Karma: Stolen Bike Fund
Donation protected
Is "karma" a thing? Let's hope what goes around comes around. I'll try to make a long story short, but bear with me.
I had lumbar spinal fusion this summer and can't bend to ride the bicycles I own. After scouring the world for a bike at a price point I could stomach, I found an amazing bike in my tiny XS size with the PERFECT geometry posted for sale on a public Facebook sale page. I vetted out the sale (or so I thought) and purchased the upright bicycle. I was finally able to ride outdoors for the first time since early spring. This bike proved to be a huge benefit to my mental health.
Fast forward about a week -- I couldn't sleep the other night and randomly started perusing the Twin Cities stolen bikes page because something didn't seem quite right about the sale listing. You know when you just get that hunch that something isn't right?
There it was, another mom saying her black Felt V85 had been stolen in July. It's not a common bike, and there can't be many tiny ones circulating around the area. After some research, calling Felt, talking to Minneapolis cops, and tracking down the owner during her workday, we figured out we had a match - the bike was indeed STOLEN.
I returned the bicycle to the original owner that same evening. Her stolen bike post promised a reward and she plans to honor that due to my honesty about the situation. She was able to pay me some of the reward but not all of it. She hopes to save up to pay me the rest of what I paid the thief for the bike so I break even. She's just elated to have her bicycle back!
This whole situation just SUCKS, and here is what I'm asking --
I would love to raise enough $$ to recoup the rest of what I paid for the bike and break even. This would help me to tell the original owner to keep the rest of her reward money.
My stretch goal is to raise enough additional to cover the reward money that she has already paid me. In other words, I want to refund the original owner her reward money too but I'm not in a position to gift her $500 outright. She and I would both break even and walk away net-neutral (including GoFundMe fees) due to your generosity. If we raise more than that, I will put it towards purchasing myself an emergency-recovery bike so I can get back to outdoor riding and help restore mental balance in my life.
Hopefully you can already assume I'm honest, seeing as I returned a stolen bike that I had paid cash for just a week and a half prior. ;-) Even if you're not in a position to donate money, please consider sharing this post to spread the word.
I'm off to go research other drop-bar bikes with insanely high stack like a Felt V85 (size 45cm) -- if you consider yourself a primo bike scouter, shoot me a message. We can find things in stock at shops but all upwards of $2k. :( I'm dying to ride outdoors again for more than a few minutes. My household spent a few combined hours looking so far and we haven't found a great option yet. I'm looking for a unicorn -- the Felt had so many great features all rolled into one. It was gonna be a "forever" bike for me.
I had lumbar spinal fusion this summer and can't bend to ride the bicycles I own. After scouring the world for a bike at a price point I could stomach, I found an amazing bike in my tiny XS size with the PERFECT geometry posted for sale on a public Facebook sale page. I vetted out the sale (or so I thought) and purchased the upright bicycle. I was finally able to ride outdoors for the first time since early spring. This bike proved to be a huge benefit to my mental health.
Fast forward about a week -- I couldn't sleep the other night and randomly started perusing the Twin Cities stolen bikes page because something didn't seem quite right about the sale listing. You know when you just get that hunch that something isn't right?
There it was, another mom saying her black Felt V85 had been stolen in July. It's not a common bike, and there can't be many tiny ones circulating around the area. After some research, calling Felt, talking to Minneapolis cops, and tracking down the owner during her workday, we figured out we had a match - the bike was indeed STOLEN.
I returned the bicycle to the original owner that same evening. Her stolen bike post promised a reward and she plans to honor that due to my honesty about the situation. She was able to pay me some of the reward but not all of it. She hopes to save up to pay me the rest of what I paid the thief for the bike so I break even. She's just elated to have her bicycle back!
This whole situation just SUCKS, and here is what I'm asking --
I would love to raise enough $$ to recoup the rest of what I paid for the bike and break even. This would help me to tell the original owner to keep the rest of her reward money.
My stretch goal is to raise enough additional to cover the reward money that she has already paid me. In other words, I want to refund the original owner her reward money too but I'm not in a position to gift her $500 outright. She and I would both break even and walk away net-neutral (including GoFundMe fees) due to your generosity. If we raise more than that, I will put it towards purchasing myself an emergency-recovery bike so I can get back to outdoor riding and help restore mental balance in my life.
Hopefully you can already assume I'm honest, seeing as I returned a stolen bike that I had paid cash for just a week and a half prior. ;-) Even if you're not in a position to donate money, please consider sharing this post to spread the word.
I'm off to go research other drop-bar bikes with insanely high stack like a Felt V85 (size 45cm) -- if you consider yourself a primo bike scouter, shoot me a message. We can find things in stock at shops but all upwards of $2k. :( I'm dying to ride outdoors again for more than a few minutes. My household spent a few combined hours looking so far and we haven't found a great option yet. I'm looking for a unicorn -- the Felt had so many great features all rolled into one. It was gonna be a "forever" bike for me.
Organizer
Melissa Hunter
Organizer
Lakeville, MN
