To the Logan City bike thief..........I WIN

Note: This ended up being a bit of a longer post. Enjoy.

I love having my bike up here but we haven not been able to use it much because it has rained so much. My friend has also asked me to start training with her for a bike ride next spring. I love bike riding and this would be great to have someone to go with. The tire on the bike has been flat for a couple of days so yesterday before Paul went to work he got the holes patched. On Monday night I closed all the windows and locked the doors but stayed up all night doing laundry and cleaning.

We visited with Pauls grandma over the weekend and were told that she went into the Hospital on Sunday some time. They said that she has the H1N1 flu. (Side note: we hope you are doing well Grandma) So instead of getting done all the chores I wanted to do around the house I spent the whole night disinfecting everything and doing laundry - I washed everything.

At 7 in the morning I finally went to bed and did not get up until noon this morning. I told Paul that when I put the tire on the bike it still seemed a little flat. At noon I rolled out of bed and we were going to take a look at the tire. When we went out to look at it my bike was gone. We walked around all of the town homes and then decided to get in the car and drive around for a bit. After about an hour and half or two we came home so that I could make some phone calls and because it was now past lunch time and both of us were hungry.

I called the police station to let them know so that if my bike was turned in I could get it back. The officer told me not to approach anyone. If I saw it in someones yard that I was supposed to call into the police and they would come and take care of it. If someone was riding my bike then I was supposed to try and follow them until they stopped and then get a hold of the police to come and get it for me. This all sounded easy enough.

Our Neighbors came over and we told them what had happened. My friend offered to drive me around to the Pawnshops in town to see if someone tried to get money for it. About six I tried to get a hold of her but she was busy and a bunch of other things happened to set us back.

We had driven around our neighborhood a little bit then decided to head north up Main. As we talked I looked down every street and alley. I knew if I was going to find my bike it had to be today when it was stolen or who knows what would end up of my bike when the thief was done with it. At 4th North I saw two boys on some bikes and you better believe that one of them was mine. I have been asked how I was able to tell it was my bike while we were driving down the road and the kid was on the bike as well? This was the first and only bike I have ever bought. I did not know in the 7th grade I was pretty much done growing so the bike would still be a good fit when I got older. This wonderful blue bike and I have been through a lot. Summer rides with my cousins, neighborhood outings with Chancy, countless camping trips and a number of crashes. The other thing is the brand of the bike, it is not made any more, they went out of business a year or two after I bought mine and chances are that not too many people are holding onto bikes as old as mine.

As I see my bike I was thinking of what the officer told me "just follow them and then let us know where they are at. We'll come get it." But I was so excited that I actually found my bike that has been with me for more than half my life that I just wanted it back. My friend pulled out of traffic and and slams on her breaks. Before she had come to a full stop I had the door open and jumped out of the Trooper, this was not the smartest thing to do since I was in flip-flops and was not wearing my brace on my ankle. I decided not to yell anything at the kid on my bike until he got closer so I did not cause a scene and so he did not have the chance to dart into the parking lot and get away from us. I walked in front of his friend who road around me and stepped in front of the kid who was on my bike. He actually stopped for me so I straddled the front wheel.

Me: Get off my bike, I'm taking it home.
Josh: What do you mean?
Me: This is my bike, and I'm taking it home.
Josh: It's mine.
Me: Where did you get it?
Josh: A Friend.
Me: Who's the friend?
Josh: Well I found it at Willow Park so it's mine.
Me: What? how do you even come to that conclusion?
Josh: Well I found it so it's mine.
Me: You found a perfectly usable and well maintained bike at the park and you were just going to take it instead of taking it to the Police Station?
Josh: Well, Ya.
Me: OK, Get off. I'm taking my bike home.
Josh: What do you mean it's mine.
Me: IT'S MINE AND I'M TAKING IT. GET OFF!!!!!

Mean while, as Josh and I were getting to know each other, his friend road off and left him. He finally got off at which point I told him to have a pleasant walk home. I asked the kid for his name and he told us Josh, who knows if that was really his name. My friend then took me for ice cream to celebrate.

I am so happy to have my bike back. We would not have the money to buy a new bike if I could not find mine. I did not realize how sentimental I was over my bike until I had mine back. It sucks to loose something or misplace stuff. But when someone takes something that you have worked for it feels so violating.

Logan City Bike Thief: 0
Me: 1