When to challenge a thief?

This evening whilst looking at houses around Shepherd's Bush I noticed a kid riding a beater down the street with a better mountain bike under his arm, missing a back wheel. I eyeballed him and he looked back a bit shifty but I didn't actually stop and challenge him (I was with the g/f and a particularly gormless estate agent). Is there a reasonable explanation for his behaviour or did I let a thief go free?

can always go and ask "where did you get that from?" then u'll know pretty easily.

you deffenaltly should have chased him down the road and beaten the living shit out of the c*nt regardless of who you were with:)

By the time I'd put 2+2 together he was off down the street - it would've meant unlocking my bike and chasing down the road after him. However, reading that back it looks a bit shit that I didn't question some pretty suspicious behaviour. Always a reason not to get involved, right?

I'm not sure. Were his knees hitting his chin and was he in a suitably inappropriate gear? Suppose that would only indicate if the bike he was already on was nicked.
Similarly, as I turned off the high street to come home this evening, I see a group of about 15 of da kidz eyeing the bike and one says to another, "speshalaaaaaazed". Could have been misplaced envy or "let's nick it off this beer laden mug"
If only they knew...

theres little other reason why someone would be riding down the road with a (back) wheeless bike under their arm.......

on their way to a unicycling convention?

brett I'm not sure. Were his knees hitting his chin and was he in a suitably inappropriate gear? Suppose that would only indicate if the bike he was already on was nicked.
Similarly, as I turned off the high street to come home this evening, I see a group of about 15 of da kidz eyeing the bike and one says to another, "speshalaaaaaazed". Could have been misplaced envy or "let's nick it off this beer laden mug"
If only they knew...

that your were really HE-MAN master of the universe!

always hard to say, isn't it.. I was just thinking about this last night, if someone was nicking my bike in broad daylight, I would obviously appreciate someone asking him what the hell he was doing.. But even I'm not sure if I'd be "big" enough to ask that to someone carrying huge bolt cutters and more likely than not, twice my diameter.

Is it just me or does anyone else hate this city?

i love this city...i just hate the people in it!!

haha fair enough..

where im from im refered to as a 'schizo'

haaaaaaaaaa :P

i am quite a pleasent chap at heart:)

On a more serious tip. Approaching a thief is never a good thing. No bike is worth your life. If you do want to intervene shout something from a distance and act like your approaching. Most thiefs don't want the hassle of a confrontation and will scarper.

thanks

the thing is, if you get the bike off him somehow, what are you gonna do with it?
Eehhh?

......or you could cycle off it with over your shoulder but then aidan would beat the crap out of you.;)

stop him beat him up nick his two bikwes and ride off down the street with three bikes one over each shoulder
repeat until you have someone riding with all the bikes in london over their shoulder

oxo ......or you could cycle off it with over your shoulder but then aidan would beat the crap out of you.;)

:)