Harly and Courtney Forbes smile after receiving a new tandem bicycle from Richard and Jackie Riordan Tuesday. Photo

A shared love of bike riding helped right a wrong Tuesday afternoon.

When Richard and Jackie Riordan of Salmon Creek read about the theft of Courtney and Harly Forbes’ bicycle, they both thought to give their tandem bike to the young couple.

“That’s a beauty, isn’t it?” Harly said as he examined the maroon Santana Arriva at the Riordans’ home Tuesday afternoon. He especially loves the speckled multicolored bar tape. “It’s going to get a lot of miles on it.”

Courtney, 21, and Harly, 22, were devastated when they woke Monday morning to find their tandem Peugeot bike stolen from the porch of their Vancouver home. They’re developmentally delayed and cannot drive a car, making the tandem their main means of transportation.

The Riordans had their tandem bike built when they lived in Southern California decades ago. The bike, however, has been hanging in the garage of their Salmon Creek home since they moved there in 1995. Harly and Courtney Forbes’ story came just in time, Jackie said.

“People in the Northwest are so generous, it’s starting to rub off on us, even though we’re from L.A.,” she said.