When I was 14 and my Grandpa was 57 we went on a bike trip from Rochester to Endicott NY. We took tents and sleeping bags and everything we needed with the exception of food for three days. I have very fond memories of this bike trip. My Grandfather and I developed a strong bond those three days.









Today I went to the river without my old bicycle. It really made me sad when I realized that I never made the trip over the Peace Bridge with my red Raleigh Technium 420. I wanted to do it so bad but I didn't because I didn't get a bicycle rack and new tires. I thought that I would do it next year after I made those purchases...

Operation Pee-wee Herman is under way. Have spent the last 2.5 hrs riding through the West Side. A friend of mine lent me her bike which is really nice because the best way I can find it is with my own eyes. If I see it, I'm calling 911 while following it and giving them the description of bike, person and direction they are going. My bike is fast, so I hope I can keep up while keeping a safe distance so that they know they are not being followed. I wish I had more flyers to post up. They are like .59 a piece at Kinkos. Maybe I'll check with library to see if they do it any cheaper.

It is October 3rd and the weather is great. Don't have much time before most people stop riding for the winter. I spoke with the guy on Lexington and gave him a flier. He seemed like a nice guy and really doesn't want much to do with stolen bicycles. Gets his stock at auctions he says. He showed me the stuff he had in his garage. Still need to go to the one across from Wegmans.

Time to get back out there. That is so weird. It is 420 right now just like my bike.

There is nothing more dangerous than recent cooler temperatures coupled with my new *to me* laptop. I love it! I have recently discovered the joys of internet TV as I stay huddled up under my down comforter. My robe is draped over my heater waiting for me to slip it on so I can go venture off into the cold cold house that I can't wait to move out of. It should only be another 3-4 weeks in this super humid and cold space and then i finally will move into a place with radiator heat *my dream*. I'll actually be warm which I anticipate will make this winter much better than last. Yesterday I woke up very wet and cold and noticed that my bedroom window was dripping with condensation. Good luck to my landlord renting this place out as he is out of his mind if he thinks I'll turn on my heat for any showings. People are going to know when they walk in here what it is going to be like the next six or so months.

As I was writing this I just got a call from Detective Nowadly from the BPD. I was really shocked that I got a call regarding the stolen bicycles and that she was so compassionate about my loss. You just sort of assume that they wouldn't give two shits about a stolen bike considering all the other stuff they have to deal with. My fliers featuring my bicycle along side Pee-wee Herman announcing the $200 reward are strategically placed throughout the city. Not sure if they will be noticed but whoever came by and stole them out of my garage are sure to one day pass by again and see it. Today I will walk to work and will no doubt constantly be eyeballing every bike I see.

So it is time to get up and out of this bed. Just wanted to say I love my laptop and internet TV without even mentioning the bike but then I got the call.

Here are the other three bikes that were stolen along with mine. Clearly the owners want them back as well.







Bike #1:

2003 Specialized Hardrock Cr-Mo (Women's)
Color: Charcoal
Also included additional customizations as listed on the receipt: Greenfeild kickstand, Trek Vapor black seat, and water bottle cage.
Serial number not available.

Bike #2:

1996 or 1997 Mongoose Threshold Sport (Men's)
Color: Red
Serial No. M5FA80195

Bike #3
Mongoose Switchback
Color: Blue
Serial number not available

I have emailed everyone I can think of with pictures of my bike. I also enlisted the help of Buffawhat and Buffalo Rising

I hope that everyone saves my phone number so that they have it ready in case they see my bicycle. Thank you all so much for your help. Hopefully I will get some signs up today as well.

I'm so sad to report that my bike of 17 years was stolen sometime on Saturday from my garage along with three other bikes. Besides just putting $200 into it just a couple of weeks ago it is irreplaceable because of the emotional attachment I have towards it. It wasn't just a reliable source of transportation but one of the few things in my life that I have ever held on to in a life that has been constantly changing.

I really want to find my bike again Peewee style. I went to Campus Wheel Works and they were so awesome and sympathetic. I called Rick's and told them about it in case someone tries to sell it to them. I don't have the serial number as I got it used and never thought to write it down. The police came last night and I didn't file the report because I thought I might be able to locate the serial number, so I am going to have to call them back and file it without one.

Not really sure what else to do. Making signs is a possibility as well as offering a reward. I'm willing to pay someone $200 for the bike no questions asked. I just want it back. Does anyone know of any places like pawn shops that might sell hot bikes? I'm checking craigslist constantly and am not sure if I should post on there or if that might scare them away.

The first three shots are of my missing bike. The last two are pictures I found on craigslist (Way too far from Buffalo to be mine.) The last two pictures look exactly like mine does.





Keep in mind that the bicycle has new break cable casing which is black and that the speedometer is no longer on the bike.

Thanks (e:jessbob) for alerting me to Lon's sentencing. I was waiting for a news story because I knew that the sentencing would be on the 4th but none of the news outlets covered it. I am reposting it again here just because I have the other news articles in my past journals and want this one too.

How pathetic that he still professes his innocence and is going to waste even more taxpayer dollars on his appeal. I think 4-12 years is a fair sentence along with being ordered to pay restitution. Hopefully they will keep him for the full 12 years if he does go through with an appeal. Interestingly, I have learned that this is not Lon's first time with fire. Back when he lived in Ohio a garage was burned down intentionally that just happened to have Lon's car in it. I like what the judge said about it being a completely selfish act because that is exactly what it was. His life would have been so much better if he just admitted defeat, claimed bankruptcy and started over again learning from his mistakes.

Here it is again....

