[wgscott]

I've been using an iPad mini as a phone substitute, and left it in the car while I went biking. I came back to a car with one fewer window, iPad, etc. :mad2:

I'm not thrilled about carrying such things into combat, but in this case I think I would have been better off. It is a bit too big for a conventional bike seat bag (unlike a phone), so I would have had to figure something else out.

Anyone have any ideas (I already replaced it)?

I suppose "leave it at home" is the only realistic option.

 

[PBL450]

Lock it in the trunk or glove box? Put it under the seat. Assuming from what you said you don't want it on the ride with you, if you want to get crazy put it in the well with the spare? Can't you call the police and Apple and have the devise located? That really stinks, I'm sorry to hear that...

 

[tihsepa]

Sounds to me like someone took care of your problem already.
I pad is gone and you cant leave it in the car with a broken window anyway. Problem solved.

 

[tvad]

Leaving anything valuable in a car is a bad idea. Doesn't everyone agree on this?

Taking an iPad Mini on a bike ride will earn you a lot of askance glances and wide berths unless you're on a Silicon Valley Bike Tour.

 

[PBL450]

Leaving anything valuable in a car is a bad idea. Doesn't everyone agree on this?

Taking an iPad Mini on a bike ride will earn you a lot of askance glances and wide berths unless you're on a Silicon Valley Bike Tour.

huh? I haven't locked my car in 30 years... Literally. I have left my iPad, lap tops you name it... I have never had a thing stolen. I'm not second guessing the OP BTW, I'm just saying, if I can do that in NJ, then anyone can anywhere... No, I don't agree. Once in a while you just have a bad thing happen. Going through life assuming that everywhere you go is riddled with people cruising to do you harm and steal your things is just awful. And completely untrue...

 

[tvad]

huh? I haven't locked my car in 30 years... Literally. I have left my iPad, lap tops you name it... I have never had a thing stolen. I'm not second guessing the OP BTW, I'm just saying, if I can do that in NJ, then anyone can anywhere... No, I don't agree.

I guess it depends on where you live...or just dumb luck (like yours).

You do not leave anything valuable in your car in Southern California.

Absolutely and unequivocally.

 

[LVbob]

huh? I haven't locked my car in 30 years... Literally. I have left my iPad, lap tops you name it... I have never had a thing stolen. I'm not second guessing the OP BTW, I'm just saying, if I can do that in NJ, then anyone can anywhere... No, I don't agree. Once in a while you just have a bad thing happen. Going through life assuming that everywhere you go is riddled with people cruising to do you harm and steal your things is just awful. And completely untrue...

I live in Las Vegas and would never leave my car unlocked. I even locked it when I lived on the California Central Coast in small communities.

I always lock valuables in the trunk before arriving any place where my car will be left unattended for longer periods of time.

 

[JCavilia]

Maybe you want to rethink the notion of having as your only mobile phone a device that's too big to carry on your bike rides. Most of us like to carry a phone in case of emergency.

As for leaving it in the car safely, If your car has a trunk, that should work. Otherwise, hidden under the seat or somewhere similar.

 

[wgscott]

Yeah, this is "the California Central Coast ... small communit[y]", and I actually did hide the thing in its case under a hat. Ive been doing some hybrid car/bike commuting, and parked at the side of the road popular with mountain bikers, which has the additionalmerit ofsaving me about $700/yr in Univ of Cali parking fees. Normally I would just stick it in my backpack and ride into work with it, and give my lecture, but that day I didnt have the backpack. Ive also beenlazy in the past and left it there, and sometimes lots of other stuff I shouldnt while i go mtn biking. Sorry for my iPad typing skills.

I was just wondering if anyone manages to bike with it, without a backpack, on a road bike. It is almost small enough.

 

[NJBiker72]

huh? I haven't locked my car in 30 years... Literally. I have left my iPad, lap tops you name it... I have never had a thing stolen. I'm not second guessing the OP BTW, I'm just saying, if I can do that in NJ, then anyone can anywhere... No, I don't agree. Once in a while you just have a bad thing happen. Going through life assuming that everywhere you go is riddled with people cruising to do you harm and steal your things is just awful. And completely untrue...

