General Cycling Discussion - Someone stole my bike today

Well my worst fears came true today.

I was at a local appliance and electronic store today(about 2 hours ago). I was looking for a new digital camera. So I make my purchase and walk out the front door. The bike is gone! What the $#@$%(to be polite). I run back in the store with my front wheel, saddle, and backpack and tell a salesperson that my bike was stolen. I leave my stuff in the store because I wanted to walk around a little bit(I know, I thought it was hopeless myself but you know how it is).

Down the street I notice a bike that kinda looks like it might be mine. The bike is leaning against a tree and has a front tire and a saddle on it. I jog over and...IT IS MY BIKE. It was in front of some auto-body shops. There were a few men standing around in front. When I grab the bike without saying a word I hear various voices "Hey, is that your bike?", and another one "It is now, right?". They were implying that I was stealing the bike. So I say, "Who the F$%#$ took this bike?". Someone replies "Guy around the corner in the blue".

Needless to say I walked around the corner and as I did that I meet a guy walking toward me and as soon as he saw me and the bike I new it was him. I asked him not-so-nicely if he had taken my bike. He says no(of course). I knew he was lying but I decided to walk away. Then get this. He says "Give me my seat and wheel back". I say "Oh, you didn't take the bike you stupid mother%$%#$". I grabbed his seat, walked up to him and whacked him so hard with the seatpost across his head. He went down. I left.

Not a bad day. I got a free saddle and seatpost(I gave the wheel to somebody at the store). I also got to get out some agression that I didn't know wanted to get out. Sorry if I have offended anyone with the violence but hey, you get what you deserve.

Its good that you got your bike back and that you looked around for it. But I fear that you might be in a whole heap of trouble if this guy can find you. You assaulted him and he could concievable file charges, he would have to find you and prove that you did it, but nonetheless if there is any kind of witness you might be in trouble. I hope that nothing happens.

"Good goin' stranger!"

Quoting Madonna from "Desperately Seeking Susan". What a doofas! I wish I'd been there to see it- I would have laughed at the sheer stupidity of this guy.

Do you know how this guy came to steal you bike and had his own wheel and seatpost?

Dang, you're lucky. I'm glad you got your bike back, for real. He deserved a beatdown, man.

Koffee

Ahh-justice is never so sweet as when it's vigilante-style!

Did you lock the bike before you went into the store?

Could have been an opportunity for learning. This was not a case where someone was using force to take your bike. If approached differently, the person may have fessed up and make amends. But you took that away. Now that you hit him, he may even be more beligerent in the future. You could have shown him a different way of handling this and he might have a had a change of heart and taken this to be a lesson. We could only hope.

It's too bad you took out your aggression against a person. If this had happened to me as you described, I would have felt terrible for the rest of the day and the next.

Not only was the guy dumb enough to steal the bike, but he was dumb enough to ride it by where he stole it.

Good on you that you got your bike back. I hope this guy takes his lumps and moves on instead of seeking revenge on you.

VERY LUCKY!!! I don't think you have anything to worry about. He STOLE your property. Remember, if you treasure your bike, lock it up. If you can take your bike inside the establishment, do that instead.

Great news that you got your bike back!

Just wish you had used a fist and not the seat post...criminal assault with a deadly seatpost is all ya need...

hopefully you cracked some sense into the theif. bike thieves are scum.
out of curiosity how did you know for sure that it was your bike givin it had an intact wheel and seat?

Great news!! I had a similar event. Although what you did is assault with battery, he'd still have to prove it, IF he caught you, and prove the mens rea and actus reus. He'd never do that. He'd be too caught in his lie on telling the judge why he though you hit him. No worries. I'd do the same, cept harder.

props to you dude!!!

now i need the guts to whack someone bigger than me... ;) nice nice nice... they deserve this ***** for trying to steal ur bike...

Nice one, TotalKos. Glad you got your bike back. I doubt he'll be nicking another bike in the near future.

Although it brings a whole new meaning to the term 'going equipped'.

