I'm reminded of this delicious line by a San Francisco bike guru:

"Bikes are one of the four commodities of the street — cash, drugs, sex, and bikes," Veysey told me. "You can virtually exchange one for another."

(From this lengthy and fascinating first-hand account of a reporter's attempt to recover his stolen bicycle)

http://www.sfbg.com/2007/02/13/chasing-my-stolen-bicycle?pag...