I spotted my stolen transportation bicycle being ridden

[Doug Fattic]

I have some Dutch style transportation bicycles that I keep in my shop for my framebuilding class students to use while they are here. I’ve made various sample frames to refine the design of those we make for a charity project in Ukraine. When class is on I wheel them outside the shop so they don’t take up inside space. I was working very late one cold rainy fall night and when I was ready to leave thought nobody is going to steal those in such miserable weather and I didn’t want to get wet bringing them in. The next morning 2 of them were gone and the 3rd rolled behind the shop for probably a later pickup. Of course I was bummed and made a police report. I figured they were gone forever but I’ve been keeping an eye out anyway around town.

Yesterday Jesse was on his way to my shop like he is every day from 4 to 6 to learn how to build these type of bikes in Ukraine. He leaves to go over there the end of this month. He was about a mile away from my shop when he saw what he thought was one of these bikes being ridden by a bigger student. The fully enclosed chain case and internally geared rear hub tipped him off but he wasn’t sure. He took a video of him riding while driving up from behind. He didn’t get a shot of his face although his shaved head is an important clue. He was also wearing a backpack. We figured he is a high school student because of his looks and the time of day and the route he was on. Jesse followed him until he turned down a dirt road that doesn’t lead anywhere. The student turned around a few times to see who was following him so that might have tipped him off. When he showed me his video it was definitely my bike although my name on the down tube and seat tube were rattle can spray painted over. The fenders were gone.

Now I need to plan how to get it back. I’m not the confrontation type that wants to take on a bigger younger guy if I see him again. I figured I’d check the bike rack at the high school. One of our church members goes to that high school and I can ask him if he knows any guys with a shaved head. And I’ll mosey around the few streets where he could live. If I see it I’ll call the police. I’ve still got a spare key to the ring lock attached to the rear seat stays. Remember there were 2 bikes stolen. How would you plan?

[Peter P.]

Contact the school resource officer at the local high schools, or contact them via your local police department. Tell them what you think and that it's possible the suspect is using the bike to ride to/from school. The SRO can then check the bike racks or the school property during the day.

Another option is to ask yourself; is it possible the suspect has a routine and might pass the same spot the same time of day? You could follow at a distance and get a better idea of where they're going. Take photos of where the bike ends up. If it's left unattended long enough, you could secure the bike with a couple good locks then immediately call the police. Have a camera at the ready in case you need to videotape something.

[bikinchris]

You guys are nicer than me. I would ride up just about the time he passes a pole and elbow him right into it. Pick up the bike dually 'hood kid style' and ride away laughing.

[oliver1850]

Person riding may not be the one that stole it. With police report already filed, I'd go through them. Should be easy to wipe spray paint off with lacquer thinner to ID.

[djg21]

And provide them with the video?

Self-help always tends to be a very bad idea.

[ultraman6970]

If you are in Ukraine i doubt the guy will make a big deal if you basically steal the bike back or just confront him with a few of your friends or even if he gets a few kicks in his butt for stealing it.

In some countries you can do crap like that, in the US you can't because for sure some sucker will call the police right away.

[Doug Fattic]

If you are in Ukraine i doubt the guy will make a big deal if you basically steal the bike back or just confront him with a few of your friends or even if he gets a few kicks in his butt for stealing it.

In some countries you can do crap like that, in the US you can't because for sure some sucker will call the police right away.
We are in Niles, MI and the guy riding the bike is most likely a high school student and a reasonably close neighbor. We are preparing Jesse to go to Ukraine. I'm trained as a teacher (as well as framebuilder) so want to consider the long term effect on everybody and everything and not just getting one of my bicycles back.

[verticaldoug]

Nothing to think about in my opinion. Contact the police, give him the video, point to the school, hope they do their job.

If the kid stole the bike, he should be busted. If the kid didn't steal the bike, he should be happy you get your bike back, and have learned a valuable lesson about the scumbag who sold him the bike.

Broken wnidow theory- fix your neighborhood

[ultraman6970]

Oh sorry got it wrong as usual... if the kid goes to hs in the bike he should be going to one really close, have you checked the bike parking lines around? Probably the darn bike is hidden in plain sight.

We are in Niles, MI and the guy riding the bike is most likely a high school student and a reasonably close neighbor. We are preparing Jesse to go to Ukraine. I'm trained as a teacher (as well as framebuilder) so want to consider the long term effect on everybody and everything and not just getting one of my bicycles back.

[rwsaunders]

nothing to think about in my opinion. Contact the police, give him the video, point to the school, hope they do their job.

If the kid stole the bike, he should be busted. If the kid didn't steal the bike, he should be happy you get your bike back, and have learned a valuable lesson about the scumbag who sold him the bike.