I would have done the same thing, except that I am usually packing, and as such am held to a higher standard of conduct by the courts. (Because I "know" that deadly force can be introduced into a confrontation.) I would have just called the cops and had him arrested. I wish that you would have hit him one for me. - Ted

YAAAAA! :thumbup:

Hey all. Thanks for the responds of support. I'm not into that peaceful approach. I did lock my bike up(that's the only thing I lost in the ordeal). To me the fact that someone went out of their way to hurt me warrants the same in return. That's my opinion and I will not apologize for it. If I walk away that gives everybody else permission to try and get over on me. I will not have that. This bike may not be the bomb but it was expensive to me and I rely on it too much to do nothing about it(it's a Kona Nunu btw). The guys at the shop told me that they suspected the same people of stealing stuff from their cars as well(heresay).

Anyway, I just wanted to rant and I appreciate the replys(even if I don't agree with all). Thanks.

hey Kos, glad you did get your bike back, there was some suggestion that if you use two locks, cable and "U", thieves dont like to take a second look, its too much work, and they need to take more time!
FWIW, if you need to stop and shop, you could look into this approach.

Where were you when this happend?

Hey Scooby Snax. I was at the Brick, the one at Dufferin and Dupont. It's in the west-end of Toronto.

Originally posted by montlake_mtbkr
Out of curiosity, how did you know for sure that it was your bike, given it had an intact wheel and seat? I don't know about anyone else, but with the time I've spent on my bike, I'd know it anywhere, whether it had the wrong seat and wheel or not.

Thats the best ending to a stolen bike story Ive heard yet! Most people say "I should have hit them' and you did! Most importantly though you got your ride back. Nice work

I love a great action story with a good ending... Seeing it would have been even better.

YEAH!!! Best story I've heard all week! http://smilies.crowd9.com/contrib/ed/bluboomteamenforcer.gif

Great job with the wack on the head. My preferred method of retaliation would be similar.http://www.gamers-forums.com/smilies/contrib/sz/killtheimu.gif

The person is considered innocent before the judge and the courst decides opposite. What you did, is absolutely unlawfull.
If you were wrong, and the bike was actually not your bike, you done double mistake! This approach should be punisheble and it IS. Because if it is used in other ISSUES similarly, something unreparable could have been done, like a murder.
You had absolutely no right to hit him. You did have a right to go to police and press charges... no matter how unpractical it may sound, but law is law, and principle is principle - at ALL levels.

I wish you luck with your bikes and with not meeting a person who could hit you back as you could have never get up again...

P.S. Same with him, if you have accidently hit certain spot on his head, he could have been instantly killed. Think about it... just for some "bike"...

How could I be wrong about the bike? I had the bike in my possession when I confronted the thief. At first I didn't hit him because I couldn't be sure he was the thief. Then with his own foolish bravery he let me know he was the one who took it. Maybe in L.A. the police would have helped me but here in Toronto I don't think so(not for a bicycle; I've seen it before). When I have a chance for quick justice and recovery of my property, I am not going to pass it up. No apologies.

Inoplanetyanin, I respect your comment and if there were many, many, many more people with your values and principles it wouldn't have come to this. Still, no apologies.

I stand firmly behind you totalkos. The guy had it coming and he should have been prepared for any punishment (judicial or a whack on the head).

Originally posted by TriDevil
I stand firmly behind you totalkos. The guy had it coming and he should have been prepared for any punishment (judicial or a whack on the head). http://www.smilies-world.de/Smilies/Smilies_boese_1/basi.gif

I can't imagine whacking somebody...I wouldn't have the nads for that. I would've thrown the stuff and called the dude a bunch of names, but I don't think I could bring myself the whacking.. Of course, where I live people call the cops for anything!!! Once I was jumping off the roof of MY house, onto MY trampoline, in MY yard, and the dam neighbor called the cops..Same thing when I rode a skateboard off the roof, and luged down the hill, and did jumps on my bike....

One time I got mad at some punks because they were riding their bikes full blast into a park full of little kids and then skidding, which threw lots of sands and dirt everywhere. So I told the idiots to go skid somewhere else..The kids parents called the cops.

