In one of those stories that we can only snigger at due to it all concluding happily, 7’6″ former-NBA beanpole Shawn Bradley has had his custom-made, huge bicycle stolen, but thankfully subsequently recovered.
The Associated Press has the story:
At 7-foot-6, former NBA center Shawn Bradley needs just about everything custom-made, from clothes and chairs to countertops and doorways.
It’s why he was bummed when his custom-build Trek road bicycle, complete with an 80 centimeter carbon fiber-aluminum frame, was stolen last Friday.
“There’s no way they could have ridden it away,” Bradley said Thursday morning. “It’s kind of baffling. I think it will turn up.”
He was right.
A random search of a residence by state probation and parole officials turned up the bike Thursday afternoon in the town of Murray, where Bradley has a home, police said. Joshua Carter, 34, was arrested on suspicion of possession of stolen property and felony theft, Murray police Sgt. Brian Wright said.
Bradley, who has been riding the bicycle since packing on the pounds after his retirement following 13 NBA seasons, was thrilled at the news.
Now, can you imagine an average-sized person trying to escape on that thing? I imagine it would be something akin to a man trying to escape on a three-year old girl’s bicycle: farcical.
The photo above, which shows Bradley, with family, on his massive motorbike, is clearly not of the bike in question. But it had to be shown. These photos (which come via the shop that made it) are:
Further to the article:
They certainly weren’t going to ride it — as it is about 50 percent larger than what a normal-sized person would ride. Trek never even included a serial number when it built the bike in 2005 because it is so unique.
“I’m guessing he just walked it away,” Wright said of the suspect, who stands just 6-foot.
Thankfully, Bradley indeed did get the bike back ultimately. A fortunate ending to the story, as men of his size can’t simply go to their nearest bicycle shop and purchase a new one.
In other Bradley-related news, the former shotblocker (and recipient of numerous famous dunkings-on) will appear as a downloadable character in NBA 2K12. The one-time mormon missionary to Australia, despite retiring from the NBA in 2005, has not disappeared from the headlines just yet.
