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Next Week: Crime on the Road

About twenty years ago, I was riding my bike up a steep hill in Central Park in New York City. It was a gorgeous late afternoon and I was lost in my thoughts. A kid, maybe ten or eleven years old, jumped out of the bushes right next to my front wheel and startled me. He grabbed me, pulled me and my bike down on top of him in the bushes. He pressed a knife to my throat. And he said "I don't want to mess you up. Let go of the bike."

I'd had that bike for almost a decade. I'd ridden all over Europe on it. I loved that bike, but about 15 seconds later this kid was riding my prize, midnight blue Bianchi down the hill I had just climbed.

I looked for a cop. I cried. I swore. I thought about quitting my job and joining the Guardian Angels. It's a wretched, frustrating, helpless feeling-to be robbed. I still miss that blue bike. It wasn't just a possession. It was an experience.

We're dealing with crime on the show today because it's sometimes a reality of traveling, especially when we're obvious targets with expensive equipment such as laptop computers and palm organizers-and nice bicycles. How about you? Have you been the victim of a crime on the road? Or have you witnessed a crime while traveling? Better yet, maybe you were the hero who stopped a crime.

Call or email us and share your story. The number is 888-SAV-TRAV. That's 888-728-8728.