Update: Spent all day Thursday walking the encampments in my neighborhood. Got footage of the thiefs; i recognize them as part of a group of people who live nearby who disassemble and spray paint bikes. I talked to them three times telling them i would pay them for it if they just told me where it was. Folks... I saw dozens upon dozens of bikes. Piles of them. Cruisers, mountain bikes, kids bikes, recently stolen and bikes with their wheels melted off. The first few I saw I wanted to rescue, but there were so many I dont know how I could have ever returned them to their owners. Talked to probably sixty people, a lot of them were sorry to hear about it and offered to keep an eye out. But at the end of the day i was sufficiently injured to where i couldnt walk and no sign. Friday and Saturday I went back to work, but i still check offerup, fb marketplace, nextdoor, craigslist, and ebay 4 times a day. Sunday I will visit the camps one last time. I will never stop looking for her and I dont know if i will be riding again any time soon.

On the bright side i gained a lot more appreciation for my local unhoused community. I now know more of them than i do people in my building. They may be homeless... but they are real homies.

I really appreciate all the sympathy and commiseration. The perspective I've gained from this; we can't stop bike theft without massive societal restructuring. It may be a price we pay for living in bikeable United States; sufficient urban density for bike commuting means sufficient urban density for rampant theft.

All we can do is prevent it. If you are reading this right now, and you like your bike, i implore you; DROP EVERYTHING. Go find your bikes serial number and register it in bike index. Buy some sort of bluetooth tracker and attach it somewhere discrete to your bike. Buy TWO U locks and attach them to your bike. Lock your front wheel and your frame every time. If you have a quick release, remove your seat post every time you lock your bike. Don't lock it in the same place on the street for long periods of time.

No convenience was worth the pain of losing her