The Bicycle Dilemna

It happened this last week that when we arrived at a particular homeless camp we serve, a new face was there.  He claimed he was having bike troubles, so I offered to look over his bike and see if I could help him get it running again.  We conversed a bit as I was looking the bike over, and I began to feel uneasy about the whole exchange.  It didn't take long before I had the thought that perhaps this bike was a stolen bike, and didn't actually belong to this guy.  Especially when he said he really just wanted to sell it, and he thought it might go for $500-$600.  And then again when I saw the Shimano 105 component set on the bike.  And again when he asked if I could fix the cables he had broken, and possibly even sell the bike for him.  I'm not always quick on my feet, so I really wanted out of the situation.  Like, right now.  Because I was just uncomfortable.  So I declined his offer, and said maybe I could look for some parts and bring them back next week.

Then I got home and began scouring facebook.  Surely a stolen bike would be posted somewhere, right?  Bingo.  After very little searching, there it was.  Staring me in the face.  The same damn bike....under the posting and profile of a very sad owner.  And then I felt like an ass.  Why hadn't I taken it with me?!  Now how was I going to get said bike back to its owner?  I contacted the owner and told him the story.  I also expressed my desire to get the bike back without a scene so our other homeless friends wouldn't be adversely affected by a call to the police.  The best plan I could come up with was to head back out there in the morning and say that I had changed my mind, and that I thought I could get some help from a friend to fix up the bike.  And so I did.  And I was nervous.  But I prayed....and I had peace with the idea.  It all went off without a hitch.  And instead of pulling away and driving to the bike shop to repair the bike, I drove straight to the original owner's house and delivered his bike back to him.  It was a beautiful reunion!  Except I knew I would still have to face the next Sunday when I would pull up with our group and announce that I had fibbed, and that I knew the bike was stolen, and that it had been returned to its owner.  I knew I had done the right thing....but what about all the trust we as a group had spent buildingn with the people from this particular camp?  How would this impact our relationship with them going forward?

I thought about it all day.  And then I had an idea.  What if we killed him with kindness?  What if we offered him a different bike instead?  Or would that just be rewarding his negative behavior?  So I text the group leader, and she agreed it would be an awesome solution.  So this Sunday, he’ll get a bike back.  Not a bike that could sell for $500-$600, but a bike with 2 wheels and gears that work that will get him around town.  And a letter written with love….

ps.  Letter in the next post....