SAN DIEGO (KGTV) -- A San Diego man whose bike was stolen, decided to track the thief himself. But instead of turning him in, he turned the situation into something positive.
Rob Greenfield never thought he'd see his bamboo bike again.
“I didn’t lock it because I was sitting 20 feet from it and then I heard a noise and I looked back and saw the guy speeding off into the night with it.”
When he found the thief, he didn't turn him in. He pulled him in for a hug, forgave him and took his bike back.
“It’s one of a kind bamboo bike but really what makes it special is that I’ve biked across the United States on it doing good deeds," he said. "So I’ve traveled thousands of miles across the country.”
The theft made him want to do more good deeds, right here in San Diego.
“I decided that rather than turning that into a really negative situation I would turn it into a positive situation," he said. "Knowing the feeling of having a bike stolen I decided I wanted to give bikes to kids who have had their bikes stolen and can’t afford a new one.”
Greenfield started a GoFundMe to raise money for bikes. Bikes that he would then donate to the Boys and Girls Club - to kids whose bikes were stolen.
He says it's a lesson in kindness that he hopes the thief who took his bike, and the kids who were given bikes, will pass on.
“I can crowd out the bad with lots of good. So one bike stolen so I can give away 10 bikes, he said. "In that way it just wipes that bad deed out.”
Rob gave away 10 bikes Tuesday and says that there is enough left for him to do it again.
