Cyclist in Canada gets stolen bike back – after spotting it on a bus

A cyclist in Canada whose bike had been stolen got it back – after spotting it on a rack on the front of a bus as he drove to work.

The distinctive-looking black and yellow Devinci Phantom mountain bike had been stolen from outside the city hall in Kitchener, Ontario. The thief pulled out the locking pin from the 20mm cable the bicycle had been secured with, rather than cutting it.

Its owner, Peter Dedes, was inside the building chairing a meeting of the council’s cycling advisory committee, reports the Hamilton Spectator.

Three days later, he saw the bike, which he uses for day-to-day riding, on the front rack of a bus heading towards him.

"The thing that caught my eye was my swinging saddle bag underneath the seat. I said 'Oh my God, that's my bike,'" said the former pro cyclist.

According to the newspaper, he drove his van around the city’s streets to get himself behind the bus.

Then, when the bus stopped at a traffic light, he put his hazard indicators on, got out and told the driver that the bike was his and he was going to take it back.

"I just took it off the front of the bus, and rolled it to my truck," he said. "The guy who put the bike on the bus rack came out, and I just informed him right away in a pretty loud voice that the bike was stolen, that it was mine.

"He was whining that he had just found it, and I said 'Well that's just too bad, I'm taking it back now.' He didn't do anything to try to stop me from taking my bike."

The man told him that his mobile phone and wallet were in the saddlebag, so Dedes let him take those back.

Other than mudguards he had recently put on that had been removed, the bike was fine, although there was an unwelcome surprise when he got on it.

"Whoever had stolen it had adjusted the handlebars and the seat, and that was awful. That's when I was most ticked," he added.