Pimp my bike

I got to Centraal Station on Thursday night after work and went to collect my bike, which I'd left locked in its usual spot (amongst the other billion bikes) and realised that someone had nicked the front wheel. There is nothing unusual about this, as it's a well-known fact that the junkies help themselves to bikes (or parts of bikes) on a daily basis round there to sell on the street. However, I was really annoyed because I had to drag it home 2 miles or so. Dragging a one-wheeled bike is not an experience I would recommend. Not only was it extremely heavy, but the world and its dog seemed to think it was okay to comment/laugh/inform me that I'd lost something/offer to nick a wheel off someone else's bike on my behalf, etc, etc.

Instead I carried on dragging until I finally reached my local bike repair store, where it remained locked to a lamppost until the next morning (when I could get a second hand wheel fitted). They only had one wheel available, so now I have a black bike with a white tyre, which looks a bit strange. This just added to the fact that my poor old oma fiets (grandmother bike) really has seen better days. I bought it from new around 3 years ago - it looked so sweet and shiny with a giant silk sunflower tied to the handlebars. Now it's covered in rust, someone nicked the sunflower, the dynamo lights stopped working, I lost the mudguard and bent my pedal. Despite all this I'm stupidly attached to the thing, and have been known to pat it on the saddle every now and again as if it were a dog. I'm just happy that the junkies took the wheel and left me the bike... it's usually the other way round.