The Wise Old Bicycle Guy has been working on a unique way to combat our growing bike theft problem. His idea is to “unsteal” bikes by fixing them up from donated parts and giving them back to bike theft victims…for free.
He’s got a “bike-shop quality” mountain bike (he used to be a pro mechanic so it’s probably really nice) that he’s offering to anyone who qualifies. He’s going to email out the location and the combination to the lock and it goes to the first person to track it down.
So how do you qualify?
“If your bike got ripped off and you desperately need transpo, email me by midnight Thursday and tell me your story. Don’t bother BSing, ’cause 1) the bike really isn’t any prize pig, and 2) I work as an editor, so I know crap when I hear it. Tell me how tall you are and what your inseam length is so I can make sure you’ll fit. If you won’t, I’ll keep your entry on hand for the next release. If you win the bike, use it as long as you need to, then pass it on to someone else in need.”
Read more on his blog.
Eh, it’s not that nice. It’s just an entry-level bike from a few years ago. What I’m shooting for is bikes that get the job done but don’t invite theft. It does have alloy wheels and hyperglide shifting, though.
Thanks for the coverage, Jonathan…
Some time back in November my bike was stolen. You can read the sad story here
Anyway, I posted it on Craigslist and Jonathan Maus emailed me to let me know about his site and the stolen listings pages. Needless to say, I promptly submitted a post.
Through regular visits (RSS feeds — gotta love em) to the site I read this post and got in touch The Wise Old Bike Guy… Two days ago, an unstolen bike was delivered to my door by the WOBG in person.
What a cool thing to happen!
I’ve been riding to work and back the last couple days and I can’t tell you how great it’s been.
The WOBG will certainly has ome big time Karma coming his way.
Thanks!