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news
Wheel from stolen bike © Simon MacMichael.JPGKent cyclist aged 86 cycles 16 miles to A&E – then has his bike stolen
An 86-year-old Kent cyclist who rode his bike 16 miles to an accident and emergency department after he was bitten by a dog came out of hospital the following day to find his bike had been stolen. His daughter has launched an apeal for its recovery.
Bob Friend, from Minster, cycled to the Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother Hospital in Margate after the dog bit him in Canterbury.
He locked his Thorn Audax bike, on which he has racked up well over 100,000 miles, outside the hospital but when he was discharged in the morning it was gone.
His daughter, Ramsgate resident Diane Robertson, appealed on Facebook for help in finding the bike, or at least to “make the bike too hot to handle.”
She told Kent Online: "To steal something from outside a hospital is pretty low.
"He does still drive but he goes everywhere on the bike because he prefers it. He also finds it more comfortable than walking because he has back problems.
"He will do 100 miles a day on the bike quite happily and regularly visits my aunts in Gloucestershire and Brighton on it."
She provided a description of the bike on the Facebook post, saying: “It's a Thorn Audax racing bike, blue, with front hub Dynamo, bar bag at the front (with a BMW badge!), rack bag at the rear containing water proofs, tools, spare tube and lights.
“Never mind the dog bite and ensuing skin graft, it would mean a lot to him just to get his bike back,” she added.
Anyone with information is requested to get in touch with Ms Robertson via Facebook.
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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15 comments
Not to forget that a hospital should provide secure cycle parking!
Just returned from a visit to the hospital (Royal Surrey County Hospital, Guildford), on my bike. Parking for 100s of cars, but I had to lock my bike to the railing outside the entrance along with a handful of other bikes.
Did try to look for dedicated, let alone secure, cycle parking, but couldn't find any easily. Nor were there signs to one, in case there was one hidden around the back.
PS: After a year in Guildford, I'm shocked how cycling (and pedestrian) unfriendly the city is. All we have is massive roads leading to the gyratory gridlock.
I have pinged a link to this to Thorn.
Those are the times you just wish you were walking around the corner as it was happening
Also happy to contribute if that's what it takes to keep this amazing fellow cycling!
Great publicity for Thorn if they did the decent thing and supplied this hero with a new bike gratis.
Hard as nails, they don't make them like that anymore.
Having a bike nicked is s**t. Having one that you've done 100k on must be devastating. However just take a minute to admire the numbers. 86 years old and cycles up to a 100 miles a day regularly! I took 5 months to get to a level to do my first century and was fooked after I did it (and I'm only 40!!!) Additionally he cycled 16 miles with a dog bite so bad that it needs a skin graft. Man is a legend. Feel such a lightweight. Really hopes he gets the bike back. As above though will happily donate to help him get a new one. This is a man we should aspire to emulate!!!!
Couldn't agree more. What an amazing person, I'd like to know more about him and as another poster said I would be happy to contribute to a new bike fund. Double chapeau with a cherry on top!
To be able to ride100 miles at 86, there is much more a person could really want
86 and happy to easily knock off 100 miles to visit relatives - impressed
I'd be quite happy to punt a few quid into a fund to help replace
not 100% sure if a bike that has done 100k plus is replaceable as such but maybe a Thorn dealer could sort a bike and ask people to contribute? I'd go for that
edit may well not be a money issue for the guy but more a that is that its gone giving up and that would be sad
Sue's the arse off the dogs owner, it sounds like nasty bite, and if the dog owner has home contents insurance it'll be an open and shut case. It should get him 3 or 4 Grand easy.
But, yeah having his bike nicked from outside the hospital is a low blow.
You literally have no idea what you're talking about.
Firstly, contents insurance provides cover for the policyholders contents, not the dog. Secondly, the contents liability cover won't extend to a dog biting somebody. Thirdly, the liability cover is designed to cover for injuries that may have occurred to a third party within the premises, not where ever you happen to be.
You have literally no idea what you're talking about. Some policies do indeed include non- motoring third party liability away from the home.
It doesn't matter to me so I've never checked if any cover acts of dog.
There are really some low life's.