Mission Mission

Our pal Zach, who you may remember as the infamous seeker of holiday romance, recently had a run-in with some local bike thieves that ended in the BEST WAY POSSIBLE:

HOW I LOST MY BIKE (THEN GOT IT BACK 15 HOURS LATER)

This whole situation was (most likely) avoidable and entirely my fault. But, y’all wanted a story, so here it is.

HOW I LOST MY BRAND-NEW TRACK BIKE

Do you know those once-every-three-years drunks where you do something incredibly stupid and out of character?

No? Just me? OK, well, this was one of those.

After a long day of riding and racing at Quake City Rumble, I figured I’d get my party on. Been working and training hard, plus organizing the finale race, so I felt I’d earned a good tear.

Long story short, after hopping around to a few spots I left my coworker’s birthday party sometime between 2 and 3am. (I sort-of-not-really remember leaving but apparently had promised to walk my bike home)

Now, even when I’m on autopilot, I’m pretty OCD. Phone, keys, wallet – I never lose my necessities. But when I woke up at home around 8 or 9am, and looked at the spot where I keep my bike, it was empty.

Not only did I just get this thing, I’m supposed to race it at the Wolfpack Hustle Finale Crit in Austin next weekend.

Commence freaking out.

THE INTERIM

But I can’t freak out, because today is the Mountain Lion, the biggest and baddest alleycat in San Francisco. And I won it last year, which means I’m organizing it this year. This keeps me mentally occupied from dwelling on my missing bike and hating myself too much. I post a picture of the bike describing my situation, and since bike people know all too well the pain of a missing machine, it becomes shared quickly across social media.

HOW I GOT MY BIKE BACK

The Mountain Lion ends and we’re hanging out at Potrero Del Sol Park. It’s about 5pm and I’m ready to tuck into a burrito when I get a call from my buddy Demi. He says his friend Eli is pretty sure he spotted my bike downtown; I get his number and give him a call.

“Yeah, your bike’s on Market near New Montgomery.”
“Are you sure it’s mine?”
I don’t believe this is happening but Eli rattles off a part list and now I’m 100% sure; plus it’s one of only 3 Heavy Pedal Axiom frames in the Bay Area.

“There’s eyes on my bike near Market and New Montgomery!” I yell.

Sardine, who is in charge of organizing this weekend’s events and is also great at shouting, hears me. “Oh shit, for real?” He turns to the crowd of racers and chillers, “ANYBODY WANT TO HELP THIS MAN GET HIS STOLEN BIKE BACK, HE’S GOING DOWNTOWN NOW!”

I start pedaling. Adam Shapiro, Brian Dooley, Carlos Balam, Matt Vanaman and possibly some others (sorry if I forget) are in hot pursuit; especially impressive because I just threw a hard-as-fuck race that these guys all finished (to the tune of almost 50 miles and 5500 feet of climbing).

I have my phone on loud for updates, and sure enough, Eli rings me every couple of minutes. I don’t like dipping through traffic while yakking on the phone but it’s sort of a necessity in this situation. The target is riding my bike around Civic Center. OK, no, now he’s at 5th and Market. So at this point it’s Dooley and I tearing down Market street.

I’m scanning the crowds and I spot my bike being walked on the sidewalk. I see Eli getting off his phone (he’s been following the thief this whole time) and pointing to the guy with my bike. He’s a big, gnarly looking white dude covered in tattoos and I get the feeling he’s been to prison at least once.

Well, Mr. Thief hops off the sidewalk and is about to mount up. I immediately flip a u-turn and box him in to the curb from the front and side, with Dooley pulling up right alongside and behind him.

I don’t remember exactly what I yelled in the heat of the moment, but it was just something gruff and direct like “Off the bike, man. That’s my ride.”

The dude very quickly dismounts and hands the bike over to me, spinning some bullshit about buying it off Craigslist this morning. I tell him I don’t want to hear it and just like that we’re off with the bike in hand, just as Matt and Carlos show up. The whole thing is over in 15 seconds.

I ghost ride my recovered whip back to my house, and invite my posse in for some shots of good bourbon and some beers. I put the bike back in its spot, and we roll back to the park for the weekend’s award ceremony.

I’ve never been so depressed and mad at myself, then so elated in less than 24 hours. Bike people are the best people when it comes to looking out for each other. I got incredibly lucky here, but I am eternally thankful to everyone who was keeping an eye out, and who came to help, and especially Demi for the tip off from Eli, who followed the thief like a total crime dog.

