The Steal is Real
 

Anyone looking for a bike screenplay idea should check out this story. To make it a proper BF thread, consider whether he would've gotten away with his last job if he'd used a Walmart bike.

How an Olympic Hopeful Robbed 26 Banks on His Bike

What a story!

Nicely done story. Moral of the story is don't do drugs and ride non descript bikes. If he hadn't got hooked on dope and had ridden a generic 10 year old wally world bike it is likely he'd still be in business today.

There's a lesson in the story for all of us:

Had he been riding an average bicycle, Tom might never have been caught.

Walmart bike would have been the ideal getaway vehicle. Just throw it away, and keep a couple of the $50s from the score to get a new one.

Of course, who's to know he wouldn't have snapped a crank arm off doing that track start to get away from the cops. :speedy:

Come to think of it, maybe it wasn't just the bike that got him caught, it was the kit. If you're wearing spandex aero stuff, a messenger bag is a mismatch--sounds like the cop spotted this almost unconsciously. Probably would have been better with a hybrid with a couple of grocery bag panniers, wearing a t shirt and shorts. Complete the effect by putting a few groceries on top of the money. The cop would probably never have stopped him.

"Racing is ruining bike bank robbery."

I think what got him was the mismatch. You can either wear racing kit or carry a bag, but you can't do both without looking odd. He either needed to figure a way to hide the loot in a racing setup, or look like a rider that would normally be carrying something.

At any rate, his story would make a great movie.

Or wearing a partially-filled hydration pack and keeping the cash in there. But it might be a bit tight fit to hold the disguise, too. Maybe best to dress up like a broke guy with a couple DUI's on a beater bike out of necessity and a couple of plastic bags hanging from the handlebars.

"Not 60 seconds later, he emerged, carrying an aluminum bicycle on one shoulder and a messenger bag over the other and wearing a red, white, and blue spandex bodysuit, a silver helmet, sunglasses with yellow lenses, and a pair of cycling shoes. He climbed onto the bike, clicked into the pedals, and began to ride leisurely."

So many connections to BF threads:

Frame material
What does a skin suit do?
Cheap sunglasses (Oakleys are a rip off.)
Helmet or no helmet?
Clipless or not?
What's the best cycling shoe?
You are doing it wrong if you don't ride leisurely.

That was my first thought. Messenger bag=skinny jeans, no helmet and a tiny u lock protruding from your back pocket. :innocent:

If he was going for the full bike messenger look, he wouldn't be wearing clip-ins. Bike messengers do too much walking in buildings for them to be practical.

I think he stood out like a sore thumb, he was being stupid trying to be so obvious, but of course he was being stupid when he decided to rob banks. A lot of crooks will do stupid stuff like seemingly they want to get caught which I heard that is the case. Why would a person go into a bank to rob it, show his drivers license to the clerk as if to cash a check before he actually decides to go through with the robbery? I could go on and on about stupid crooks but you can google those as well as I can if you're interested in reading such antics.

I don't get going through all the trouble to rob a bank just to throw the money away. Yes, I understand he was an adrenaline junkie who just wanted the rush, and he thought the money was traceable (doubtful, most people don't look at the serial numbers on money when you spend it, and from when my wife used to work at a bank, they did order money often but with the volume I don't think they ever bothered writing down serial numbers. They'd need someone sitting there doing that all day if that were the case) but if you're going to go through all the trouble & risk to rob a bank, why not keep the ill-gotten gains for your trouble? Not that I would ever rob a bank, but I'd at least make it worthwhile. With all the money he threw away, he could have bought several bikes with which to use as getaway vehicles instead of his highly traceable orange Steelman.

Neat story. So did he get his bike back when he left the slammer?? LOL
My bank always has the same packs in the drawer. They are NOT bundles of money.

robbin hood ?