azesty

I went to Sichuan University today with a friend to kick an Australian Rules football back and forth. The fields were not heavily used and we had plenty of room. We locked our bikes to the fence outside the field in plain view.

A number of people came watched us on and off, including one guy in a white down jacket. I didnt realize that he was standing next to my bike.

After about an hour I saw him riding off, and was surprised because I didnt think he had a bike with him. Then I looked more closely and saw that he was sitting on my bike! I had to sprint about 50 m to get outside the gate and he was still about 20 m in front of me. I hadnt said anything, but he looked over his left shoulder and saw me coming. but he couldnt get away. I reached out to grab his jacket to pull him to the left, but as I did he looked over his left shoulder again and lurched right.

He went down over the right side onto his front. The bike bounced up, and the pedal got me on the right knee and something got me on the left ankle. He bounced up to his feet and started running off. I was in a bit much pain to chase him, but yelled out "thief" in Chinese (I had just learnt how to say this!).

My friend arrived but by this time he was gone. My friend tried to give chase but it was just too late.

There are some scratches on the right STI and the corner of my B17.

Sitting here in a little pain, there are three gashes on my right knee cap, and my knee is a little stiff, and there is a tear on my jeans.

Still, my bike is back in my apartment, and there is a thief who will be a little more cautious.

z

destro713

Should have lobbed your U-lock and tried to bean him in the head. Failing that, should have committed his face to memory so next time you see him around the field you can suckerpunch him in the kidney.

I'm a very liberal guy, but I really have zero sympathy for someone who engages in that kind of petty, high-risk crime with a clear victim.

azesty

My u-lock was still on the bike which he was sitting on.

I didnt get much of a look at his face, and I was running at the time, and full of adrenaline. I would not be able to pick him out of a line up.

Just glad I have my bike.

My knee is too sore to ride this evening, though I did ride home. Hope he is hurting more!

z

SurlyLaika

I agree with this guy. You should have at least kicked his face. You would have been completely in the right in defending yourself and your bike from a thief.

genec

What did the guy do, cut the fence?

Didn't you Ulock through your wheel?

You said the ulock was still on the bike, how was it not preventing the theft?

truman

Bravo! Good catch. Heal fast, little soldier.

slide23

It wouldn't help if you did get a good look at him. We Asians all look alike, just to mess with the roundeyes.

Good to hear that you recovered your bike. Only a few things make me viscerally angry and bike thieves are one of them.

nelson249

Of course, you might want to be a little careful about unnecessary violence considering the OP is in a foreign country which may have very different laws etc. It might be satisfying to give this cretin what he deserves but counting the possible costs of doing so is smarter.

Congrats to the OP for recovering the bike and get well soon.

azesty

My ulock was on my bike, the other lock, a Giant branded cable lock was locking the frame to a pole of a high fence such as you would find around a tennis court.

I did see his face four times, twice while he looked over his shoulder to see me catching him while he was riding away, once when he was sprawled on the ground and another time as he looked over his shoulder again and bounced off the fence.

But I was concentrating on other things, not remembering his face. It wouldnt matter what race he was, I wouldnt recognize him.

I have been in Asia for 4 years now, and roundeye faces are starting to look strange.

z

colleen c

Wow, you must have had lots of adrenaline rush. He had a head start on a bike and you were able to chase him down on foot. Ever thought about changing sport from Australian Rules football to 100 meter sprint?

lbj

Well as they would say in Little House on the Prairie, Alls well that ends well...but maybe you might want to take a look at some of these theft-prevention tips? If you're going to lock with the cable lock, you should (or at least, I would) lock the Ulock through the front wheel and the frame to stop someone riding off like that. Good you caught them though!

seenoweevil

Glad you caught the guy and got your bike back! I just hope you heal up quick and can get back riding soon!

Carley P.

Whoa. Good job! I've always wondered what I would do if I saw someone riding off on my bike. I'm glad you got your bike back!

10 Wheels

You must be fast on your feet.

Good work.

Chris_in_Miami

This is the best possible outcome for you, you got your bike back with minimal damage, and you didn't have to sit in jail for beating the scumbag to a bloody pulp. Good show!

Seattle Forrest

I'm glad you have your bike!! That's really amazing that you were able to chase it down on foot. And, did you make the thief crash by using your mind...?

Heal quickly.

mtnwalker

You're lucky the thief did not know KUNG FU! He could have easily bounced off the fence, run up along it, transition to a wall and jump from roof top to roof top with your bike.

Good job on the catch!!!

exile

At least you got your bike back even with a few dings or scratches. Better that than not having a bike at all.

CB HI

Good job on running the scum bag down.

waynesworld

Good job!

So, did he cut your cable lock? From your description, I'm still not sure how he got your bike.

GamblerGORD53

Nice catch. That's why chinese bikes have O/frame locks.
It sounds like he couldn't reach the pedals. haha
Maybe never used drops or your kind of shifters either.

azesty

Answers to a couple of your questions:

The cable lock was open, I still dont know what happened there, did he pick it? Did he force it? Did I not lock it properly?

Yeah, I should have had the ulock on there as well.

Fast? I had been doing short sprints after the ball for about half an hour, then we had just had a break, and chased the ball a couple more times. I was well warmed up. He didnt expect me to be coming, and I didnt yell to give him notice. He was trying to accelerate, but it wasnt working. I found the bike in 6th gear on the back, and 2nd on the front, not that easy to take off on.

I dont think I would have had any trouble if I had beat him, my friend was approaching, and he looks Chinese, and speaks really good Mandarin.

The thief had a lovely white down jacket on. I am hoping the dirt wont go away, and that he has a couple of holes in it from sliding on the ground.

My knee is stiff this morning, difficult to bend, but I think it will be fine tomorrow.

z

scroca

I'm glad you didn't lose your bike.

I hope you heal up quickly.

HappyStuffing

I have no sympathy for bike thieves. I would advocate any sort of harsh and unrealistic punishment towards them to set examples for other would-be loser bike thieves.

. . is there something worse than hell? Like a hell with more torture and suffering x10? Ya let's put bike thieves in a worse place than that. That would *just* be sufficient.


. . anyone who wants to flame me, bring it on, because as you can see i am not being rational and it makes no sense to argue with me about this.

irclean

LOL! That's a great line! I'm gonna use it on my wife next time we have an argument.