you do not fuck with bike kids.

so last night we got a few beers at cous cous. my buddy brett was bartending and he's new at it, so it's fun to go and show support.

brett is an awesome dude. he sings for the band the riot before and is the proud owner of a new shiny flashy track bike. brett is in a band and doesn't make a lot of money, so this was a big investment for him and if you saw how awesome he looks riding it, you would say "nice investment, brett!" anyway, the first thing we talked about when he got his new bike was how he was a shoe-in for some craigslist missed connections.

well, sadly, he was in store for a little more than a missed connection.

as i said, last night, we were at cous cous, and brett's bike was locked up outside. however, at around 11:00, someone near the window shouts that someone is trying to steal a bike outside. some college dude in mesh shorts is outside with a wrench trying to steal brett's rims. HIS RIMS, MY GOD! WHO DOES THAT? anyway, he's out there with this wrench going to town and someone notices.

now, when i say richmond is a bike town, i mean it. people here LOVE their bikes. so when i tell you this next bit, you should not be surprised at all:

the bar completely emptied out. a giant mob of people go running outside to defend the bike and chase down the thief. the dude sees the mob and starts (appropriately) running like hell. sadly, due to years of alcohol consumption, none of the cous cous bar crowd are qualified distance runners, so no one can keep up.

except for one man: freddy clark.

now, i don't know how it all went down, but the basic gist is that freddy caught up to this dude. he tripped him up, and then they tumbled to the ground. freddy apparently got some kicks and punches in, and the dude ripped freddy's shirt collar. the dude then took off running again. so freddy comes back in to the bar about 10 minutes later, panting, and sporting his new fashion choice, feeling satisfied that bike theft justice had been achieved.

a bunch of dudes, including myself, bought freddy a beer for his valiant efforts.

bike thieves of richmond, beware. there's a new defender of justice in town.