Wednesday, September 4, 2013

Cyclist Whose Bike was Stolen Steals It Back And Leaves Behind A Cardboard Cut-Out And Snarky Note For The Thief



 

 A cyclist has taught a bike thief a lesson after he found his friend's stolen bicycle locked up in the street - and replaced it with a cardboard one.

Known as Festethejeste on Reddit, the Toronto friend helped get the bike back using tools to cut through the lock and then left the cardboard cut-out and a tongue-in-cheek letter to the bike thief.

The letter explained how the friends had found the bike and why they were taking it back.

'You rascal!' the letter addresses the bike thief, adding: 'You took my bike earlier this week but forgot to tell me where you'd leave it!'
he letter goes on to explain that the friend recognised the bicycle because he is a mechanic and has serviced the bike several times.

The friends write that they are leaving the (cardboard) replacement until the thief can afford their own real bike.

Further details of the story are revealed in the Reddit feed, where Festethejeste posted the pictures of the cyclists' revenge. His friend's bike was stolen from the Christie Pits area in Toronto.
When questioned about whether they could be certain it was his friend's stolen bike, he said: '...the bike is 100 per cent, without a shadow of a doubt property of my friends (sic). I did him a favour and I already own these tools (to break the lock) because I run a bike shop.'

He claimed the police in Toronto are often 'busy and to be honest don't have the time or resources to deal with this stuff'.

The friend goes on to explain that bike theft is a big problem in Toronto and thieves appear to buy lots of the same kind of lock and leave stolen bikes on the street so they can't get caught with them on their property.

He said: '... there were other bikes locked up and down the street with the exact same unlock...'

He said this tactic was common in Toronto and was used by Canada's infamous prolofic bike thief Igor Kenk, who is now servign time for his stealing. The friend said Kenk would lock stolen bikes up all along Queen Street for blocks.

When questioned about whether the bike had already been sold to another cyclist, the Reddit user said he would 'gladly work with the person that bought the stolen bike to nab the thief if they exist'.

He added: 'I'm willing to bet that they don't though. As mentioned bike thieves do this "lock up stolen bikes in public" thing all the time in Toronto.'

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