Broken wnidow theory- fix your neighborhood

+1.

[tiretrax]

Use the law. If he's a student, the school might have its own police force. If there aren't many homes on the dirt road where he turned, I'd call the local p.d.

[bart998]

The police won't have the resources to stake-out the bike route in case he comes by, you'll have to do that yourself... at most they will check the bike rack at the H.S. Unless, they recognize him from the video... unfortunately, if you spooked him he probably dumped the bike.

[jtakeda]

This isn't the movie "Friday" don't Deebo this kid.

Considering the suspect is a high schooler the law will be pretty forgiving. His parents on the other hand.....

Id use the law in this instance.

[Doug Fattic]

There is nothing new to report. The title should have read that my stolen transportation bike was spotted by a friend. His video of the guy riding my bike was only footage of coming up behind him. It didn’t show any of his facial features so it wouldn’t help police in positively identifying any particular person. What I got out of it by enlarging a still shot was that it was definitely my bike but I doubt those details would be obvious to the police. It also showed he shaved his head and it is possible he might wear the same baseball hat again. I checked out the high school’s bike rack a couple of times and drove up and down the road when kids are coming and leaving school but didn’t see anybody riding a bicycle. The area Jesse saw him turn into doesn’t have many houses but enough that one couldn’t be singled out as the obvious place. I’ll just keep looking. It was just a guess on my part he was a high school student because of his age (as described to me) and his backpack and he was on the obvious route to my area if he was coming from the high school. He could have been going to see a friend.

The bike he was riding has lead an interesting life. I made it originally as a sample to show the XB3 bicycle company in the city of Kharkov, Ukraine near the Russian border what kind of bicycle we wanted them to make for us. That big industrial city is in the news a lot lately. When I 1st went there in 2000 they had a 75 year anniversary sign showing how long they had been in business. At one time they made over a million bicycles a year. In 2000 we ordered 250 bicycles from them. They said total production that year was 300. I wasn’t sure how much influence an American framebuilder would have in trying to convince to them to make a bicycle like this so I put a really nice paint job on it. The main color was black but I painted the decals and surrounding bands in Ukraine colors blue and yellow. In a Ukrainian flag the top blue color represents the sky and the bottom yellow grain. Eventually the XB3 company changed hands and didn’t want to be bothered with our order and so we started to make what we wanted ourselves. We did this because we wanted the money we raised to mostly go into the country of Ukraine instead of bringing in boxes from China.

[Doug Fattic]

I spotted the guy myself yesterday. As I drove south at the time where he was seen before, he was ridding a different bike going north. It was a large 25” or so standard road bike turned into a fixie. I called Herbie who was at my shop and we both tried to follow him in our cars. Although neither of us drove anywhere close to him, he sensed we were there and instead of going straight home (wherever that is) in the area I thought he lived, he wandered around and eventually we lost him. He wasn’t a high school kid as I thought but probably in his late 20s. He is big about 6’3”. Besides his shaved head he has a tattoo in his right arm. I thought it stupid a person wanting to escape the law would voluntarily put such an identifying mark on himself. Now I’m guessing that he gets off of work about 3:30 somewhere south of me and probably doesn’t have or lost his drivers license. I'm also betting he has a stable of bicycles and not just the 2 he was seen ridding. I doubt his only sin in life is stealing a couple of bicycles (although I have no idea if he is the one that actually took them). Besides wanting my bicycle back I find this an interesting mystery.

When I was wandering around the neighborhood trying to find this guy I went to an old nearby motel. It looks like they have permeant residents that live in the back part close to the dirt road where my suspect was riding. There was a middle aged guy with some teenage guys that all had bikes on the 2nd floor balcony. Could have been a dad with his kids but I didn’t get that vibe. They stared pretty hard at me when I looked at them. It just seemed weird.

[djg21]

Do you own a cell phone? Why didn't you call the authorities? You shouldn't be playing at Colombo, and you shouldn't be risking an isolated encounter with this guy behind some fleabag sex-offender SRO/motel.

You now have a description of the guy, and you now know generally where he resides. Time to contact the police. From your description of the perp, the police may already know him. I'd bet the tat on his head is either gang-related or a prison tat.

