A racing bike set to be used in two weeks in the annual Cops for Cancer charity ride has been stolen – from a police officer’s Richmond porch.
The $1,500, 10-speed Louis Garneau bike had been locked up on Const. Lee Marten’s porch in Burkeville until sometime in the early hours of Friday.
That’s when the Vancouver Police Department officer realized it had been taken, just a matter of days before he was due to set off on his fourth Cops for Cancer ride, in aid of the Canadian Cancer Society.
“It’s pretty quiet here as far as crime goes; it’s very unusual,” Marten told the Richmond News on Tuesday.
“I’ve been checking Craigslist and other places like that. It’s likely just being used for a few days, then it’ll be stolen by another criminal.
“It will end up abandoned somewhere when they realize how hot it is.”
Marten explained how participants get issued a new bike every spring by a bike shop, which works in conjunction with the charity.
“The shop partners with Cops for Cancer and they buy and distribute the bikes on behalf of the charity,” added Marten.
“We train with that bike until the tour ride in September. The shop is giving me a rental bike to train with and do the tour.”
It’s not the first time one of the tour rider’s bikes has been stolen, explained Marten.
“Last year, a bike was stolen from the back of a police vehicle while we were all inside a Coast Capital downtown, during the tour,” he said.
Normally, the tour takes nine days and 900 kilometres to complete, with the tour riders staying in hotels each night after their ride around B.C.
This year, due to the pandemic, the ride on Sept. 21 will be trimmed to five days, still clocking 100 kilometres a day, but with the riders in smaller groups and returning back home every night.
For anyone who is offered the bike for sale or has possession of it, Marten had some words of advice.
“They can drop it off at any police station or call the police and we’ll come pick it up. No questions asked,” he said.
“But if you’re caught with it, you might be facing charges of theft or possession of stolen property.”
