Victoria Beckham has bicycle stolen in New York

Whoever you are, and whatever you ride, the moment you realise your bicycle has been stolen is a gut-wrenching experience. The rise of social media means it is an experience that can now be shared with the world.

Only this week, a tweet, and accompanying Instagram, from Victoria Beckham announced her bicycle had been pinched from a pavement in New York, but the short message posed more questions than it answered. Why had she used such a sturdy lock to secure only the back wheel? Did she have cycle insurance? Had she really forgone a fashionable single-speed in favour of a mountain bike?

All we can know for certain is that the sight of a lonely mountain bike rear wheel, lying on the ground and still attached to a lamp post by a sturdy chain and padlock, greeted the designer as she was about to return home after preparing for New York Fashion Week.

Whether or not you have cycle insurance, it pays to lock your bike properly.

{{cta-cycling}}

DO: Lock your bike, through the frame, to an immovable object

DON'T: 'Lock' your bike in a way that makes it easy to steal

DON'T: Lock your bicycle through the front wheel

DO: Use a secondary security cable in addition to your primary bike lock

Some locks come with a secondary security cable which can be used to secure extra accessories, or a wheel as above. It should only be used in conjunction with a primary lock, as above.

{{cta-cycling}}