Living on a military base is like living with a bunch of whiny peeping toms.

Good job, TotalKos.
As for Inoplanetyanin's comments, wait till he encounters a thief... or worse.

Originally posted by TotalKos
How could I be wrong about the bike? I had the bike in my possession when I confronted the thief. At first I didn't hit him because I couldn't be sure he was the thief. Then with his own foolish bravery he let me know he was the one who took it.

Of course, the cops may now help him should he report it and press charges. Personally I would have just grabbed the bike back and gone home, or maybe called the cops myself. Either way, the fact that you hit him may mean that this situation isn't over yet. I hope this is the last of it, but I'm not convinced it is.

well, hey i totally understand what you did...

it's not always easy to say, but i think i probably would have just taken the bike (keeping the seat and wheel) and reported it to the cops - as well as calling the guy a bunch of names, giving him some sort of lecture or whatever that might have made me feel better - taking my anger out on him (without actually hitting him).

maybe the police wouldn't have done anything but you would have your bike back and the guy would have a simliar feeling from being caught and yelled at as to being struck without the strong desire to fight back or get revenge...

anyway, that's way cool that you found you bike!

and the thief sounds like an idiot for a) keeping the stolen bike right in the area and in sight and b) ASKING for the seatpoint and wheel back!!

but yeah, maybe you could have acted better, but i wouldn't feel bad about it -- even if not totally "legal" and 2 wrongs don't necessarily make a right - at least the theif got some of his own medicine (his stuff taken)

Originally posted by TotalKos
Hey Scooby Snax. I was at the Brick, the one at Dufferin and Dupont. It's in the west-end of Toronto.
never been in that part of town, My first reaction or initial thought was that you were in downtown Yonge Street, somehwere along Dundas and Yonge,
I though Dufferin and Dupont is relatively a peaceful place,

Originally posted by TotalKos
I grabbed his seat, walked up to him and whacked him so hard with the seatpost across his head. He went down. I left.




Is he dead? Braindead? Coma? Fractured skull?

YOU HIT SOMEONE ON THE HEAD WITH A SEATPOST SO HARD HE WENT DOWN?!?

I've had scum steal things on me, and wouldn't dream of risking life in prison for property, no matter how cherished.

You should have got the hell out of there, at the first opportunity, AND reported him, whether the cops do anything about it or not.

If he reports it, the cops and courts will take a VERY dim view of you, regardless of the theft.

They (quite rightly) treat crimes against people more harshly than crimes against "things".

orguasch, I used to live in that area(actually just west of their, Dupont & Symington) for 20 years and take it from me, it's not to peaceful. I've had bikes stolen in that area when I was young and stupid and I would leave the bike without locking it or anything(partly my own fault). It's even gotten worse over the last 5 or 10 years. This city is not the nice and polite place that most people make it out to be.

Originally posted by TotalKos
This city is not the nice and polite place that most people make it out to be.

That surprises me, I've been up there several times and it seemed like Disney World in comparison to Boston and New York.

-Middi-zon

The guy got what he deserved. Hopefully, the guy won't see you sometime down the road (literally) and try to exact his pound of flesh from you. I would avoid the area for the next few weeks to minimize another encounter. Gino

your my hero :)

i seriously doubt that the theif will call the cops.

I'm all for violence on scumbags.

good job mate!

Originally posted by pnj
i seriously doubt that the theif will call the cops.

I'm all for violence on scumbags.

good job mate!


At what cost? Avoiding the area forever? Having his sister/mum harassed if he finds out who your family are?

Having the scumbag escalate this stupidity even higher by taking a gun to you?

Extreme violence *is* sometimes the answer, but in situations where your life or the life of someone close to you is in jeapordy.

He could have killed the guy. Easily.

The scumbag got what he deserves, If someone steals form me they are stealing from my wife & daughter also. I believe that if this person is under age or not if they try to take it to the courts my opinions of these type of people are that if they do a crime that they should have to pay time for it and also their family so they realize what they have done. I work hard for what I have & I cant stand a lazy person who will steal instead of work. These type of people are scum to me and i probably pay their income with my tax money ,bullsh*t.

