Happy Earthday...I got a great present: MY BIKE STOLEN
I'm in shock. Someone just stole my track bike, and I let them do it. After biking in NYC for 18 years I just fell victim to a scam. It happened April 22nd, 5:00pm. I was on 1st ave between 13th and 14th, in front of the birdbath bakery, which gives you 25% off if you use a bike. I wanted to bring my bike in the store but instead took a minute to look for a place to lock it up. A Hispanic male about 5'8, stocky, short cropped hair, looking kind of pale like he was on the methadone program. He was fit. A good 250 lbs. Wearing a white button down short sleeved shirt with a huge airbrushed image of scar-face. Jean shorts, white sneakers. He had some religious tattoos including a cross on his hand that looked home-made. He walked by me, then turned around and came back. He walked up to me and asked where he could get a bike like mine. Then he asked if he could feel how heavy it was. I knew he was going to want to try it out and I knew I would SAY NO! Then for some dumb ass reason, I gave in and let him ride it. Before this happened he gave me the keys to his car which he walked over to a car parked in the street and turned the lock. I didn't pay to much attention to these details...YEAH I know...I should Have. I shouldn't have even let him touch my bike...going with my initial gut feelings. This will be the hardest part to swallow. I share it with you knowing the embarsment I will have to live with for the rest of my life. I had a policy, never to let people ride my bike, never to stop on the Bridge if someone flagged me down. WHY WHY WHY did I let down my guard.
Then the guy rode back and forth up and down the block between 14th and 13th. 3 times. On the third pass he headed North on 1st and then crossed 14th street on a green light, stopping traffic. He took off down 14th street towards AVE A. Sorry, I'm still in shock and have to write this as fast as I can.
So I called the police. They came right away, they were nice and helpful. We took a ride. We went over to Continuum bike shop to see if he tried to make the quick sale. Jeff at the bike shop told me someone else had this happen to them too, recently, he said a lot of people have been reporting bike theft. I knew about this. I had no idea the same scam was being tried on other people.
If you see this bike please please please let me know.
criticalmassbiker@mac.com
It is a a orange khs bike all covered up with round green and white crumpler stickers. It has a gold Kris King headset. It has a green areospoke front wheel with a green tire. It has green Oury hand grips. I love this bike...really. I feel like a total schmuck.
Please help me get it back. Any information will help.
Here are pictures:
Labels: bike theft aerospoke green wheel fraud scam earth day
posted by Michael Green at 5:29 PM
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33 Comments:
mike,
i don't understand the car keys part - he just had random set of car keys and pretended to use them to lock up some random car?
oh man that is such a bummer.
i feel your pain. (my baby, the only ride for me, got jacked out of my house last month, putting theft in the lead over shattered frame as my cause of bike loss 4 to 3)
so sorry bro.
careful you don't get into an accident checking out all the bikes in this town while riding around whatever replacement you come up with. there's a lot of bike out there these days!
wow mike that really sucks. i will certainly keep my eye out for it!
jamie
That's terrible. I'll pitch in if you've got a paypal link. Though it'll be hard to replace that bicycle.
sorry to hear that happen to you.
I've always wondered what a small tatoo on the crook of one's hand mean. I know it's not good.
the area between the thumb and index finger.
sounds like you gave a detailed description and the cops should stake out the methadone clinics.
that SUCKS. Put up a PayPal donation link on your site so we can help ease the pain a bit. Good Luck!!!
Sorry to hear it mate, I've had two stolen here in London, I guess you were just too trusting, great bike too.
Don't be embarrassed about it man, stuff like this can happen to anyone, and he chose the wrong person since there's a very good description of him and his technique out on the web now.
--Green (as in Steve)...
I hope somehow you get your bike back undamaged, and if not, you find the perfect replacement.
i'd like to start a twitter-like 'stolen bike' service - kind of like Amber alerts for bikes.
Good luck getting it. Sucks that you get burned for being a nice guy these days. It just sucks. Bike locks, car alarms, etc wouldn't be needed if people weren't a-holes.
Well again, good luck!
Kyle
Bummer. Like everyone else, I hope you get it back. Even if you don't though, thanks for sharing the story though so others won't fall for the same scam.
To be honest
I love hearing this
classic New York
and also
One shouldn't ride a bike in New York anyway
Serves you right
If you actually care about the environment
You would join the millions that ride the great public transit system in the country
Not cause more traffic (and safety issues) doing harm to the environment (URBAN ENVIRONMENT) by riding a bike.
One reaps what they sow
Dont believe the hype
I think I saw the same dude with the Scarface shirt (and matching Scarface pants) on B'way and 79th last Sunday (4/20). He was a big guy and was with a friend. I only remember him because of the matching attire.
i disagree with the guy who said u shouldn't be embarrassed.
me too. you should be embarrased. You made a stupid move and the PJs are laughing @ you.
Dumbass...
Do you have $200 I can hold?
When I was a kid I had a RAD chrome Mongoose dirt bike that was a hand-me down from my brother that I LOVED TO DEATH. It was tricked out mags front and back, everything just so, etc.
