It’s been forever since I last posted a stolen bike recovery story.
This time, the story comes from S. Renee Mitchell’s column in the Oregonian last week. She has the story of Erin Greeson’s high-end carbon-fiber racing bike getting nabbed from New Seasons in Sellwood:
“I was waiting in line to pay,” she says, “and had a horrible feeling in my gut. Within seconds, her large and unlocked bike, worth around $2,000, disappeared.”
Erin got her bike back because of four things; good people,
“New Seasons employees drove around the neighborhood trying to spot it….Officer Stephen Gandy showed up to take a police report and she remembers Gandy saying, ‘I’m going to get your bike back.'”
visibility,
“Greeson logged onto bikeportland.org, which has bike theft-prevention tips. The site also compiles a daily digest of missing bikes, which is sent to local shops, police officers and fellow cyclists.”
technology,
“…Sellwood Cyclery co-owner Steven Landon suggested that Greeson post details about her stolen bike on finetoothcog.com. The online site scans Craigslist and eBay and looks for possibly stolen bikes for sale. The repair shop used the alerts to help eight owners get their bikes back last year.”
luck,
“A few hours after Greeson posted her bike details, she received a call from a cyclist named Brian. He saw a bike on Southeast 82nd Avenue that matched her online description.”
and good advice,
“The Jan. 5 sighting prompted Greeson to follow Gandy’s previous advice: Call area pawn shops. She found her bike after the second phone call. It’s on sale for $150.”
The moral of the story? According to Greeson,
“Grass-roots methods can solve problems and strangers can be friendly. I never dreamt that something like a stolen bicycle would be any big deal to them, but their level of concern and empathy blew me away.”
I just love how so many different people played a role in getting this bike back. Congrats Erin…now go get a nice U-lock and start using it!