Got my bike back!

[Geonz]

... and I'm *done* with the classes that made me trim my online activity. Okay, I still have to *finish* figuring out "how to make an android app" -- mine will help you understand subtracting integers, 'cause I'm a math tutor -- but...

... my Trek 7500 FX was swiped from behind my house the Saturday before Thanksgiving, 2012. I reported to police, put the word out...

... last Tuesday, I'm riding to a meeting and ... it's locked to a bike parking space on Main Street Business District, in front of a restaurant! I pull over... erm, yes. Same model...

... I dash to my meeting 'cause I need to think... and the meeting is canceled, but I hadn't checked my phone (good thing, I think, though if it were still there in the a.m. I"d have seen it on my way to work, and I would have just called work ...)

... so I dashed back, doing that thinking, and stopped & checked it...

Bontrager Hard Case 25cc tires... oh, yea, the rusty mount for the handlebar bag that had been removed... the electrical tape hanging from a cable for some reason or other... different seat & pedals but yes, my sawed-off handlebars (great to have a bike shop who knows what you like)...

... I wrap my cable lock around it and head for a corner and call the police.... 45 minutes later I call again ... welp, if the person just ducked into the restaurant, then they should have ducked out (totally mixed feelings about that, especially if, say, the person approached me with "hey, there's another lock on my bike! Did you see anybody...")

... and in the meantime found its serial number on my phone from the email from the bike shop.

... the officer looked under the bike and... the numbers didn't match. Do what? However, with probably a bit of middle-aged-white-woman-privilege involved, he was fine with leaving it "temporarily restrained" with my lock (and keeping the key in my possession) and slipping his card on the bike so if the "owner" came out s/he should call...

... Went to bike shop the next day & found out that Trek stuck lots of numbers under the bottom bracket. So I cruised back ... yea, bike still there... I tried a few things with my camera without crawling on my belly (still a little concerned about an "owner" coming out to confront)... and decided to wander over to The Bike Project (www.thebikeproject.org ) 'cause we were having the general membership meeting and it's 2 blocks away... and James at the meeting told me the serial number woudl be on a sticker (which I'd seen, but assumed had other numbers) ... so after the meeting two of us went back and yes... WL1213603 was right there on the sticker.

So! we wander over to the police station ... but they want paper proof of the serial number... and trying to forward the email didn't get through their filters. However, with proof of ownership, hey, I coudl do whatever I wanted to get my bike off that lock, and they knew how to do it too... so my directions were to go print it out at the bike project and then meet the officer at the bike but it might be a while 'cause there was somebody flashin' his stuff in town who they were trying to track down...
Naturally, folks at the bike project would love to go attack the U-lock ... I say, "maybe tomorrow..." but it's a little while before I getback out there.
So I hang out by the bike chatting with a friend eating at the restaurant outdoor table... then decide I'll just drop the printout off at the police station and they can remove the lock and I'll unlock mine and get the bike later...
.... I go in and it's a different dispatch guy, and I slide my paper under the kiosky thing and say, "I've got proof of ownership for the bike I..." and he says, "just a minute!" and goes to the phone... to summon an officer 'cause he knows the scoop. The officer arrives in 15-20 minutes and says, however, that they don't right then have a means of getting the lock off. Well, I'll meet her there... and yes, people were still building bikes at the bike project (kids bikes for a Juneteenth ride) and Yes, they'd be GLAD to throw a big ol' extension cord on my Xtracycle and tote a grinder over there -- and one of the guys had a key to a building within extension cord distance.
So... I ride over and the car's there with blue and red lights a-blazing and she's looking down at the sticker and saying, "It's your bike!" and here comethe guys. Sparks fly... she sticks around just in case somebody comes out who thought the bike was theirs...

... and happily, in that year and a half time, my bike shop has a branch on that same block downtown so I can drop it by for a thorough going over ...

[Blueberry]

Wow!! Makes you wish bikes could tell stories. I'm sure she would have one to tell!

Congrats on getting her back!

[OakLeaf]

Wow, that's amazing! Yay, what a story!

[rebeccaC]

she was waiting for you to find her ....a complicated reunion but together again and that's what matters!

[Catrin]

Wow, what a story! Congratulations on getting your baby back!

[Crankin]

That is really amazing after all of that time.

[colorisnt]

Wow! What an awesome ending to a long saga! Thanks for sharing how you got to reclaim your bike

[azfiddle]

That's great- so glad you got your bike back!

[smilingcat]

Glad to see you recover your bike. Just amazing that it was you who found it!! I guess who ever stole your bike was riding/using it since stealing the bike.

Congratulation on recovering your bike. Happy reunion!!

[pll]

Wow. So cool you recovered your bike. If the bike could tell its story... perhaps the person who was riding it bought on CL, might not be the same person who stole it.

[Pax]

That is great!! So glad you got it back, you must have good karma!!