Tracked Down Through My Bike on the Internet

[Dbubbleguy]

Trek 3.5-A by fanegatrac, on Flickr

I went for a ride last Saturday around town (New Castle, Delaware) and stopped for lunch at the hot dog/burger joint on the edge of town. I locked my bike to the large guy wire cables holding up the electric pole, went inside, and ordered a chili cheese dog with fries. Then went to the counter at the front window to keep an eye on my bike. Today I was reviewing my FLICKR page and found the following posting under the above photo...

Saw this excellent machine outside the burger joint today in old new castle...It is fantastic! Thought I might google it to see if it was an off the shelf option and happened on your flickr photo stream ( http://www.flickr.com/photos/28247229@N02/ ). Might like to trade and grade information on the improvements. I am either on my 2008 HM crosstown commuter or my 2012 Felt MP 3 speed when out and about in the neighborhood.

I sent a FLICKR mail to the poster. Hopefully we can get together to compare notes. Wonder if he's on RatRodBikes? Stay tuned!

 

[LukeTheJoker]

Very cool! I wonder what search words they used to find the pics?

Luke.

 

[schwinnmesa]

That's awesome!

 

[Dbubbleguy]

I copied my posting above and sent it out as an email to friends. One of the tech savy ones came up with the probable answer (as of yet not confirmed). He said-

It's possible he used Google Goggles, which is their reverse image search. You give it a picture (e.g., from his cell phone) and it compares it to a massive index of all public google imagery. Works well for buildings/sites, manufactured objects including bikes, etc.

I wouldn't know about such apps since my cell phone is only one step above a can with a string.

 

[supergoob]

That's always kind of flattering, isn't it? I've had people recognize my truck from photos I post online. Very cool.

 

[Rat Rod]

Great story!

 

[Dbubbleguy]

Well, I finally tracked down my bike's mystery admirer. He is Jason Brugman, former base commander of the Delaware Air National Guard (DANG) at the Greater Wilmington Airport. He is still stationed there with other duties. We have emailed each other but have not been able to meet up... although I did bump into him at the Wawa one morning. I saw all the DANG cammies and looked for his name tag. Presto. I called his name out and he looked like, who is that strange little fat fellow? I introduced myself and we talked for a few minutes. We do plan to do a sit down conversation when our schedules co-incide.

 

[g-ratter]

It is kind of weird when people come up to you in public and know you but your like clueless as to who they are.
I get a little of this because people have been to one of my art openings so they recognize me but by the end of a night I have met so many people I can never remember them all.