FEAR! Leaving loaded bike outside.

[amino]

OK I'm going on my first trip and it will be solo.  Like most, I have my fear of leaving my biked locked up somewhere and coming out to find a bag or all bags missing!  I'm a seasoned non-bike traveler around the world, but obviously you don't ususally have to leave your pack unattended like the bike.  Any advice or solace?  PS this first trip will be in Canada, which I know is generally safe, but....

[jillmcin]

It is a challenge, I think, to decide when and where
to leave a loaded bike. In small towns, I do not lock
the bike, as everyone knows everyone else. Most
tourists I know take their small (handlebar) bar with
all their valuables into the store with them. In towns
that are large enough to have a real supermarket, as
opposed to a little grocery store, I am more cautious.
If anyone out front is selling Girl Scout cookies,
etc, they can be asked to watch while you are gone.  I
have also had good luck asking at the fire station or
the police dept if they would watch. What a thief will
go for, as stated above, is the quick and valuable
stuff: wallet, camera, tickets.  Trust me, no body
wants our smelly socks!

[TheDaltonBoys]

On my sojourns I have taken my bicycle lock with me....and have not had to use it. Trust your instincts...you can sense more than you give yourself credit for without being paranoid. Every person just about, that I've ever read about who had some fears of their first trip usually wrote afterward of finding the best of people everywhere. Enjoy the voyage....Mark of the Dalton Boys

[Styx]

Take two cable locks with you. One a normal sized
one with a combination type lock and a smaller-lighter
one also with a combination lock. Use the second to
weave inside your crank arms.... will be an extra link to trip up a thief and will usually be over looked.
I would also recommend buying a bunch of small locks all keyed the same to lock up the panniers.

Relying on someone in the area to be on look-out for
a thief is just fool hardy. They can be distracted or
even leave the area w/o notice. And they could also be
in on a possible crack at your bike or equipment. Bike
thieves tend to be very brazen and can strike very quickly. Even in small towns I have been asked in an
all to inquisitive manner how expensive my bike and/or
equipment was....... of course the best answer is they are just some old used stuff and you wish you could afford better.

[pmspirito]

I always lock up my 'bent everywhere i go. At night if i am camping i run a cable lock thru both wheels and another locks the frame and all to something immoveable. Hotels/motels i always take the bike up to the room even in the elevator.
The panniers are locked to the bike and the "carry bag" I take with me.


best wishes from the back of the pack,  Peter & Judy Spirito

[jeek]

I was in small towns and national parks in Canada, Montana and Wyoming and never felt there was real risk of being ripped off. Nevertheless, I didnt leave my bike out of site for more than a few moments and it really was no trouble. I took the bike inside larger stores, or when there were more than a few people around outside, and made a point to park it by the cashier who would note who it belonged to. If I did leave it outside I took my handlebar bag with me. I have to report that a rider I met had had his valuable stolen from his handlebar bag in the few minutes he went inside a store, in Radium Hotsprings, BC.
 

I personally never felt paranoid or anxious about the matter because the atmosphere was generally reassuring and it seemed unlikely that those I saw would be interested in my panniers.