I spotted the guy myself yesterday. As I drove south at the time where he was seen before, he was ridding a different bike going north. It was a large 25” or so standard road bike turned into a fixie. I called Herbie who was at my shop and we both tried to follow him in our cars. Although neither of us drove anywhere close to him, he sensed we were there and instead of going straight home (wherever that is) in the area I thought he lived, he wandered around and eventually we lost him. He wasn’t a high school kid as I thought but probably in his late 20s. He is big about 6’3”. Besides his shaved head he has a tattoo in his right arm. I thought it stupid a person wanting to escape the law would voluntarily put such an identifying mark on himself. Now I’m guessing that he gets off of work about 3:30 somewhere south of me and probably doesn’t have or lost his drivers license. I'm also betting he has a stable of bicycles and not just the 2 he was seen ridding. I doubt his only sin in life is stealing a couple of bicycles (although I have no idea if he is the one that actually took them). Besides wanting my bicycle back I find this an interesting mystery.

When I was wandering around the neighborhood trying to find this guy I went to an old nearby motel. It looks like they have permeant residents that live in the back part close to the dirt road where my suspect was riding. There was a middle aged guy with some teenage guys that all had bikes on the 2nd floor balcony. Could have been a dad with his kids but I didn’t get that vibe. They stared pretty hard at me when I looked at them. It just seemed weird.

[Aaron O]

I am not Rambo. I don't want to fight anyone over a bicycle. There were times in my life when I had less, and I would have fought harder for what's mine, but those times are, fortunately, in the distant past. As someone else said, you don't even know if he stole it. It could have been purchased and that doubt means you can't go off half cocked.

I would do exactly what you were thinking about doing, I'd describe the situation to the police and see if they know him, I'd be putting up wanted - reward for information posters around the area he was spotted. I would NOT get into a fight over a bicycle and I would not do anything stupid that could get me into trouble. We're adults - the playground code no longer applies and you likely have a lot more to lose than this guy does.

Best of luck Doug!

[tuscanyswe]

Get the police and confront him if you / they can. You don't even know he stole the bike, yet you are talking about the possible sins he committed in his life. Just sounds weird imo. It is likely he stole your bike but don't c him being tall or having a tattoo confirm that suspicion one way or another really.

[bargainguy]

Taking a wild guess, Doug, but I'll bet there aren't many Dutch utes floating around Niles, MI.

So somewhat odd bike for the area, and a suspect with distinctive markings. I'd say your odds are pretty good.

Calling the cops, putting up wanted posters around town and maybe a bike pic on a CL post alerting the public - play up the distinctive bike/distinctive suspect, and see what happens.

[Doug Fattic]

It is interesting to read how others look at this situation. To be clear, I’m certainly not going to confront a guy twice my size and half my age. I'll contact the police when I get enough useful information. The description I got from Jesse was not nearly detailed enough nor was the video of his back while he was riding clear enough to identify him. This time I was able to get a much better idea of his age and size and discount my original theory that he was a high school student. He was also on a different bike so there was no proof he had possession of my stolen one somewhere. Originally I thought that because he turned down a certain side road he must live in that area because it would make no sense to take that route unless that was his destination. I thought for sure he would turn in where he actually lived. However when we followed him at a distance (Herbie and I played team tag and didn’t drive together or stay behind him) he didn’t stop in any of those houses in that area and eventually and oddly cut through a wooded area to go through a grocery store parking lot. It would have been much easier and faster to have stayed on the original road (which goes by my shop). So he is being evasive and may live somewhere else than on the side road where he turned off of the main road.

I’ve never assumed he was the original thief. However, his constantly looking over his shoulder and taking odd routes leads me to think he might have reason to avoid detection that possibly has roots in illegal activities. A normal person would just take the easiest/safest route. Jesse tried to send me the video from his phone but couldn’t figure out how to do it. It isn’t that much trouble to drive south on my road after 3:30 (when he was on it before) to see if I can narrow down his destination. There is no hurry, the bikes were stolen late last fall.

[Fixed]

I kinda get why we used to hang horse thieves
Cheers

[pbarry]

Time to file a police report of stolen property.. What's your plan here with the random sightings?

Another idea: Next time the bike is seen, catch up to the rider and offer to buy it. A $50 bill might bring about a quick resolution, unless you want justice. Insurance should cover this, no?

Edit: "stolen late last fall" !!! And now you are playing Colombo.. :eek:

[parris]

doug pm sent

[Doug Fattic]

I did file a police report the morning I discovered they were stolen. I expected the 2 bikes were long gone to Chicago or some place that isn’t Niles, MI. Keep in mind that this is the 1st week the weather here was warm enough for most to want to ride a bicycle. I was surprised somebody was riding it around my neighborhood several months later. I don’t think it was by chance he chose a more convoluted route not going by my shop and wandered around with no destination trying to see if he was being followed. Now that I realize he is older than a high school student and has the possible markings and behavior of someone familiar with crime, I’m going to be really cautious. I’d be surprised if I see him on the same route at the same time any time soon. Once we can get a screen shot out of Jesse’s phone I can take that to the police to update the stolen bike report.