Coffee shop owner gets 4 to 12 years for insurance arson
ByMatt Gryta
News Staff Reporter
Updated: September 08, 2009, 5:04 PM

Former Buffalo coffee shop owner Lon Coldiron, still proclaiming his innocence, today was ordered to spend the next four to 12 years in state prison for setting fire to the building in a bid to collect insurance money.

Coldiron also was ordered to pay $250,000 in restitution to the insurance company for what Erie County Judge Thomas P. Franczyk called his "terribly selfish" crime.

Coldiron, 43, was convicted by a jury July 27 of third-degree arson and attempted grand larceny for the Oct. 21, 2004, fire that destroyed his "Coffee &" shop and the three-story building it was in at 718 Elmwood Ave.

The judge denounced him for the "orchestrated" fire he falsely thought could generate insurance payments on his money-losing business.

It was Coldiron's second trial in connection with the fire. He was spared a jail term when an Erie County Court jury three years ago convicted him only of attempted grand larceny. However, an appellate court set aside that conviction and ordered a second trial because of juror misconduct in the first trial.

After Coldiron today insisted that "I'm still innocent and someday it will come out," Franczyk denounced him for the insurance ploy that prosecutors showed took place while his coffee shop was losing money and he was still gambling at nearby casinos "like a drunken sailor."

The judge also faulted him for causing damage to adjoining structures and putting Buffalo firefighters at risk in dealing with the early-morning arson five years ago. Franczyk also ordered him to repay Travelers Insurance Co. the $250,000 it paid the owner of the building destroyed in the arson.

John K. Jordan, Coldiron's attorney, said the conviction will be appealed.

Happy Birthday Mikey!










Does anyone know why my pictures are uploading sideways now? As saved files they are upright.

The other day I was riding my bike behind the history museum and as is customary in any type of traffic in this country, stayed to the right hand side. This little punk decides not to move out of my way and play chicken. Sorry, my bike is bigger and faster so you move out of the way as I am on the correct side. So he veers out of the way and then turns his wheel at me sharply like he is going to hit me but instead falls off his bike and rolls away. I look behind me and see that he is fine but his front tire is completely bent in half meaning not only that he can't ride it but he will have to carry it back home. I yell back "Tough luck eh?"

I wish all situations with stupid jerks would result in this type of deep and immediate satisfaction.

I just got this post it note from a guest.

@ 08/19/09 01:02@74.78.96.175 Guest wrote:

How can you find someone guilty of something without sufficient evidence from what I've heard and read he did not collect any insurance money, the only one that benefited from the fire was the landlord why not check him out. And they did not find any gasoline on the clothes they took from him at the hostital. What about the threating phone calls he was getting? One of his employees answered and got one of the threating calls. I think you should not be so hard on the guy.

Lon is this you? Probably not considering bail is set at $50k. Whoever you are you must be delusional. $300k insurance policy a month before the fire?! He got angry with a worker who called 911 to have a fire put out in his Niagara Falls location saying to me "She should have just let it burn down." Yes Lon is a fine guy indeed.

Anyways this is the original reason I signed on. I think it is fitting....






I think it is a huge rat. Do you agree? It seems water logged from the river.

Lon Coldiron was convicted of the Coffee & arson! Congratulations to everyone who worked so hard at rebuilding the case years after the fact. I am so pleased with this verdict. I always knew that one way or another justice would be served, but I never imagined that because of Lon's stupidity and arrogance he would put himself on trial a second time when he got off so easily at the first. I am really dumbfounded by this all. This really exemplifies to me that it can take a long time for a prayer to be answered, I spent many hours chanting about this situation. Here is a journal of mine three years ago about my anger towards the first verdict.

Coffee shop owner convicted of arson
By Matt Gryta
NEWS STAFF REPORTER
July 28, 2009, 7:02 AM / 3 comments


Buffalo coffee shop owner Lon Coldiron was convicted Monday night of third-degree arson and second-degree attempted grand larceny in the October 2004 fire that destroyed his business and killed one of his three pet dogs.

The jury found Coldiron, 43, not guilty of attempted third-degree grand larceny. Erie County Judge Thomas P. Franczyk set bail at $50,000 and scheduled sentencing for Sept. 4.

Coldiron, 43, did not testify or present any alibi witnesses during the two-week trial, his second in connection with the fire that destroyed Coffee &, his shop at 718 Elmwood Ave.

Three years ago, Coldiron was convicted only of attempted grand larceny and placed on probation. He was granted a new trial 12 months ago by the Appellate Division of State Supreme Court because of jury misconduct during deliberations before then-County Judge Timothy J. Drury.

The appellate court stressed that while it found "legally sufficient" evidence to support the arson and attempted insurance fraud charges, a new trial was warranted because of misconduct by unidentified jurors who sneaked legal documents into the deliberation room.

"The jury's possession of that written material" warranted a trial reversal, the Rochester court ruled, upholding arguments by Buffalo Legal Aid Bureau appeals attorney Nicholas T. Texido.

Prosecutors Mark A. Sacha and Amy B. Benedict proved Coldiron had applied for about $290,000 in business insurance on the shop about a month before the fire and that he had been awaiting an insurance company inspection of his business at the time of the arson.

The prosecutors also cited evidence of Coldiron had gambling casino debts at the time.

John K. Jordan, Coldiron's attorney, contended his client, who lived in a third-floor flat above the shop and had to leap to the roof of an adjoining business to escape the flames, had "cooperated fully with the investigation" of the arson.

Days after the fire, neighbors staged a benefit for Coldiron.

mgryta@buffnews.com