The odd text message came while Jacob Heninger was in a Chicago grocery store.
"It said something like, 'Did you have a bike stolen about 10 years ago?'" he said. "I just replied, 'Yes. Is this real?'"
It was almost surreal.
Heninger was an undergraduate medical student in Iowa City in 2007 when his new Gary Fisher-brand bicycle was stolen. At just under $1,000, the mountain bike was a coveted means of transport in the college town.
He reported it missing and gave the serial number to police, but Heninger didn't count on seeing it again.
Fast forward 12 years:
Rick Paulos, of Iowa City, volunteers at the Newbo Bike Collective in Cedar Rapids. The charitable group salvages bikes, returning them to service as environment-friendly transportation while supplying wheels to those in need.