Happy follow up: stolen bike alert- Lightning Phantom II



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Mike Hanslits

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I had a happy ending tonight. I reported the theft to all the local bike shops as well as the police
3 days ago. It's not the only recumbent in Salem, but could be the only Lightning Phantom and
catches attention. This afternoon, 2 kids on my bike came riding past South Salem Cycleworks (my new
favorite LBS). The owner, Michael Wolf, spotted the bike cruising by and sent 2 people running after
them, and recovered the bicycle. The thieves, unfortunately, ran away although I still have a
possible lead to identify them. I'd like them to get caught- it's terrible for people to think they
can get away with this ****. Rear rack is a little bent as they were both riding on the bike, and
they tore off my rear fender, but looks ok otherwise.

Michael Wolf had a bike ripped off from his shop today and so was pretty fired up to recover a
bike. I hope I can help someone out in the future. It really paid off to be assertive about trying
to publicize the theft. (Struck out with the local newspaper though). Thanks for your comiserations
and advice.

Mike Hanslits
 
That's great news! Probably a good thing they were kids. If they knew what they had, they'd have pawned or sold it for the money.

It's also fortunate that it was a 'bent. You might not pay much attention to a Raleigh upright tooling down the road, but you can't miss a recumbent!

Happy reunion,
Ben
 
> and they tore off my rear fender, but looks ok otherwise.
>
> Michael Wolf had a bike ripped off from his shop today and so was pretty fired up to recover a
> bike. I hope I can help someone out in the future. It really paid off to be assertive about trying
> to publicize the theft. (Struck out with the local newspaper though). Thanks for your
> comiserations and advice.
Maybe you can induce your press into action now! Do some sort of "pay it forward" type story out of
it, and make the press eat crow for not happening. BTW, that is great news.

Brian


>
> Mike Hanslits
 
Hey, Mike, great news! Now, get some of those special forces guys and hunt down those punks.
Remember the words of Ahhhnold Schwartzenegger (sp?): "If it bleeds, we can kill it."

Scott

[email protected] (Mike Hanslits) wrote in message
news:<[email protected]>...
> I had a happy ending tonight. I reported the theft to all the local bike shops as well as the
> police 3 days ago. It's not the only recumbent in Salem, but could be the only Lightning Phantom
> and catches attention. This afternoon, 2 kids on my bike came riding past South Salem Cycleworks
> (my new favorite LBS). The owner, Michael Wolf, spotted the bike cruising by and sent 2 people
> running after them, and recovered the bicycle. The thieves, unfortunately, ran away although I
> still have a possible lead to identify them. I'd like them to get caught- it's terrible for people
> to think they can get away with this ****. Rear rack is a little bent as they were both riding on
> the bike, and they tore off my rear fender, but looks ok otherwise.
>
> Michael Wolf had a bike ripped off from his shop today and so was pretty fired up to recover a
> bike. I hope I can help someone out in the future. It really paid off to be assertive about trying
> to publicize the theft. (Struck out with the local newspaper though). Thanks for your
> comiserations and advice.
>
> Mike Hanslits
 
Great news, Mike! Too bad the little bastards haven't been caught, but keep hope alive! "Mike
Hanslits" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> I had a happy ending tonight. I reported the theft to all the local bike shops as well as the
> police 3 days ago. It's not the only recumbent in Salem, but could be the only Lightning Phantom
> and catches attention. This afternoon, 2 kids on my bike came riding past South Salem Cycleworks
> (my new favorite LBS). The owner, Michael Wolf, spotted the bike cruising by and sent 2 people
> running after them, and recovered the bicycle. The thieves, unfortunately, ran away although I
> still have a possible lead to identify them. I'd like them to get caught- it's terrible for people
> to think they can get away with this ****. Rear rack is a little bent as they were both riding on
> the bike, and they tore off my rear fender, but looks ok otherwise.
>
> Michael Wolf had a bike ripped off from his shop today and so was pretty fired up to recover a
> bike. I hope I can help someone out in the future. It really paid off to be assertive about trying
> to publicize the theft. (Struck out with the local newspaper though). Thanks for your
> comiserations and advice.
>
> Mike Hanslits
 
That's terrific news, Mike! Michael Wolf, "you da man!"

Sounds like you've got some bold brats up there that need the **** kicked outta them... oops, did
I say that?

Chere
 
Mike Good 2CU got the bent back. Keep it locked and use an Alarm on it (just in case), U don't wanna
have 2 go through all this grief twice.