Btw, winter is coming.  Do you have a holiday girlfriend/boyfriend yet???

Not sure I want to get into a rambling reminiscence of the days of Jack’s (way out 24th, past Potrero Avenue) and DJ Purple and mini-pitchers of Busch and drunken singalongs and blackout walks home and stolen bikes and broken hearts and lots and lots of Hall and Oates — but if you know what I’m talking about, you know what I’m talking about.

Now, Jack’s is still a boarded-up hole in the ground, and DJ Purple is still going strong elsewhere (Slate Bar on Thursdays), and we’re all too old for mini-pitchers of Busch — but KARAOKE IS RETURNING TO 24th STREET, thanks to Roger Niner and Pop’s.

And what’s more, Roger Niner has a good deal of stuff you don’t normally find at karaoke. Here are a handful that trip me out:

1. “Dance Yrself Clean” by LCD Soundsystem
2. “Seasons (Waiting on You)” by Future Islands
3. “Hounds of Love” by the Futureheads
4. “Nightcall” by Kavinsky (the song from Drive)
5. “Later” by Dr. Dog
6. “How Can U Love Me” by Unknown Mortal Orchestra

My pal Nattles did the LCD one last summer, and though it’s 9 minutes long and songs that long usually don’t go over well at karaoke, it was awesome. The crowd went wild throughout.

I did the Future Islands one last November after the Weezer show at Slim’s, and I did my best to channel that dude’s insane dancing abilities, and it was awesome.

Believe me, Roger Niner shows are… awesome.

Peruse Roger Niner’s songbook and see what other crazy gems he’s got.

And of course, RSVP and invite your friends!

Our pal Alicia takes us through it:

A year ago my bike was stolen. It was not the end of the word. Someone wonderful lent me an interim bike, eventually I bought a new bike at a very reasonable price and it had gears – and I had long needed gears. At other times on my life I would have felt that harder, I was greatful for that. Today I was walking across the street from the place where it was stolen from and there was my old bike frame- worse for the weather – and with new handlebars ex cetra but it was it. I went home, gathered the old paperwork- sure enough the numbers matched.

I did not want the old bike back. My apartment is small, the resale value would be low. It had been gifted to me in the first place and served me for 5 years. But bike theft is a big problem. Eventually-Reluctantly I called the police. …

Then it rider came down the stairs. Sweet Latino guy about my size. Construction worker with his fellow workers. Said he bought it at the flee market. They assured me he was an honest guy, I believe them. He offered it back. I told him to keep it.

Around the time that bike was stolen, I had a big flower pot of succulents stolen off the stoop. I’ve often thought how much I would like to see them again- not to have them back-but just to see if the poppies ever came up, and how they all grew and changed.

I was glad to see my bike again, glad to meet the guy who was riding it around, glad he wasn’t an asshole. Glad it was something that helped his life. This is all to say, don’t steal. Which means many things. Peace be with you dude. Peace be with you little bike. More peace guys. Spread the resources more evenly.

At 10:30 AM this morning the Bike Index sent an alert that a stolen Mission Bicycle appeared on Craigslist last night.

Less than 2 hours later, thanks to a total stranger and the SFPD, justice was served.

We posed as a potential buyer and asked the seller to meet us in a public spot. Thanks to the SFPD Twitter account @SFPDBikeTheft the police were just around the corner, texting “we see you” (usually creepy, this time helpful). As soon as the seller arrived the police stepped in and took over, confiscating the stolen bike.

This is how it’s supposed to work: citizens using social media for good, technology working for us, the SFPD helping reunite people with their bikes.

Here’s the blow by blow of how it went down.

To register your bike on Bike Index, click here. It’s takes about 5 minutes, it’s free, and it’s worth it.

3D City is a year long stereoscopic photography project by Doctor Popular

A bunch of scenes from right around Mission and 19th. Mission Jewelry & Loan, the old El Capitan marque, the skeleton of a bike, and ashes from a small church fire. Shot on a vivid roll of Kodak’s Portra film.

BTW, I’ve recently launched a Patreon for my stereoscopic photo project, thanks to everyone who’s kicked in so far and helped me reach the first goal.

