City Room tells the heartwarming tale of our friend Jack returning a stolen track bike to its rightful owner, a stranger no less.

When Agata Slota’s bicycle disappeared from a spot near Union Square one day in September, the odds were that she would never see it again. About 60,000 bikes are stolen in New York City each year, and only 2 percent of them are recovered by their owners. Because the bike was distinctive –- her brother had built it himself –- Ms. Slota, 27, posted an ad and photograph on Craigslist in the hopes that someone would notice it.

That is where it would have ended, except that a friend of Ms. Slota’s had also posted a notice about the theft on an online chat room for fixed-gear bike enthusiasts. Such postings are common on the chat room, which serves mainly as a place for, in the words of one regular user, “geeking out over fancy bike parts.” Weeks later, someone posted a response after spotting Ms. Slota’s bicycle locked up outside a Quizno’s in Midtown. This set off a flurry of messages that continued for weeks and, eventually, led to Ms. Slota getting her bike back.

While less aggressive approaches like negotiating a deal to reclaim the bike are great, we would prefer the “ill-formed plan that involved a group confronting the man while wearing underwear outside of their pants and then stealing his watch” if only for the laughs.

There are two morals to this story. First, the Union Square area is the Bermuda Triangle of bikes. If you lock up around the park there is a good chance your bike will disappear. Second, locking your bike to scaffolding, especially the horizontal pieces that can be easily unscrewed, is an open invitation for thieves.

If you’re hard up for safe bike racks around your apartment or work, take a moment and fill out the NYC Bike Parking Survey. Then get excited about DOT’s new covered bike shelters, nicely rendered with a rack full of track bikes.

Image via City Room and Department of Transportation.