Years ago, if a bicycle was stolen it was more than likely a goner, but in this day and age of the Internet, one messenger found his missing wheels because of Twitter.
The incident occurred on the afternoon of March 2 when Austin Horse was picking up a package at an office building on 28th Street and Madison Avenue, reported The New York Times.
Horse told the Times he did not close the lock attached to the back of the orange bike but kept a watchful eye through the building's lobby's window for ten minutes. As soon as Horse turned away to get the package, the bike was gone.
He ran out the lobby and initially thought his messenger colleagues were playing a joke. Growing more anxious, Horse realized his bike was nowhere in sight.
In addition to photos of the bicycle, Horse immediately tweeted from his cell phone at 4 p.m.: “STOLEN BIKE! My orange gangsta just got stolen 28th & mad.”
Horse's friends and fellow bicyclists reposted Horse's message to online forums including fixed.gr/nyc, which eventually caught the attention of his friend Eddie Brannan.
Walking to a deli near Stanton Street with his wife, Brannan recognized the orange bike parked upside down as he told the Times was "completely unique, one of a kind."
At 6:30 p.m., Brannan called his messenger pal to deliver the good news about the bike
Local
Following the two and a half hour ordeal, Horse and his recovered bike were back on the job heading towards Midtown.