My town's Parks Dept. had a "City Games" not two blocks from my house every summer. I chose to ride my ride to the park, and realizing I didn't have a lock, picked a RANDOM GUY out of the crowd and asked if I could lock up with him.
Well, uh, of course I could, couldn't I? And that was the last I ever saw of that bike. Just a year or two earlier, my brother, when he was still using the bike, had to chase a guy who had hopped on it while he was playing basketball about a mile down the road to a Burger King parking lot where he managed to attract a cop's attention (make your own joke). Turns out that only prolonged the inevitable.
Don't feel bad, stupidity happens. You'll never get over it (at least if you're like me) but you'll learn your lesson.
I'm sorry, man. I've felt the sting of losing a beloved bike to a thieving scumbag.
I hope you get your bike back. But if that can't happen, I hope the loser ends up under the wheels of a bus while riding it.
"me too. you should be embarrased. You made a stupid move and the PJs are laughing @ you.
Dumbass...
Do you have $200 I can hold?"
Ouch, the verbal slings from an anonymous reader. Thanks for reading my Blog...
I do have something you can hold though.
You got Got as Mos Def would say.
Welcome to New York.
Seriously, that's some funny shit.
mike
come on man
airbrushed scarface....
you know the community, if you did not recognize this guy your steed never should have left your hands.
regardless we will keep our eyes peeled
god save him, cause if we find him he will likely never ride or walk again
sincerely
Agent D
B.A.Ts
(Bicyclists Against Thieves)
Fool!! That's gotta be the most stupid story I've ever heard. You deserved that one... just wear it. I won't be sending you any money!!
Brilliant! Hilarious! Did you just move to NYC from Kansas?
But no... are you seriously that outrageously stupid?! Well, your bike choice clearly screams out a lack of any common or practical sense.
In any case, it serves you right, posing around town on a douche-gear bike with disgusting, tacky, gaudy parts. Uggh! Those colors and lame tt pad and little riser bars--you probably can't dress for shit either!
And stop writing your blog, you're not that important. Read BSNYC and leave it up to REAL CYCLISTS to let you know the deal...
Too bad about the bike, but maybe now we'll see some action on your new SUV page - uhh, you didn't give that away, I hope?
big words anonymous. Big words.
"Douche-gear bike with disgusting, tacky, gaudy parts" ?? etc, etc, douche-anonymous-douchebag! Up yours you fuckin' snob piece of shit. I can't wait for a denial-of-service attack on BSNYC to fuck that shit up for you. "Real Cyclists" ?? - Sheee-it nigga. You're a real DOUCHE! Go fuck yourself buddy.
I'm sorry to hear about your bike, man. I'm also sorry about the stupid anonymous jerk comments. Yes, you made a mistake, but I know how it is when you want to believe the best about people. Best of luck to you finding your bike. If all else fails, it's a chance for you to build up a sweet new ride!
Don't let the bastards (and anonymous asshats who have posted negative comments) get you down. Too bad that being nice amounts to "letting your guard down." Hate to say it, but since the bike is so distinctive, it's probably parted-out by now and on a dozen different Craigslist ads. I'm really genuinely sorry, though, and I hope you can at least have fun building up a new one!
Hey Asspants,
Way to bring the conversation down even further. And speaking of BSNYC, here's what he had to say about Michael's incident:
It’s important to know how thieves operate so that we can learn how to avoid them. A surprising number of thieves will in fact attempt to cajole you into letting them “see” your bike. As I mentioned before, because of the shame and stigma attached to bike theft victimhood, too many people don’t describe how their bicycle was stolen, since they wrongly feel that the fact that it was stolen makes them stupid. The fact is that bikes are stolen every day, and it can happen to anyone at any time.
-Russ
Property theft, identity theft, scams, etc., occur because criminals deliberately exploit people's trust. That this happened to you seems to prove that anyone can be a victim, given the circumstances.
Of course in hindsight it's easy to say you should have done this or that. But I doubt these anonymous posters could claim they themselves have never slipped up in their judgment. All it takes is something as "stupid" as forgetting to lock your car door or leaving your wallet on a store counter for something unfortunate to happen. This blame-the-victim attitude is just a convenient way for some people to pretend they themselves could never be victimized.
Hey Mike, sorry to hear about the whip, that sucks shit. Don't sweat the internet haters, they're just fucking pussies that wouldn't have the balls to say any of that shit to your face.
Anyone who love bicycling as much as you do is liable to try to share that passion with the unintitated, it could have happened to anyone. Just know that the NYC bike community (including myself) is keeping their eyes peeled for your ride. And if that dude gets caught, he is gonna get got. Believe.
I AM SO SORRY!
That is a brutal way to have a bike stolen! YOU CAN REBUILD!
Let me know if I can help
Fergie
This is a classic Leave It To Beaver episode come to life...
"Episode 104 - Beaver's Bike
Beaver gets permission to ride his bike to school from his father. On the first day, Beaver lets a young stranger borrow it but the stranger never returns with it. Beaver gets in trouble when he gets home for being careless. A few days later the bike is recovered, but it is in terrible condition. Beaver's parents say they will pay for the repairs."
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