Sixty Fiver

Was coming home yesterday and saw a couple of homeless guys walking and one them was walking a bike that I had built up at the co-op... a Raleigh Super Grand Prix with a fixed gear conversion that had been sold nearly as soon as it was done.

So I pulled up to ask this homeless guy (HG) where he got the bike and the other guy just kept walking with his cart full of street finds.

HG said he just found it in an alley and I told him I had built and sold the bike which was surely stolen and had probably been dumped (it had a flat tyre).

Told him I could offer a little reward and would get it back to it's owner but he wasn't going to part with the bike and can probably see his POV that I could have been trying to rip him off so gave him my number and told him to call me today.

Shortly after this I was riding and passed him again and he called me over and said he'd give me the bike for $50.00 and I told him that I wasn't going to buy a stolen bike and that I could offer him no more than $20.00 for his trouble.

He said he wanted me to find the owner... thinking he was looking for a bigger reward as you can't pawn a stolen bike in this city very easily anymore.

So today I send out a few e-mails and track down the owner, we chat, and I am hoping HG will call me hoping that he'll get a little more than a $20.00 for his trouble.

And that would save me the trouble of tracking him down but I have seen HG before and would not have too much trouble with that.

I had also talked to a few old co-workers over my morning coffee and told them to keep an eye out for this bike and the homeless guy... my old co-workers are the city's finest and they hate bike thieves as much as I do.

They aren't cops.... they are bike messengers.

So at 4:30 I get a call from one of the guys saying the homeless guy and the bike came walking right past him and a bunch of the other guys and when 5 messengers tell you that you have a stolen bike you put it down and walk away... if you want to avoid an epic beating.

I got downtown in 10 minutes (still have those legs) and we called the owner to tell him his bike had been recovered and we'd drop it off later.

He was a very happy guy when he got his ride back and after his latest batch of beer is ready he said we are gonna get a drunk on...



If I see HG I will have to stop and spot him a fiver as he actually held on to the bike for a day and am pretty sure he was looking for a decent reward... knowing that the bike was stolen 10km from where HG lives I don't think he was the original thief.

But if I see him walking around with another bike that isn't his we are going to have another kind of chat.

scottmforreals

I read a few paragraphs in and my inner bro told me you should beat him up next time you see him. Then, I read the rest. Fine story.

Squirrelli

Awesome story.

It's nice that you have connections with messengers to help you track down the guy. We need more people like you, Sixty Fiver.

CharneK

Good story. Its always nice to hear about someone getting their bike back. Also a story to argue for being good friends with messengers should your city have them

AerosSaga

+1 Karma points

vw addict

Good read, and I'm glad the bike made it back to it's owner.

ichitz

great story. We need more of these stories around. Good job, 65er!

squeaver

Nice, I always like happy endings!

JesusBananas

Awesome story! What a lucky bike owner that guy is . . .

And I bet HG regrets not taking your $20 offer.

avner

ah that **** warms my heart. good to always know theres a chance of getting your bike back.

WoundedKnee

Good stuff.

SteveFromNY

very nice story. i wish more people have the sense of community you all have.

Philasteve

I'll muay thai the **** out of a homeless guy.

Sixty Fiver

I am better qualified to hand out ass whuppings than most people but sometimes you have to use a little discretion... I live in this neighbourhood, my business is here, and I volunteer with these same homeless folks from time to time.

This sense of community extends to everyone who lives here and I have a fiver set aside for the homeless guy in case I see him... he was picking bottles yesterday and it takes a lot of time to make $5.00 doing that.

On the other hand, steal a messengers bike and it is a sure fire guarantee to get the beating of your life and only a few people have done enough drugs to think this was a good idea.

Sixty Fiver

On another note... there is another homeless guy who frequents my favourite coffee shop and is always asking for $2.00 so he can buy a "cheeseburger" and he just made his rounds here.

He always gets a hearty "piss off" from me as he is often aggressive and in your face buut can;t seem to remember how many times he has asked me for a few dollars.