(more…)

Jefferson from Mission Bicycle Company recently contacted us with the following warning:

There are so many bikes stolen in this city it’s ridiculous. Most stolen bikes were:

• Not locked up at all but left in a “secure” places like a garage.
• Not locked up with a quality lock (cheap generic u-lock or cable lock)
• Not locked up properly (Front wheel only, locked up to a wooden rail, etc.).

This past week we saw two bikes stolen within around 24 hour hours of each other. Both locked up properly, with quality u-locks. Both were twisted open.

• Wednesday 8/27  8:30 PM – 3:00 AM – 18th Street between Church & Sanchez
• Thursday 8/28  10:00 PM – 12:30 AM – Alabama between 19th & 20th.

If anyone hears of a bike stolen using a similar method, I would encourage them to file a police report and send a tweet to https://twitter.com/SFPDBikeTheft.

Let’s work together to nail “The Twister”!!!

Got a note from our pal Jocelyn:

My bike was stolen (not news, not unique, I know). The real story is when I saw two guys with it on Market/12th. I went up to them, looked at the bike and one of them said “Nice bike, huh?” And I was like, “yeah, it’s mine.”

I picked it up, and started walking away with it. The guys chased me. One knocked me to the ground grabbing the bike, the other fucking pepper sprayed me in the face. EMTs and SFPD (eventually) showed up.

The only bright side to the story is that (hopefully) the police are taking it more seriously because of the felony assault. So, if someone spotted the bike they could contact me or SFPD.

Wow.

Here’s the bike (since this photo was taken the saddle was replaced and is now brown):

Ben explains his plight:

I am one of the residents displaced from my home by a fire at the restaurant Maverick a little bit ago. While most of my stuff survived the fire a little damp and smokey, in the time between the fire and when the building inspector said it was safe to return to the building to sift through our belongings, sub human scum broke into the units and took everything of value. While most of my stuff can be easily replaced the one thing that hurt the most was the theft of my beloved red bike. It’s a Surly Cross Check with the stickers removed. It has Paul brakes. In the rear there is one black brake arm and one silver one from a crash. The stem has an organic apple sticker on it that never fell off. Four years ago I used it to ride from Philadelphia PA out here to SF and it has a lot of sentimental value and I love her. I know it’s a long shot but if you guys could spread the word of this I would really appreciate it. And maybe she’ll find her way back to me.

This is almost as rad as the time that guy tracked down the guy who stole his bike on Craigslist and traveled all the way from Portland to Seattle to set up a sting operation.  From Fossil Fool:

Stolen bike recovered in heroic fashion on Bartlett St. as members of the Rock The Bike crew pedal power their way through a U-Lock. If your bike is stolen in the Mission, mobilize your networks to get lots of eyeballs working for you, pattern matching your bike against all the ones they see. Bike thieves aren’t the brightest bulbs on the tree…

Nice work SF cyclist community!

One of our favorite neighborhood bartenders recently suffered the misfortune of having his bicycle as well as those of some of his neighbors stolen from their garage in the wee hours of the morning today.  What makes the situation even  shittier is that it wasn’t even their  fault:

Early this morning, my neighbor left his key in our garage door and all of our bikes were stolen. Police report has been filed and we do have insurance but I’d really like to get my bikes back.

1. Mission Bicycle Valencia 53cm Frame matte black with Red Anodized B43 Rims, Paul Crank and distinctive Red saddle with white polka dots and upside-down white riser bars.
2. Motobecane (naked) 50cm yellow frame with bronze rims and Coaster brake. Yellow addle, 6″ riser bars and basket
3. Giant OCR Two 50cm – New soma seat, cinelli stem & drop bars.

Forgetting your key in the lock (or dropping it right in front of your door) is something I ALWAYS worry about accidentally doing, so I know how crappy this must seem.  Hopefully someone will spot these before it’s too late!  Let them know if you discover anything here.

Update from the owner!

I should add that a neighbor dropped the key while fixing a blown fuse in the middle of the night and at least two of the bikes were locked (there were 7 bikes stolen total).

We’re checking security tapes at the end of the street to try and get an id on the vehicle or its plate.

And yes, that middle bike is hideous by design… it’s my beater bike and I made it stick out like a sore thumb specifically so it wouldn’t get nicked. Oh well.

Also stolen:

• 1012 Cannondale CAAD10 white with red and black accents
• 2008 EAI Bareknuckle green with red Chris King headset
• Masi Special Fixed – metallic blue/green with Rev gold deep V wheelset