I would never do that in NJ. I live in a quiet upper middle class town but we still have crime issues. In NJ you are never too far from a bad area.

 

[PBL450]

I would never do that in NJ. I live in a quiet upper middle class town but we still have crime issues. In NJ you are never too far from a bad area.

I'm a social worker and I have worked in every kind of community in NJ. And I have worked all over NJ at one point or another. I've been told it's nuts not locking my car but I have never had anything stolen or disturbed or anything. Even now, I spend a lot of time in our county parks and I often go straight from work so my backpack, iPad, work clothes, you name it, are all in my car. In years and years of doing this, windows down, doors unlocked, I have not had a single thing taken. And I leave my stuff on the passenger seat, not even stowed away. Nothing bothered...

 

[mtrac]

I would never do that in NJ. I live in a quiet upper middle class town but we still have crime issues. In NJ you are never too far from a bad area.

When I lived in Edgewater, our small condo association repeatedly had windows smashed to grab GPSes, circa mid-2000s. So, you took the device out and left the mount.

Growing up, however, there were some towns, Nutley in particular, where you'd take your life into your hands if you broke into the wrong car. And, many years later I still remember the middle-aged woman at the Paterson Farmers Market who locked her Caddy with the windows rolled down.

 

[wim]

Many years ago, I got a ticket in Austria for not having locked my parked car. Wasn't a big fine, but surprised me enough to be curious about the why. Something about "encouraging crime" if I remember the brief discussion with an Austrian friend correctly.

 

[scottma]

I bring mine with me. I run Strava on and it, listen to Pandora and will sometimes read a book when waiting for the guys with compact cranks to catch up with me.

 

[JFR]

parked at the side of the road popular with mountain bikers

Mountain biker's cars at trailheads are prime targets for break in's, some states worse than others. Ask any mountain biker worth their salt; we do not leave valuables in our cars. I've been broken into twice. Some trailheads are littered with broken glass, not from bottles.

Sorry to hear about your misfortune. If an i-pad mini is too big for a jersey pocket or seat bag, then I guess that leaves you with a back pack, camel back or pannier as options? You're bike commuting, embrace the extra gear bag and however carried, carry it with commuter pride.

 

[PBL450]

I bring mine with me. I run Strava on and it, listen to Pandora and will sometimes read a book when waiting for the guys with compact cranks to catch up with me.

View attachment 296488

That's hilarious!

 

[wgscott]

Ask any mountain biker worth their salt

...



(OK, I actually do also suck at mountain biking, but asked the question in reference to road bikes because, with the mtn bike, I can squeeze it into the external pouch of my camelback, but wearing a camelback while riding a road bike is almost as bad as admitting publicly that one isn't riding with SPDs.)

 

[wgscott]

That's hilarious!

Maybe a map case like touring bikers use (I actually have an old bag -- in addition to my wife -- that has a map case. I don't think I want to ride with that kind of bulk, but maybe there is a similar, less invasive, option. I don't want to look at it while riding, so if it could be secured parallel to the frame, it might be an option. Leaving it at home seems better all the time.)

 

[wgscott]

As I was typing this, a sudden gust of wind knocked a fan out of my bedroom window, and sure as ****, it hit the new iPad. Fortunately, it didn't hurt it. God is out to get me. Or at least my iPads.

 

[wgscott]

huh? I haven't locked my car in 30 years... Literally. I have left my iPad, lap tops you name it... I have never had a thing stolen. I'm not second guessing the OP BTW, I'm just saying, if I can do that in NJ, then anyone can anywhere... No, I don't agree. Once in a while you just have a bad thing happen. Going through life assuming that everywhere you go is riddled with people cruising to do you harm and steal your things is just awful. And completely untrue...

I take the same approach when backpacking, after having a bear rip apart a backpack just to have a look inside (nothing was in it). Now I leave it unzipped and empty on the ground.