Canadians seem to have a superpower: finding stolen bikes and retrieving them with the maximum amount of class possible. In August, a thief stole Quentin Matheson’s bike, which he had owned for 13 long years. But three days later, in the middle of the night, his friend and bike mechanic spotted it on the street. Like any good bike mechanic, he had an extra chain lock lying around, so he locked it up until Matheson could come by and re-steal his own bike.
But they gave the thief something in return — a cardboard cut-out of the bike and this cheeky note:
Dear Bike Thief, you rascal! You took my bike earlier this week but forgot to tell me where you’d leave it! It took a stroke of great luck that my friend, who’s also my bike mechanic, happened to spot it right here! Isn’t that crazy?
Anyway, I kinda need my bike so I’m taking it back. Please accept this substitute until you can afford your own.
How sweet! We’re going imagine that this story ends with the bike thief having an epiphany (you can make bikes out of cardboard!), starting a business, and becoming rich on legitimate bike trade. Although the more likely outcome was that the thief found this note, uttered some choice words, and left this beautiful work of art to its fate on the streets of Toronto.
