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Cyclist in Canada gets stolen bike back – after spotting it on a bus

Owner retrieves his ride after chasing after bus in his van

A cyclist in Canada whose bike had been stolen got it back – after spotting it on a rack on the front of a bus as he drove to work.

The distinctive-looking black and yellow Devinci Phantom mountain bike had been stolen from outside the city hall in Kitchener, Ontario. The thief pulled out the locking pin from the 20mm cable the bicycle had been secured with, rather than cutting it.

Its owner, Peter Dedes, was inside the building chairing a meeting of the council’s cycling advisory committee, reports the Hamilton Spectator.

Three days later, he saw the bike, which he uses for day-to-day riding, on the front rack of a bus heading towards him.

"The thing that caught my eye was my swinging saddle bag underneath the seat. I said 'Oh my God, that's my bike,'" said the former pro cyclist.

According to the newspaper, he drove his van around the city’s streets to get himself behind the bus.

Then, when the bus stopped at a traffic light, he put his hazard indicators on, got out and told the driver that the bike was his and he was going to take it back.

"I just took it off the front of the bus, and rolled it to my truck," he said. "The guy who put the bike on the bus rack came out, and I just informed him right away in a pretty loud voice that the bike was stolen, that it was mine.

"He was whining that he had just found it, and I said 'Well that's just too bad, I'm taking it back now.' He didn't do anything to try to stop me from taking my bike."

The man told him that his mobile phone and wallet were in the saddlebag, so Dedes let him take those back.

Other than mudguards he had recently put on that had been removed, the bike was fine, although there was an unwelcome surprise when he got on it.

"Whoever had stolen it had adjusted the handlebars and the seat, and that was awful. That's when I was most ticked," he added.

Simon joined road.cc as news editor in 2009 and is now the site’s community editor, acting as a link between the team producing the content and our readers. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, he has reported on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, the latest developments in the bike industry and the sport’s biggest races. Now back in London full-time after 15 years living in Oxford and Cambridge, he loves cycling along the Thames but misses having his former riding buddy, Elodie the miniature schnauzer, in the basket in front of him.

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2 comments

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zanf | 9 years ago
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Why give back the mobile phone & wallet? Why not just claim, "Well, I just found them so now theyre mine" and then invite the guy to call the police?

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Jack Osbourne snr replied to zanf | 9 years ago
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I got a bike back after spotting it FROM a bus a few years ago.

I had a "stealth" commuter that looked like sh!t but was tuned to run like a dream. I left it outside the door to my flat unlocked for months, then suddenly one Sunday, it disappeared.

3 days later, I was on the bus home and happened to look down at the guy riding with his saddle way too low... on my bike! It even had the unlocked chain still wrapped round the seatpost.

I jumped off the bus at the next stop, but he crossed the road before he got to me and got out his keys... to let himself in his front door.

Another 3 days later and the bike was available to collect from the local cop shop.  4

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