A story of a bike recovery, and the producers of a brand new local bike PSA want YOU!

Though most of the time the stories about stolen bikes and bike thieves (I'm looking at you, Christian and John) get the majority of the press, more and more recently I've been hearing the OTHER side of the tale. Having a bike stolen is heartbreaking, but being reunited to it is one of the best feelings in the world. It happens so rarely that no one actually expects it, but when it DOES happen it's something to celebrate. Read the following email that was sent to me this morning for just one of those stories:

So i have a great stolen bike story. My friend came home from grabbing a burger and parked his $3000 Firemans Cruiser right outside his house - he ate his food while sitting in place wher he could easiely see his bike and was deciding whether or not to go out again. he left the front room for less than ten minute to out up the plates and change clothes and decided to go grab his bike- alas, it was gone. this was his baby, his transportation and something he had put much love into...
it was gone.
Arse! The next day, he alerted me and i enlisted my friends from Frankenbike, ATXbkes and craigslist. It was on. I know that the chance was slim in finding the bike but...
later that dayy, after a filed police report, much posting and alerting the great ATX bike community, the bike was recoverd in an alley. A waitress at a local bar saw the bike and called her friend who had saw the stolen bike listing and he called the owner. Alls well that ends well. Thanks for posting on your site... due to your posting and that of others, my friend has his bike back.

Hell yeah! I know lots of Firemans Cruiser riders and ALL of them are super attached to their bike, kitting it out with all the blingiest BMX parts and making it their own. I'm not saying that it doesn't suck to have a $200 Schwinn stolen, but after you've poured blood, sweat, and dollars into a bike like a Firemans, it really cuts deep to see your baby absconded. I think the moral of the story here is ALWAYS lock your bike if it's out of sight, even for a moment. Dan learned that lesson the hard way, and if not for the good actions of others his bike might still be in the rodent-hands of some thieving scumbags. Boone STILL hasn't recovered his tallbike. It's rough, but them's the breaks. Leave your bike unlocked, expect it to not be there when you get back. Sure, we're not in New York City, but we're not in Mayburry, either. A lock isn't THAT expensive in the grand scheme of things, and is a hell of a lot cheaper than a stolen bike or wheel. If you forget your lock, bring your bike inside at the least. Most businesses will allow it with a minimum of grief if you can assure them it'll be out of the way of customers. Sorry for getting on it over this issue, I just hate to see bikes stolen, since I know how rare it actually works out like the tale above.

Secondly, the meeting for the Bike PSA about not getting doored is happening in just a few hours (2pm) at the Bike Texas HQ near 6th and Chicon. The producer sent me another message today, asking specifically for a fixie rider to participate. Their shot list calls for 3 groups of cyclists: "Stunt" riders, "fixie" riders, and "group" riders. If you feel you fit into any of these categories, swing by, and as they say:

Recruit your friends if you can, remember this is a PSA for the community.

I wrote the producer asking if there were any rules for types of bikes, attire, or helmets. I also asked about the role of the specific "fixie" riders. Though I like to have them involved, I'd rather not see them specifically demonized, if for no other reason than that I can shred traffic so much better on my geared road bike than I can on my fixie, and I'm WAY MORE of an asshole on my burly 1x1 with the fat tires that I can ride anywhere and jump off of things. It'd be a shame to lay all the blame for unsafe behavior on them when really it can come from anyone. If they just want to make sure they're included that's cool, but if they want a reject from a Lucas Brunelle video to make us all look bad, I'd rather not be a part of it. I'm going to try to make the meeting depending on how I'm feeling (I just had some gnarly shit cut out of my right underarm, and now have an oozing flesh cavern where my armpit used to be), but if I don't someone please let me know what you find out.