas. In one of my previous efforts, I mentioned one of the negatives of a bike – that of having it stolen. Well, that happened to me again and this time it was my electric one. People who don’t own a bike fail to understand the shock to the system of having your two-wheels stolen. You become attached to it and the theft is an attack on your persona.

As a keen Shakespearian fan, I was heading into the Smock Alley theatre to see a one-woman show about the Bard not being the person we think he is, but somebody totally different. I don’t normally bring my e-bike into town for short journeys, but was forced to bring it as I could not repair a puncture in time. I should have parked it off-street in Dublin City offices on Fishamble Street, but was under time pressure, and left it locked outside the Civic Offices on Wood Quay. I did take the computer off the handlebars, which means the bike could not be cycled in e-mode. Therefore it was a great shock when I left the theatre to just see the bike gone with the cut lock lying on the ground. The back wheel was immobilised, but didn’t stop the robbery. At least I had my An Taisce friend Muireann with me to help soften the blow. We had to trudge to the nearest Garda station Bridewell to report the loss. We were told this was not the station that covered the robbery site, so it was off to Kevin Street. Having to walk home emphasises the loss of your bike. Unfortunately nothing ever turned up about the loss of the bike. Given that the bike could not be used with electric power, I thought it might have been abandoned on a Dublin street. However, a search of the area revealed nothing.

I contacted my e-bike shop, whom I bought my e-bike from, enquiring about a second-hand e-bike replacement, but there does not seem to be a market yet in electric bikes. I told them to contact me if any customer was trading up and therefore had an e-bike for sale. So, it was pleasing to get a call sometime later, that a customer had indeed left his old e-bike with them at no cost. For €900 – the proceeds of the insurance claim on the stolen bike – I was given a similar and 2-years newer Bosch e-bike with a new battery and puncture-resistant wheels. I was given a heavy chain lock as extra security. So I landed on my feet after the original shock!

It’s great to be back on an e-bike, but lessons have been learned. I need to be very careful where I bring it and how I lock it. I could take the battery with me as further security against theft. I will continue to only use it for longer journeys.

My message is that bike robberies can be minimised and that the benefits of cycling still heavily outweigh the negatives!

My story shows the circular economy in action (in a roundabout way!) - try and keep the environment in mind when shopping at Christmas. In this regard why not give An Taisce membership as an excellent Christmas gift?

Eric Conroy