REAL COOL STORIES (week ended 3/2/24)
An interesting story I read this week concerned a group in Minneapolis that try to recover stolen bikes.
The group, Twin Cities Stolen Bikes, has 11,000 members on its Facebook page. Unfortunately, the group cannot add new members according to a recent post.
Here is how it works. Victims of bike theft post information on the Facebook page – make, model, color with a picture if available. The volunteer group tracks bikes for sale on Facebook Marketplace, Craigs list, eBay, and other sites. Usually, they confront the thief online. However, sometimes it’s in person when one of the amateur sleuths pretend to be a potential buyer of the stolen bike.
One time a member met a seller in khakis and a sports coat. He asked to take the bike on a test ride. The seller (thief!) wanted some collateral. The response was, “Do I look like the kind of guy that steals bikes, dude?” The “buyer” pedaled away. About an hour later, the seller sent a text, “I guess you’re not coming back?” The bike was returned to its rightful owner.
Besides Minneapolis, similar efforts exist in Portland, Oregon, San Francisco, Burlington, Vermont, and New Orleans. The bike theft “industry” costs bikers over $1 billion annually.
Vigilantes helping victims of petty theft that may have a HUGE impact on getting to work.
A real, cool story indeed!