East Biloxi surprises 76-year-old after his bicycle was stolen from neighbor’s front yard

Kevin Tran was visiting home from college recently when Sinh Nguyen, a longtime family friend, stopped by and left his bike in Tran’s parents’ front yard in East Biloxi.

When Nguyen got up to leave, he realized the bike was no longer there. Surveillance footage showed someone leaning over the fence and stealing it.

“It upset me a lot,” Tran said, because the bicycle is Nguyen’s only means of transportation. At 76, his deteriorating eyesight prohibits him from driving.

After filing a police report, Tran decided he was going to get Nguyen a new bicycle.

So Tran set up an online fundraiser, appealing to friends and neighbors to whom Nguyen was a familiar neighborhood presence. “Many of you, particularly those of you in East Biloxi, have seen him riding his bicycle around town,” he wrote in the GoFundMe post.

Tran felt that Nguyen deserved a nicer bike than he’d had before after a lifetime of hardship. “I set a goal of $600 because I would love to get him a quality bike at a bike shop as a surprise to him, as [he] has always ridden old, poor quality, rusty bikes,” he wrote in the post.

Friends from school and church shared the post on social media. Within just a few days, 19 people contributed and the fundraiser surpassed the $600 goal. Tran himself contributed $25.

With the cash in hand, Tran’s parents called the unsuspecting Nguyen Wednesday morning and told him to meet them at Biloxi Bicycle Works, where he would be fitted for a new bike. Tran himself was in Oxford, where he is a sophomore at Ole Miss.

Bart Luther, owner of the East Biloxi bike shop, didn’t know the plan in advance. But he and the staff were already acquainted with Tran, an avid cyclist.

“We love Kevin. He’s awesome,” Luther said before the family arrived about noon.

Tran’s mother, Hue Nguyen (no relation to Sinh), said Sinh Nguyen was “really surprised” and so moved by the gift that he wrote the family a handwritten thank-you letter in Vietnamese.

The group was also accompanied by Tran’s toddler nephew and by Gracey Gaedchens, 19, a friend of Tran’s who helped him with the fundraising effort.

Luther showed the family a couple different options before they settled on a red $650 Specialized Crossroads, adjusted for Nguyen’s size.

“It’s a good, sturdy bike that’s comfortable,” Luther said, adding that it’s the model he himself rides.

Nguyen said he had never had owned such a nice bike — or in fact bought one at all. His previous bicycles were also gifts.

Seafood worker moves to MS Coast

Nguyen has lived on the Coast for 15 years, working in the shrimp and oyster industry in Pass Christian until his retirement.

He arrived in the U.S. 27 years ago, first living in South Carolina. He was virtually penniless and lived and slept on a shrimp boat for the first few years.

He spoke no English, but the bike shop—and the Sun Herald—were able to communicate with him via the efforts of Adam Nguyen (also no relation to Sinh or Hue), the shop’s 25-year-old service manager and a fluent Vietnamese speaker.

Adam Nguyen installed a kickstand on the bicycle as a free gift from the shop.

All the while, Tran was looking on via FaceTime on Gaedchen’s phone.

His mother says her son’s charitable effort is characteristic of his personality.

“Kevin likes to help people,” she told the Sun Herald.

Tran, a 2020 Biloxi High alum, is a pre-dental student hoping to become an orthodontist.

Luther, the bike shop owner, said Tran was “a very caring soul” and “one of those people that gives back to his community.”

This story was originally published February 24, 2022 at 5:50 AM.