Serious about security

Bike theft is no laughing matter and your bike is most at risk in cities. Just take simple precautions and you’ll keep it safe

• Check the parking

Before booking any hotel or B&B, phone them and check there is secure, private, off-street parking for your bike (don’t rely on website promises). Quiz them about what the parking is and where it is: open parking areas facing the street are no good, as the bike must not be left on display. A private back yard or courtyard is good, but a garage is better. Rule out any B&B that needs you to ride through a garden gate, in case it’s too narrow.

• Lock it up

If you have a centrestand, put the bike on it and use the steering lock. Put a disc lock on the front wheel

and pass a chain through the rear wheel – ideally chaining it to a fence/lamp/any kind of post in the parking area. If there’s nothing to chain the rear wheel to, try passing it round a fixed part of the bike (exhaust, subframe, pillion-peg hanger) so the wheel can’t be turned. Always leave the chain off the floor, as this makes it almost impossible to smash it with a sledgehammer.

• Cover it up

Okay, there’s not always space to take a cover – especially on a trip for two. But try: if you can drape your bike under a cover, it makes it even less likely to attract undesirable attention.