How's this for a retirement plan?

Step one: go to www.43bikes.com

Step two: be jealous.

This website was started by a bike mechanic from Tucson, Arizona, who goes by the name of "Mookie" to showcase his 43-strong bicycle collection. Currently, Mookie makes his residence in Boulder, Colorado.

Staff pick: the Bowden Spacelander (1960, reissued 1997).

"Mookie" makes an honest effort to ride all of this bikes, when they're not in storage. Otherwise, he "reluctantly" sells them, but his latest project has been to find space for display of the "Mookenheim Bicycle Collection", which has been in progress for pretty much his entire life.

When asked "Why 43?", Mookie replies, "it's my favorite number". There you have it!

Some other staff picks:

The Custom Pegoretti (2000):

The Schwinn King Sting Mountain Bike (1981):

The Walton (1987):

Protection!

Bike theft in Boulder is unfortunately quite common. I guess the fact that cycling is popular in Boulder equates to – in the messed up minds of the creepers who actually steal bicycles – an abundant supply of bikes to swipe, as well as a large market with a high demand for bikes and/or bike parts to re-sell the stolen goods to (and this on top of the always plentiful online market).

News of bike theft seems to be ever-present here in Boulder. Earlier this summer, the Daily Camera ran a story about the arrest of two guys suspected of stealing 65 bikes. While the article mentions that “bike theft in Boulder is down 36 percent so far this year from last year,” last week's antics seem to disrupt this optimistic outlook. Last Tuesday (September 7), “the University of Colorado saw an unusual spike in bike thefts” as seven bicycles were stolen from racks across campus. This is “an exceptionally high number” of bicycle thefts in one day. These thefts continue to haunt campus as this story, printed Tuesday September 14, in the Colorado Daily demonstrates.

Beyond the official news, I’m sure we all have our personal bike theft anecdotes as well. Within three months of moving to Boulder, my mountain bike was stolen. It was locked up on my front porch, along with my other bikes, with a big cable lock. When I got home that fateful Friday night, the cable was cut and my bike was gone. Similarly, in the few short weeks of this fall semester, I have talked to numerous people who have shown me their cable locks cut halfway through, and for them, it’s a lucky miracle that whoever was trying to steal their bikes quit before chewing the rest of the way through their locks!

Cyclists! We must protect ourselves and our two-wheeled friends! Here’s some tips:

- Cable locks, despite sometimes feeling more convenient, are out – too insecure!

- Use either a U-Lock or a metal chain with a hefty padlock or smaller U-Lock on the ends.

- When locking a bike, lock as much of it as possible to the rack (i.e. a wheel and the frame), but ALWAYS get the actual bicycle frame securely locked.

- The best security is simply to bring your bike indoors overnight.

- Finally, click here for a video demonstrating some other ideas for secure bicycle locking.