Stranger replaces child’s stolen bike

Nathan Antone is a 12-year-old boy who suffers from autism, and recently had his bicycle stolen while at a public library in Maple Ridge, B.C.

When Antone came out of the library after a 30 minute visit, he was dismayed to find his bike gone.

“We saw that the bike wasn’t at the bike lock thing and we assumed it was stolen,” Antone told CBC News. “I felt very upset.”

Antone’s family is on a fixed income, and his mother explained she was planning to buy a lock with money from her next paycheque.

Antone owned the bike for three years, and used it to get to and from school, the library and pick up hockey games.

When the theft made local news, Ryan Nicholson decided to help. Nicholson didn’t know the Antone family but recognized that the theft “sucks and I wanted to remedy it for the family,” according to the CBC.

“Somebody did something very nice for me and I am just paying it forward so to speak. I think if more people did nice things to even strangers, it would just make the world a better place.”

Antone was excited to get the new bike, recognizing all the promise the new set of wheels held.

“It’s black and it looks really cool and I think it’s going to be fast,” he said to the CBC.
Nicholson also made sure to include a lock with the new bike.