Much of what I do in life is collect information about bicycle technology, and earlier this month I went to the Milan bike show to do just that. But when my week-old MacBook Pro computer was stolen from me on November 7, I learned about some new technology that compromised my collections of bicycle information. I want to tell you what I learned with the intentionof saving somebody else the stress and hassle I went through.

I was with Alessandro Guerciotti, of the bike company of the same name. We were returning to Milan after visiting his frame painter in Bergamo, when we stopped for lunch at an Autogrill in Dalmine, just east of Milan. My backpack (with my new computer and lots of other stuff in it) and Guerciotti’s BlackBerry were stolen out of his car while we ate.

Just the night before, I’d seen the exhibition in Milan celebratingAutogrill’s 30th anniversary. I was interested because I have stopped at countless Autogrills and have always had good meals there – something that I can rarely say about eateries along American interstate highways. But the thing that I’ve since found out is that they are also prime locations for theft; that was not mentioned in the display, but many friends have since related stories to me of having their cars broken into at them.

There are now 5200 Autogrills in 42 countries, 596 of them being along toll highways in Europe, with more than half of those being in Italy. That’s a lot of opportunities for thieves preying on unwary travelers.

Hence, Lennard’s Lesson No.1: Keep valuables with you when stopping at Autogrills or similar places, or find a more secure place to eat.

The technical aspect of this story begins with how the theft was accomplished. Apparently, the perpetrator had a scanner and used it to grab Guerciotti’s electronic key code as he locked the car with the remote. My understanding of the technology is that the scanned code can be stored in a small radio device like a cell phone, which can then produce the code again and unlock the car.

In this case, the scanner had several opportunities to catch the code, as Guerciotti locked the car as we first got out. Seeing my backpack on the seat, Guerciotti unlocked the car and moved my pack to the covered rear section of the station wagon, explaining that leaving it out in the open like that was an invitation to theft. He then locked up again with the remote, and then he pushed the remote lock button one more time for good measure.

So, Lennard’s Lesson No.2: Don’t switch valuables around in the car for security purposes when in plain view at an Autogrill or similar place.

And, Lennard’s Lesson No.3: Lock your car with an actual key, rather than with the remote, when stopping at a theft-prone place. Some cars now have anti-scan, anti-grab key-code systems; this is worth looking into as well.

Since there was no damage to the car, neither of us even considered that someone might have entered it when we returned from lunch. We drove to the bike show venue before discovering the theft. In addition to losing Guerciotti’s BlackBerry and my laptop, I lost all of the articles, e-mails, photos, and addresses that were in my computer, I lost chargers for my phones and camera and card reader for the latter, and I also lost innumerable memory storage devices, notes, and travel accoutrements I always kept in that pack.

Fortunately, I had my wallet, camera, and both phones with me, and I had left my passport in my hotel room.

This leads to Lennard’s Lesson No.4: Do not carry your passport around in a bag; keep it on your person or locked in a hotel safe.

And, Lennard’s Lesson No.5: Take with you only what you will need; don’t bring a lot of extra stuff you don’t want to lose with you on day trips.

As well as, Lennard’s Lesson No.6: When downloading photos into a computer while on a trip, either leave copies on the camera’s memory card, or make a backup that you leave in your hotel.

I had no password set on my computer, and it was turned on, in sleep mode, with the e-mail program running. I never received a number of e-mails because somebody apparently opened the computer when in the presence of a wireless or other network (my settings stipulated that when that computer collected e-mails from the server to erase them off of the server).

I also lost my notes and photos of visits to Masi, Guerciotti, and Rossignoli for future VeloNews stories, and I was panicked about maybe losing years’ worth of information not backed up.

So, Lennard’s Lesson No.7: Before leaving on a trip, set up a password that is required for access on startup or on waking up from sleep mode.

And obviously, Lennard’s Lesson No.8: Back up everything on your computer before taking it on a trip.

And, Lennard’s Lesson No.9: If your computer is stolen, access your server online ASAP and change the e-mail password, so that computer can no longer take your e-mails from your server.

For days, I kept waking up at night in a cold sweat thinking of what personal information on me such sophisticated thieves might glean from my computer. For secure Web sites, I had always selected the option of remembering my password on my computer. This meant that information could be accessed on a number of my bookmarked personal sites, from airline frequent flyer miles to banking and credit card sites.

Hence, Lennard’s Lesson No.10:
Remove remembered passwords from your browser memory for sites housing sensitive information and deselect the “remember password” option. Type them in each time.

And, Lennard’s Lesson No.11: If you’re the victim of computer theft, call one of the credit reporting agencies immediately to put a fraud alert on your credit report. This lasts 90 days.

As well as, Lennard’s Lesson No.12: Call all credit cards that might have been compromised.

And, Lennard’s Lesson No.13: Store more phone numbers than you think you need in your cell phone. If it becomes your only communication tool, you’ll be glad you had.

To add insult to injury, my credit card receipts from the trip disappeared from my checked bag after checking it in Milan. This included receipts for items like card readers and cell phone chargers I had bought there to replace items stolen with my computer pack.

Hence, Lennard’s Lesson No.14: Write down purchases on paper, not just in an electronic expense report form on your computer, in case you lose both the computer and your receipts.

This is obviously not a problem unique to Italy. Over the past decade, I’ve spent a total of at least three years in Europe and this is the only time I’ve had such an experience. I grew careless and simply assumed it would not ever happen to me. For me, it serves as a wake-p call and prompts me to take a few simple steps to avoid some of the most serious consequences.

Hopefully, my hard-earned lesson may benefit you as well.