As for Chere asking IF she did say the pooh word, well Hell yes U did and I'm sure everyone who has
ever had their bike/bent stolen would agree with
U.
-----------------------------
"chere" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:[email protected]...
> That's terrific news, Mike! Michael Wolf, "you da man!"
>
> Sounds like you've got some bold brats up there that need the **** kicked outta them... oops, did
> I say that?
>
> Chere
 
Steve McDonald wrote:
> You are going into dangerous territory when you run down and attack a stranger on the street,
> just because they're riding the same model of bike that has been stolen from you. How would
> you regard the situation, if you were accosted and had your own bike taken away, under the
> premise that since it was the same type that was stolen from someone else, that you were to
> be assumed guilty? Both criminal and civil legal action may await anyone who takes such
> action. You could be held liable for damages for injury or trespass in some situations like
> this, even if it turned out that the property was in fact stolen from you.
>
> Steve McDonald

Yes, definitely. Maybe the police can be called to arrest the accosters of the lads. Possibly the
local paper can do a human interest story entitled "Two local boys shamefully pulled from someone
else's bike...a city rises up in outrage" or "Bicycle theft: Crime, or Right?".

With luck, the tikes can be reunited with their prized possession. But when it is returned to them,
it should have a better seat added for the benefit of the second boy.
 
I got it the 1st time, plus what if the guy you chase turns around and opens fire because he feels
threatened by you chasing him. It is usually better to leave the hunt and capture to the Police (the
guys who legally carry loaded guns) and let the Insurance company cover your loss.
----------------------------------------
"Steve McDonald" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>
> Yes, vigilante justice is always the best way to resolve such matters. You don't have a clue
> what my point was. Suppose this bicycle was not the one that had been stolen and these two
> boys had been injured in the incident? Would the views you expressed prevail in court and
> provide any lieniency for their attackers?
>
> An acquaintance had a new bike stolen a few years ago. Then, a week later, a cycling buddy
> spotted it several miles away, locked in a bike rack at a shopping center and called him on a
> cell phone. Did he call the police? No, he didn't trust them to get there in time or even
> come at all. So, he took some bolt-cutters and drove to the location, while his friend
> guarded the bike. Other than having a different seat, it was undamaged. This bike was a
> special and expensive model and the right color, so he had no doubt it was his. He cut the
> lock and repossessed it. He loaded it in his car and drove off. The police did show up at
> that point, having been called by someone who had observed him cutting the lock. They were
> given his description and license number. You guessed it-----this was not his bike, but an
> identical one that had been purchased by another person. When he showed evidence of his own
> purchase and the theft report he'd filed, the DA gave him a break and didn't prosecute. But,
> it could have turned out much worse for him. This is just an example of what I was trying to
> describe in my warning message.
>
> Steve McDonald
 
Steve McDonald wrote:
> Yes, vigilante justice is always the best way to resolve such matters.

I never said that.
 
I had provided all the bike shops and the police with the serial # for positive identification, of
course, and the bike shop owner immediately phoned the police so this was quite a different
situation than Steve McD's friend who rashly grabbed someone else's bike in error. The police would
have settled this had the thieves not run away before their arrival.

Given that it's exceedingly unusual in my town to see high school kids riding double on $2000
recumbents with eggbeater pedals within 48 hours after a theft of one was publicized, the vast
majority of people would think it was reasonable, good judgement to check out this bike, I suspect.
As soon as it was pointed out that their shoes didn't match the pedals, they admitted they had
"found" the bike. I'm still astounded that someone would have taken such timely action on my behalf.
I agree the bike shop employee and customer (occupation- prison guard) who stopped the kids assumed
some personal risk, and don't advocate it, but I'm also grateful for their action. The thieves would
have been long gone by the time the police arrived.

The thieves may get caught yet as a customer at another bike shop in town has turned in some more
info to the cops. Some community service while they're still impressionable would be a good lesson
in right and wrong before they graduate to car theft and muggings.

Steve McD's accurate description of how the legal system often defies common sense provides yet
another good reason to support tort reform.

Mike H
 
Mike Hanslits <[email protected]> wrote:
: I had a happy ending tonight. I reported the theft to all the local bike shops as well as the
: police 3 days ago. It's not the only recumbent in Salem, but could be the only Lightning Phantom
: and catches attention. This afternoon, 2 kids on my bike came riding past South Salem Cycleworks
: (my new favorite LBS). The owner, Michael Wolf,

What I wonder is how they were able to ride it :-/

Do we want to turn this thread into a how-to-prevent-it thing? I did some thinking very recently...
I'd think stealing recumbents is risky and not a very good business, but dunno...

PS. Congrats on having the bike back, must be a great feeling ;)

--
Risto Varanka | http://www.helsinki.fi/~rvaranka/ varis at no spam please iki fi
 
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