After Raymond C. Patt’s bicycle was reported stolen about 8:30 p.m. Thursday, the Phillipsburg High School sports superfan and school district employee took to Facebook.

The bicycle was the lifelong town resident’s only way to work and youth sports practices, township police said in a Facebook post of their own.

Jake Bloodgood, who met Patt because Bloodgood’s Lopatcong Township-based Diamond Cut Property Mangement LLC does landscaping work for the school district, said he “thought it would be kind of a nice thing to do” to buy a new bicycle for Patt.

The 2012 Warren Hills Regional High School graduate within minutes of seeing Patt’s post about 10:30 p.m. headed to the Walmart in Pohatcong Township and spent more than $200 on a new mountain bike, knowing only that the stolen bicycle was that style.

The next challenge was quickly getting it to Patt.

Bloodgood, who lives in Lopatcong, called his friend Will Spencer, who is a retired local police officer, and Spencer suggested calling Phillipsburg police Sgt. Anthony Goodell, Bloodgood said.

Within a short time, Goodell, Bloodgood and other officers were on the way to Patt’s home.

By midnight, Patt had a new bike.

Why’d the 25-year-old Bloodgood do it?

“I felt bad for him,” Bloodgood said. “It was his only mode of transportation.” Bloodgood wanted to “kind of make his day better.”

Patt was “surprised, overwhelmed and said thank you a lot of times,” Bloodgood said. “It definitely made his day.”

Police in their Facebook post said they “would like to thank Jake for this selfless act of kindness and generosity.”

Patt’s original black mountain bike with yellow lettering was left unattended for “mere minutes” at Warren Lanes along Memorial Parkway and “someone felt the need to strip him of his livelihood,” police said.

The bike, with back lights, and a helmet and lock attached to the handlebars, is worth $400, according to a Facebook post.

If anyone sees that bike, they are asked to call police at 908-454-1121.

Tony Rhodin may be reached at arhodin@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @TonyRhodin. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.