Dirk deGroot made headlines a couple of years again as Seattle’s “Bike Batman,” a man who would discover reported stolen bikes on the market on websites like Craigslist or OfferUp after which go get better the bikes and provides them again to the house owners. He did this dozens of instances earlier than retiring a couple of years again. This American Life just lately began an episode by interviewing deGroot in an try and reply the bigger query: Why would an individual do one thing huge and dangerous to assist out any person they didn’t even know?
Right here’s Carrie Helminger, the primary particular person deGroot helped, describing what it was like when he first reached out and informed her he needed to get her stolen bike again:
He stated, I noticed that you just posted it on Bike Index. And so I’m like, ah, that is beginning to sound a little bit bit extra legit. However I nonetheless don’t know who he’s.
I believe we spoke most likely round my lunch break. And he informed me that he was perhaps going to go get the bike. And I used to be like, what? And he was like, yeah. I bear in mind him saying at one level, yeah, I’m sort of jazzed about this. I’m getting a little bit adrenaline excessive from this.
And a part of me is like, nice, that solves that drawback, if he needs to do this. However are you nuts? Why do you need to try this? And watch out. That might be the scariest factor for me. There’s no approach I’d ever try this.
Take heed to the total episode on-line.
To be clear, I don’t advocate making an attempt to do what deGroot did. I did it as soon as, and it was a mistake. Fortunately, neither deGroot nor I had been injured in an try and get better a motorbike. However there are very actual dangers everytime you confront somebody like this. On the identical time, I perceive the impulse to need to get your loved one bike again. Watch out on the market, and do not forget that a motorbike is an object, albeit a particular one, and might be changed. For extra recommendation on what to do in case your bike is stolen, take a look at this web page on BikeIndex.
