Bikesalot

Last Friday night my wife and I were hanging out with some friends in downtown Portland. She didn't feel like riding home that night, so I locked her bike to a rack on a well-lit, well-traveled street, while she got a ride home from a friend. I removed the front wheel and locked it and the rear wheel through the rear triangle to the rack, figuring that this would keep the bike safe overnight. Wrong...
The next morning we walked from our house to retrieve the bike and run some errands. Rounding the corner, we saw that the bike was where we had left it. But some inconsiderate f**k had jumped the curb in their car and smashed the frame and wheels!!! Apparently their bumper caught the rear wheel and levered the bike completely around the rack, completely mangling the rear wheel, bending the rear triangle and front wheel due to the way I had locked it. The damage couldn't have been inflicted by anything other than a car--the metal was gouged by impact in only one spot of the wheel; only a powerful object could have done so much damage in one blow. Also, I found a fragment of the perp's turn signal lens under the bike. We asked around at some of the local businesses, but nobody saw anything. The bike messengers at Capt. Ank's swore revenge if we found the fool who did it.
We're a carfree family at the moment, so my wife used her bike every single day for basic transportation. I built it up myself from a cheap garage sale bike, so it had some sentimental value for me even though I didn't ride it. Insurance will cover the loss, but it's still a rude awakening to have something so important be wantonly destroyed by a stranger.

My question, BF members, is this:

Should I find the person who did this, unlikely though it is, what would the appropriate retribution be? I'd like to exact equivalent revenge for taking away my wife's basic transportation and cherished alloy steed, even if only in fantasy.

Ideas?

Allister

Have you considered contacting the police? Not that I seriously think they'll do anything, but having a report on paper may come in handy further down the track, especially if you find the scumbag who did it. You never know, they might even track this person down themselves.

Otherwise, all you can do is trust that, one way or another, justice will always be served - that it is an immmutable law of the universe.

Dutchy

This is what I would do if life was a TV show.

1)Get the turn signal lens and run it through a manufacturers database, this would give you the make of car.
2) Take a sample of the paint that is left on your damaged bike, where the car made contact. Run this through a database to confirm the colour.
3) You should now know the make and colour of the car. As with most TV shows there would only be 6 matching cars in the entire state, so finding the drivers should now be easy.
4) The cops arrest him, you get a HUGE pay out, he gets the electric chair, and the credits roll.

Unfortunately, life isn't TV so I'm afraid nothing can really be done. I would feel very angry and bitter if it had happened to me, so don't feel guilty for wanting some kind of revenge. The world is full of people who have NO RESPECT for any one or any thing.

CHEERS.

Mark

John E

I know how you feel. While working my first summer job as a busboy at a fancy beach club, I locked my trusty Hercules derailleur/Sturmey 9-speed every night in the bike rack. A club regular, somewhat inebriated, I am sure, put his car into D instead of R, jumped the curb, and pretzled my front wheel. He at least had the decency to confess to the management and to pay me about 150 percent of my total damages. These days, I could probably get someone like that nailed for DUI.

martin

Karma. The perp will get what is coming to them. For every bad deed done there will always be a 10 fold return to the person that did the dirty deed. Likewise, you will be rewarded in time.

Its tough to deal with things like that. I remember coming home from a business trip to find a near empty house a few years ago. In my absence a thief had emptied nearly everything of value from the place. The only thing I recovered was a laser printer and some music cds. I recovered from that, but it seriously shook my trust in my fellow man.

Regardless of where you go and what you do for a living there are always going to be people like that. They eventually get their just desserts.

Astra

It could be worth taking a drive around the local area and seeing if you see a car with a damaged headlight/indicator. Are there any paint fragments on the bike/wall that would give you an idea what colour the car is ? You could go around and have a word ( presuming of course if you find it, the car doesn't belong to a 6' 6" crackhead with an attitude problem ) .

stumpjumper

While I am a firm beleiver in karma, I think karma sometimes needs a hand. I'd put the remains of that frame through his windshield.

Matadon

Nothing says that you can't take a hands-on, one-on-one, personal, micro-managed approach to that tenfold return.

hillyman

What was becomes what is now.Take note what happened,learn from it,let it go.Perfect opportunity to get the wife a better bike! ...KC

joeprim

Since I don't believe folks do this on purpose pay special attention to bars, taverns, ... He's likely to be there again before the lens is fixed.

When you find him you should be able to scare him bad enough to get all the parts to build her a very special bike.

Mean while hilly100man said it best.

Joe

Bikesalot

Thanks for all the sympathy, folks. I did report the damage to the police, but they told me up front that it wouldn't be investigated. I didn't expect much else from the PPD...

The insurance came through, but because the bike started life as a no-name hunk o' junk the payout was pretty small, even before they factored in depreciation. Still, it's enough to get a decent frame and wheelset, and the weather is warmer so the wife can ride her road bike for awhile until I build up a new commuter. Anybody got any used 9-speed MTB components for sale?

In the meantime, I'm going to carry the lens fragment around and keep an eye out in the area where the damage occurred. It's a popular nightspot, so the perp will likely return one day. I figure that inflicting some public shame will at least make me feel better without risking an assault charge. I'll leave that up to the bike messengers.