If it's stolen, it's not always gone forever

Have you ever had your bike stolen? I've had 2 bikes stolen. One right out of my garage, and one from out in front of my house. The first one I put in to my renter's insurance and bought a brand new wonderful bike--and then that one got stolen about 4 years later. This time I didn't claim it on insurance, and now I'm sans bicycle. I figure if I can't keep my bikes locked up, I don't deserve to have one.

Anyway, if you've ever had your bike stolen, you'll know what I'm talking about when I share the following story:

When your bike has been stolen, you find yourself habitually looking at the bikes that people are riding--as if you will one day happen to see someone tooling around on your own bike. "Could that be my bike?" you think as you squint to make out the writing on the crossbar of the red bike the 13 year old kid is riding on the sidewalk as you drive by in your car. Of course, you know it will NEVER be your bike, but you look just the same.

Well, one day it WAS my bike. No joke.

When I was in college a friend, who was an avid cyclist, helped me pick out a bike. It was state of the art at the time. I was very proud of that bike, and rode it for the next 10 or 12 years. By the time it was stolen, it was pretty much the only one of its kind (at least in my neck of the woods). It was stolen right out of my car port. I reported it to the police, who actually came out to my apartment to take a report (I lived in a small suburb at the time, I guess they had nothing better to do). I filed a claim against my renter's insurance, and bought a new bike.

About a year and a half later, I was at a newstand not 2 blocks from my home when a kid rode by on a red bike. Out of habit, I looked at the bike to see if it was mine. AND IT WAS. No mistake. That kid was riding around on my stolen bike. All the times that I had examined the red bikes that rode past, I never stopped to think what I would do if I actually saw my bike!

The kid parked the bike outside of the newstand and walked in. I was paralyzed. What to do? I already claimed the bike on my insurance. So was it even mine anymore? But then I felt the old anger that I had felt the moment I realized someone had taken my bike in the first place. I walked up to the kid (he was probably around 14 or 15) and asked "Do you know that you are riding a stolen bicycle?"

HIM: Uh.....

ME: That bike...outside. It was stolen. Where did you get it?

HIM: Ummm...I bought it for $30 from a kid in East Haven. (A town about 5 miles away).

ME: Really? That's funny. It was stolen about 2 blocks from here. Look. I already claimed it on my renter's insurance. I have a new bike, so I guess I don't really care but...(and we began walking outside) You may want to be careful about riding it. The police were notified that it was stolen (as if they would pull him over for riding a stolen bicycle!).

I couldn't tell if he was telling the truth, or if he had stolen it himself. Either way, he knew it was stolen, and he knew that it was mine. I could tell he just wanted to get out of there. But, I was curious if he was actually going to get on that bike and ride away.

HIM: Here, do you want it?

ME: Yeah, actually I do. (and I got on the bike a rode it home).

It was the oddest experience.

photo by Found Magazine