Kayla Smith's bicycle was stolen from a bike rack last week.
She reported it to police, but then a friend told her she saw an ad on Craigslist for a similar bike.
Kayla looked up the listing and thought it was her bike, so she arranged a meeting with the seller in a McDonald's parking lot.
Further inspection confirmed it was her stolen bike, and she asked the thief if she could take it for a test ride.
He agreed, and she rode it to a friend in a waiting car.
"I danced like as if I had just scored a touchdown in the NFL, honestly," she said.
Authorities said they were thrilled she got her bike back, but they recommend calling police in a similar situation.
"Bike theft is huge in Vancouver, and people work really hard for their bikes," Smith said. "And how dare you steal what I worked so hard to buy? I mean, I'm a bartender. I slinged a lot of beer for this."
Smith says she won't be locking up her bike outside anymore and plans to keep her rescued ride close from now on.
