Jennie Key

jkey@communitypress.com

Brad Gilpin owns, rides and loves bikes.

They catch his eye, those bikes, and he noticed the red-orange Felt bike when he saw it.

It might have been in Clifton Heights, near the restaurant he closed in August. Or it could have been in Over-the-Rhine where he lives. Or Downtown at Gilpin’s, his restaurant on Seventh Street.

“I pay attention to people riding and check out their bikes,” he said. “I saw this bike many times being ridden around, and I remembered it because I love the color.”

So just before Christmas, as he parked his car in OTR, that distinct red-orange flashed, a beacon for his attention. He saw a group of young men who were not the person he had seen riding that Felt surrounding it, laughing and holding it up in the air, amazed by how light it was.

There were some other clues that perhaps the bike was not owned by its current rider: It was the wrong size and the rider was wearing Timberlands that didn’t fit the clip on the pedals.

Businessman had suspicions about deal

“I had a feeling it might be stolen,” he said. “I love my bike and I treat it like a baby. If someone were to steal my bike, I would be miserable. I wanted to try to get it back to its owner.”

So as he walked by, he complimented them on the bike. They started talking and the group offered to sell him the bike for far below its value. He countered and they agreed. He grabbed the cash from a nearby ATM and paid for the bike. “While I was getting them their money I drilled them with questions that bikers would know,” he said. “And they had no idea.”

Even more convinced someone was missing that bike, Gilpin turned to social media to find the owner, posting a photo and a history of how the bike came into his possession on a Facebook page that sells bikes and on his business Facebook page for Gilpin’s, downtown on Seventh Street.

“I don't use my restaurant social media for private use, but I know my Gilpin's following may know the owner of this bike,” he said. He was on a mission.

Mark Hooton, service manager for Campus Cyclery, thought he recognized the bike, which had been bought there. He shot out a message with a partial serial number and he and Gilpin connected.

“I found the owner and it only took five hours,” Gilpin said. “I knew the biking community here in Cincy is such a tight-knit community that we could find him.”

Gilpin connected with the owner’s mom, Amy Weyand-Geise. Hooton had contact information for her and after she talked with Gilpin, she made arrangements to get the bike.

Loss of bike hard for UC architecture student

The owner, 18-year-old Nate Weyand-Geise, didn’t know his prized possession had been found. The bike had been taken Nov. 11, and had been missing for more than a month. Nate had filed a police report, and talked with detectives, but two days before Gilpin found the bike, police told him they had no new leads and didn’t expect to continue the investigation. He had bought another bike, as he used it for transportation to UC’s College of Design, Art, Architecture and Planning from his College Hill home.

“I was trying to move on,” Nate said. “But I still had this feeling that maybe I would see it, or find it somehow. There was a piece of me that kept hoping.”

His mom said the call from Gilpin was miraculous.

“When I got the call, I just couldn’t believe it. I was exuberant sitting at my desk,” she said.

Return of bike at Christmas was a surprise reunion

The Weyand-Geise family was amazed at the kindness of others who helped return the bike to Nate. “I couldn’t believe how many people were engaged with this, and no one told Nate when we found the bike,” she said. “We had one close call, but the surprise wasn’t spoiled.”

Amy planned to make the reunion special. “He got that bike when he was 13, and it was like his best friend. I went and picked it up a couple days later and took it to his grandparents’ home, where we celebrate Christmas,” she said. Our family watches ‘The Christmas Story’ every year, and we love that scene where the Dad says, ‘What’s that over there behind the desk?’ and Ralphie finds his BB gun.

“So when all the gifts were done, we said ‘What’s that over there behind the tree?’ directing him to a Christmas tree on the porch.”

And there it was.

A shock of recognition hit Nate, followed by joy that brought some tears. “I knew what it was as soon as I saw it,” he said. “I didn’t know how it got there, but I knew what it was when I saw it. It was like my best friend. I rode it to Cleveland. I took it to D.C., rode it when we traveled, I just want to keep going. I am so grateful.”

He said he’s biking more than ever now, alternating between the new and the old. And he and Gilpin are planning to ride together, bonded by an act of kindness and a love for biking. Nate’s also putting in more miles each week, and said he’s enjoying the rides more than ever.

“I have two bikes now,” he said. “I am a rich man.”