Kiwis are on a mission to help reunite a US man with his electric bike. Photo / Imgur
Kiwis are on a mission to help reunite a US man with his electric bike. Photo / Imgur
An American whose electric bike was stolen at Burning Man in Nevada's Black Rock Desert last year says the GPS tracker shows the bike, which he built himself, has ended up in New Zealand.
A group of Kiwis on Reddit is now on a mission to track down and returnthe stolen bike to its owner after he posted online that the Tile GPS tracker shows the bike is moving around the country.
"Last year at Burning Man, in the US, somebody stole my beloved electric bicycle. It was crappy and janky, cause I built it myself, but I still loved it," the man posted on the New Zealand subreddit earlier today.
"Well funny thing: that was in August of last year. Today, the tracker that I put on the bike, started responding again ... literally halfway around the world in New Zealand. Seems like a long way to take a stolen bike, but lots of people come from all over the world for BM, and often things are sent in shipping containers back and forth to get there," he added.
He says it would not be worth the money for him to travel to New Zealand to find his bike so has shared tracking details with all Kiwis in the hope someone finds it and keeps it.
"The tracker actually seems to be bouncing all over the place. It started in Christchurch, and has been going all over the country. If any of you happen to live near where the tracker shows up, and you find the bike: you can have it, and I'll mail you the charger for it (which the thief doesn't have)."
The bike is a big "fat tire" bike with several LEDs on it. "Best identifying thing is the janky/custom trailer hitch on the back. Very obviously hand made with an angle grinder," the bike owner says.
The man believes, judging by the movements on the tracker, the bike could be on a truck or trailer, being transported around the South Island.
As of this afternoon, the tracker showed the bike on Ardmore St in Wanaka, Otago.
He says whoever finds the bike can have it - and he'll even send you the charger for it, which the thieves didn't get - but a number of Kiwi Reddit users want to reunite him with his creation, saying that's just the Kiwi way.
The bike was stolen at the Burning Man festival in the US last year. Photo / Imgur
"F*** it. Let's get this bike back," one Reddit user said. The man replied that whoever finds the bike can keep it but the Reddit commenter replied: "Nah bro, the Kiwi way is to get you your bike back!"
"Kiwis are a helpful bunch. Give us some more info, like what it looks like and any distinguishing features and I'm sure if its spotted we will let you know," someone else commented.
In just a few hours, the man has had offers of help from people all over New Zealand, from Takaka to Auckland.
A number of New Zealanders are trying to match the bike's location on the tracker to potential nearby businesses they can ring up for information, in the hopes of retrieving the bike.
