Why I Made This Site
When I was 16 I bought my first bike. It was a Pinarello Asollo, with Campagnolo
components. This was no small feat for someone my age working minimum wage jobs
after school, but I had something close to what my idols rode in the Tour de France.Every Saturday my friend Steve and I watched the tour’s highlights, and the eventual final battle between Greg Lemonde and Laurent Fignon on the Chaps Elysees – the closest finish in the tour’s history. Other years brought on different victors, like Spain’s Pedro Delgado, but the routine was the same; we watched on Saturday and rode on Sunday.
It doesn’t sound like much but this was my passion. Leaving early, my jersey pouches stuffed with bananas, and the morning mist in the air. We warmed up on the way to Gatineau Park and then got into the routine of switching leads once we got there. Once you hit the big hills of the park you got into a “zone”, where all you thought about was biking, and bettering your own time. It was therapeutic.
Climbing those hills under noon sun, you would have your head down and either be looking at the yellow line you followed on the side of the road, or Steve’s back tire if he was lead. Steve would always remind me to pedal in a circular motion, taking advantage of the clipless pedals, which allowed the use of all of the muscles in my leg. On steep hills, move back in your seat, straighten your back, and grab the top of the bars and pedal over the top. You always found some extra energy that way. Steve had lots of advice like this since he was an Olympic swimmer, and in the prime of his training. I’m pretty sure he would leave me way behind if he wasn’t tired from his daily morning workouts.
The hard work pays off. After a short break at the top at Champlain lookout, we head down at over 70km/hr, which was always fun. Literally shaking from the exhaustion, I would arrive home about 4 hours after beginning to collapse on my bed, only to be ordered into the routine of chores about 15 seconds afterwards.
It was (for me) everything and anything I could want at the time. So when I came home one evening from work to find my garage door open, and the bike gone, I was crushed. Nothing else had been touched, and I guess upon seeing such an easy target the thief made a quick escape. The bike was eventually replaced thanks to insurance, but the feeling of being powerless to do anything remained. For weeks I kept an eye out for the bike, since it’s doubtful the same colour and make of bike existed in Ottawa. I wanted to rip the thief apart, but of course I never saw it again.
Many years later...
My second stolen bike was a Rocky Mountain Vapor. Not much, but thanks to a few modifications it fit me like a glove. I moved over to mountain biking for a change of scenery, and I could also commute with it. I prefer off road bikes for commuting since I weigh 200lbs and I carry about 40lbs in my panniers, and there’s a lot of curb jumping in my trail. When I went out to get my bike after work, it was, well gone. What I was upset about this time was the fact that I knew it was going to be hard to replace since the model was discontinued. Still, I went through the motions and didn’t even bother calling insurance since they would only raise my rates, making the $1500.00 claim worthless.And now here’s the reason for this site. The property management company refused to allow me to pass around the word that bicycle thefts had been going on (I found out who was stealing them). This frustrated the hell out of me, and I started to think about how many people out there would have done something different if they knew thefts were going on in their area. I don't make anything from the advertising on this site. The money goes to hosting fees and to advertising costs. You can contact me if you would like to donate to the costs of this site.