A cycle tour around Washington DC – and our tablet is stolen!

Reg has booked us in for a morning cycle tour around the centre of Washington with a local company. It's only 3 hours so should be ideal. It's all a bit last minute, so after we've had breakfast (which is included in the price of the hostel), and have sorted out what to take, we actually have to walk quite fast to cover the couple of miles to reach the cycle company's office. We have quite a full backpack, as yesterday it rained, so we have coats and thin jumpers. We soon realise that we won't need any of this extra clothing as it's going to be very hot and sunny today. I have my kindle, mobile phone and purse in the backpack, and as we leave our hostel room, Reg hands me the tablet computer to put in as well.

At the cycle company's office, we fill out forms; if you want any items stored with the company while you're out cycling, you have to tick the relevant box. I tick the box because I want to leave the backpack behind. There's a small handlebar bag on each bike; it's big enough for me to take my phone and purse, and for Reg to take his wallet and the camera. I leave the tablet, my kindle and our jumpers and coats in the backpack and hand it to the tour organiser, Rob.

“Will my backpack be put in a locker?”

“ It'll be locked in the building, don't worry, it will be quite safe,” replies Rob.

I'm grateful not to have to carry the backpack with me as the temperature is rising by the minute.

Rob takes us on a really interesting tour of Washington DC, the capital of the USA. We learn all about the Smithsonian Institution; James Smithson, an Englishman shunned by his own people because he was the bastard son of the first Duke of Northumberland, thought he'd get back at English by leaving his vast fortune to the American government, although he had no connection with America and had never set foot in the country (his body is now buried here in Washington though). However, Smithson specified that the money had to be used for cultural and education purposes. The Smithsonian Institution has been responsible for setting up and maintaining many museums and cultural projects in the centre of America's capital city (some of which Reg and I hope to visit while we are here).

On our ride along the Mall, we also see the Capital building, which we at first thought was the White House, with it's cast iron white dome. This is where Congress meet and where the US Supreme Court is situated. We also view the tall, thin, white Washington Monument, like a needle pointing to the sky; constructed entirely of marble, it took a hundred years to build, because of various internal government arguments, and when finished in 1884, at 555ft, was the tallest building in the world. My “USA Rough Guide” tells me that it's still the tallest all-masonry structure in the world. Not many people know that!

We see the Vietnam War wall memorial, designed by the winner of an anonymous competition to choose an architect for the project, When they found out that the architect was (a) a woman, and (b) too young to have been even alive when the war took place, the choice of architect became steeped in controversy.

We also view a fascinating World War 2 memorial which has only recently been constructed – again controversial – they had to rush to finish it so that at least a few World War 2 Veterans would still be alive to see it. Our tour finishes with a chance to look at the Lincoln Memorial, which houses a huge statue of the first American president, Abraham Lincoln. Our guide Rob really knows his stuff, and besides, it's been much better cycling than walking around the city in this heat!

We return to the office of the tour company and Rob goes into the building to retrieve my rucksack. We give Rob a generous tip as we really enjoyed the ride around the city. It's a long walk back to our hostel, especially in this heat, but we decide it will be better to have a bite to eat nearer to where we are staying; then we can go back and have a rest before going on a hostel-organised jazz concert trip at 4.30.

In the cafe, Reg asks me to hand him the tablet, but it's not in the bag! We say, perhaps we didn't bring it after all, although I remember Reg handing it to me before we left the hostel. My kindle is still in the bag. We are in shock. As we've ordered our lunch we have to stay and eat it, then we return to our hostel room to double check we didn't leave the tablet behind, even though we know we didn't. Reg says he'll walk the long walk back to the cycle tour office to report he theft. Better than doing it over the phone.

I thought our rucksack had been put in a safe place by the company; I blame myself for not checking that. It turns out that my rucksack, along with those of a few other tourists, had simply been put in a pile near the reception desk, and the building was of course open to the public. The receptionist says she was there the whole time, but it strikes me she probably had to go to the loo at some point, or could easily have been dealing with a customer and not noticed another customer rifling through what she probably assumed in any case was his/her own backpack. There were also workmen doing renovations in the next door building.

The tour company seem to be taking the matter seriously and say they will be discussing it with their management and will get back to us. The lovely hostel staff help us call the police as we'll need a crime reference for our insurance; an officer visits us to take details (impressive – can't see that happening in the UK – we'd either do it over the phone or have to visit the police station!).

I phone the tour company to tell them the police reference, and to say that, “from a Trip Advisor point of view” they need to install lockers or do something about their security... or not offer provision to look after customers' property.

We're exhausted now (especially Reg) and even if we hadn't missed the hostel jazz concert tour, because of waiting for the police officer, we'd have been too tired to go.

Reg had stored lots of holiday guides on the tablet so is really disappointed, but we've got over the shock. The tablet is protected by a pin so will it be of any use to anyone else? No doubt thieves have ways and means of making it re-usable. We'll probably buy another tablet over the internet and have it sent to our next hostel in Charlottesville.

That evening we find a lovely French restaurant close to our hostel and end the day feeling philosophically positive. Our insurance will cover the theft of the tablet and Reg in his usual thorough way went for Platinum cover and paid extra to waiver the excess.