if i caught somebody trying to steal my bike i would probably try to incur as much bodily harm on them as possible

Hell hath no fury like a man parted from his bike. Good job OP. The show of restraint was commendable. Unfortunately, I would probably go into a fury and my Schrade*edit (lost my schrade, Kershaw speed assist now)would find it's way to flesh a little too fast. I probably shouldn't carrry a knife...:o

What point?

Wow, sounds like you've run into one too many guys that were bigger than you, and it hasn't turned out in your favor.

I suggest you chill out. A lot.

that's awesome! what bar was it at? i live in nola as well.

Le bon temp on Magazine.

Score!

shouldv gotten it on video

Perhaps if somebody handled this kid a few years ago the way the OP did, he would have never had to see his bike nearly get stolen that night and this wouldn't be for debate. The kids parents didn't love him, I don't see why you should.

Awesome story.... You should have just locked him up with the chain since it was apparently "his" and left him there. Preferably somewhere good like on some train tracks.

I'm far from trolling. I think laying hands on someone is far from a reasonable solution to the problem at hand. Think what you like, but this forum is largely a giant pissing contest, so when some guy posts a story about choking down someone who tried to pick up his bike without saying something, I say it's excessive. Whats wrong with walking over as the dude is making for the bike, putting a hand around his arm and saying "so, I see you like my bike." If the occurance was in front of a bar and you had a friend present I would bet 99% of the time the kid would have let go of the bike, and tried to cover his ass in a quick fashion.

What color is the sky in your world?

Unless there is a clear attempt to conceal, they have to wait for the perpetrator to actually pass the register - the point of no return. Only then has a crime been committed. But their job is to prevent the loss, which is why they have the fancy title of Loss Prevention Investigators.

Letting someone walk off with your bike just so you can administer a mild beating is not the same.

you must live in a relatively safe, crime free area that is not unlike Mr Rogers Neighborhood. That would never work out in my city (chicago).

"hey there buddy. I see you like my bike..." ha - what a joke. you'd get stabbed with a ice pick in the stomach.

When somebody steals a bike, breaks into a garage, a gym locker, steals a wallet, or car prowls - they know this isn't a dept store with security. They know they are violating a person, an individual, a hard working man. In the back of every thief's mind is the real possibility that "I'm talking a BIG chance here of getting my ass kicked badly for what I'm about to do... but here I go anyway!". So, I don't feel a thing for somebody who took that chance and lost. They should've been raised better. They should've been schooled by hard knocks already. I know what's its like to be a victim of theft. It's maddening.

More power to you if you give the thief "street justice". Imagine what happens to them in the Middle East! Thieves are scum. Go work for a living.

+1

...did you not read the OP, "some young tight jeans wuss" doesnt sound like one to carry an ice pick, nor stab you in the stomach with it. The response seems pretty overkil in light of the situation. Would the OP have choked the thief to the ground were he a 250 pound dude with a handlebar moustache and a chrome dome? Seems to me like someone taking advantage of a situation to incur a little bit of roughing up to someone.

You know what happens some places in the middle east when a woman doesnt wear a face scarf or heaven forbid wants to leave her husband...?
whats your point?

I understand your point, but this wasn't a sting operation with the bike sitting out like bait...I was only a couple of feet away. And there was no mild beating administered. I only grabbed the guy when he started to actually get on the bike and ride away...the point of no return.

bike thieves where I live tend to be thug elements who wouldn't hesitate to **** you up if you interrupt their money-making. you must live in a suburban fantasy world if you do believe everyone is friendly and rational even the criminally minded.

even if the kid was not carrying a weapon, he still needs some instant karma to learn not to steal because he obviously hasnt learned yet. I wouldnt put him in the hospital, but I sure as hell would make him feel very uncomfortable. maybe next time he'll think twice.

If you don't wanna get stabbed, beatup, roughed up, then... dont steal. The bike thief is not a victim here. That kind of thinking is twisted and laughable. Besides nobody stabbed him. The real victim went easy on him. I doubt that thief even learned his lesson.

At this point, I would like to take a moment to apologize to all of the non bike stealing, young, tight jean wearing wusses and hipsters that I have inadvertently insulted. I didn't intend to sully your fine reputations by including this particular @sshat as your contemporaries. Please forgive me. I have ridden with some fine hipsters and consider them friends.;)

As to the chrome domed, big guy with the funny lip hair? If he was dodgy and tried to steal my bike? You bet.


And to the "choked the thief to the ground" tripe...while I had the guy by the throat and he knew it, there was no choking going on.

You'd be surprised. I work in a clinic that provides drug & alcohol treatment to federal offenders. I would never have imagined connecting some of them to what is in their presentence reports. In fact, we've got one who even rides a FG and looks just like a skinny, young hipster, and that's because he is a skinny, young hipster - with a history of criminal violence.

Making the mistake of assuming someone is harmless may just be your last.

I never believed that for a second. :)

^Real hipsters=on coke

Apology accepted :D
Also, regarding the big dude, you have more guts than I could ever claim to have. I'm sorry if my feelings toward the situation have offended anyone. I think that what most people posting in the thread are screaming about and what I am trying to explain are two completely different things. How you carry yourself is up to you, and why everyone seems to think they have to justify their actions to me and make me take your side and say "yeah, I think following someone down the street until you find the right moment to grab his throat and put him on the ground is cool," is beyond me. All I'm saying is, in this situation, it makes little sense to me why you would be violent about the situation. The OP said that the dude got hauled in by the cops, why is the choke hold necessary then? I cannot agree with the situation, nor the way it was dealt with, why it's so hard for people to comprehend and why they need to prove that their ideas regarding thiefs to be right is beyond me. Some day it's probable one of you guys is going to piss someone off and they are going to freak out and you arent going to understand why he's SO upset about SO little and it will become pretty apparent why I say it's unnecessary.