Originally posted by mnppunky
if they do a crime that they should have to pay time for it and also their family so they realize what they have done.



I don't think the point here is the theft itself - it's the fact that he could easily have killed him with a blow to the skull with a seatpost. There are very few circumstances under which the courts would deem that sort of violence to another person allowable. He severly overreacted.

The original poster carried out a serious crime - GBH, or aggravated assault or whatever it's called in his country.

By your logic, should he have to "pay time for it"? Is that fair on his wife and kids if he has any? Should they have to do without a father, a husband, a provider because of a moments avoidable stupidity?

Why I think nothing short of a slow, painful death is the appropriate response to anyone who would dare take something from me.

Because if life has taught me anything, it's that the response to a crime should be all out of proportion to the crime committed.


A life for an eye, a life for a tooth.

<being sarcastic in case you don't catch on>

Originally posted by belfast-biker
Originally posted by mnppunky
if they do a crime that they should have to pay time for it and also their family so they realize what they have done.



I don't think the point here is the theft itself - it's the fact that he could easily have killed him with a blow to the skull with a seatpost. There are very few circumstances under which the courts would deem that sort of violence to another person allowable. He severly overreacted.

The original poster carried out a serious crime - GBH, or aggravated assault or whatever it's called in his country.

By your logic, should he have to "pay time for it"? Is that fair on his wife and kids if he has any? Should they have to do without a father, a husband, a provider because of a moments avoidable stupidity?

yes.

what does GBH stand for?

Got what he deserved. Fact is, HIS actions were the initial cause of what he got. If he wouldn't steal someone posessions, he never would of got smacked.

Originally posted by TotalKos
Well my worst fears came true today.


Worst fear? THIS should be your worst fear. Time to put things into perspective.

http://homepage.ntlworld.com/belfast-biker/misc/possible.jpg







(The above is a mock up obviously, but who knows?)

Originally posted by 520commuter
Got what he deserved. Fact is, HIS actions were the initial cause of what he got. If he wouldn't steal someone posessions, he never would of got smacked.


You'd kill a man for stealing a pack of gum?

No? Where do you draw the line? Do tell.

Chances are if a person is going to steal something,and then want something back they used to steal it with .who knows what they would have done to keep from getting caught? If he was willing to do one crime then maybe why not go out with a bang! Maybe what this person did with this setpost saved his own life! Just something for us to think about. I did not mean to sound to harsh in my previous post , but if there is too much lenience for criminals they will never learn, because they got off easy. I know, i have a cousin who is a 2 time convicted drug dealer. I dont like to admit I have family like this but its the truth, and it bothers me that beacause we have the same last name some people judge me the same as him! Take into consideration I live in a small town. just my 2 cents

This reminds me of this article:

http://www.fahncahn.com/test/bikethieves/bikethieves.htm

Originally posted by jrxl
This reminds me of this article:

http://www.fahncahn.com/test/bikethieves/bikethieves.htm


"...do they think [the vigilante beating of a bike thief] will stop that kid doing it again? They ponder this for a moment, before Jacko answers: 'No, not really. They're so f**king stupid. Maybe, sometimes, it stops them, but that's not the aim. We're just doing something we need to do. Call it revenge, call it getting even, call it what you like."



Big men, eh?

Originally posted by Inoplanetyanin


P.S. Same with him, if you have accidently hit certain spot on his head, he could have been instantly killed. Think about it... just for some "bike"...

Maybe that is something for the thief to think about....because if he wasn't doing something illegal he wouldn't have put his own life in jeopardy.

Originally posted by SellingEngland
Maybe that is something for the thief to think about....because if he wasn't doing something illegal he wouldn't have put his own life in jeopardy.


You're not getting it!

*If* the worst happened, he won't be able to think, coz he'll be dead.

THEN the original poster WILL be jailed for many years. Does he have kids? Mommy, where's daddy? Daddy's in jail coz he got stupid over his TOYS...