Intercontinental bike stolen - heartbroken. Reward offered

For ten months in 2001/2002 I rode from England to Singapore by bike via Siberia. Since then, I’ve been living in Taiwan. In 2004 I rode around Taiwan for charity. In total, I’ve ridden 28 or 29,000km on that bike through about 22 countries and I’ve spent some of the very best times of my life riding it.

Last night, it was stolen from outside the Breeze Centre in Taipei. Heartbroken doesn’t come close to describing how I feel. I didn’t know whether to cry, shout, scream, punch the wall or just stand there gobsmacked. As it was, it was a mixture of the first and last. A little disillusioned with human nature too, though not surprised.

It’s a 2000 Giant Expedition, a girls’ bike (no crossbar), those funny “butterfly” multi position handlebars, 700c wheels, covered in car country stickers and generally looks a bit weathered - as you’d expect. It’s crossed mountains, deserts and vast plains.

We told the police, gave them a photo, description etc. They took it seriously, but naturally, you can’t expect too much.

You don’t need to tell me not to hold out too much hope, but I won’t give up until I’ve done what I can. I’ll be asking at the bike shops I know well if they know where stolen bikes turn up. Other than that, I’m not sure what I can do…

Not that I think anyone here would ever be that mercenary, but I’d pay very good money to get it back. If someone had spent their money to buy it, and then discovered it was mine, it would be reasonable that they weren’t out of pocket. If anyone does see it, buy it. I’ll pay plus any expenses.

Or even if anyone happens to know any dodgy characters who may or may not have been involved in the not-exactly-legal bicycle trade, I just want my baby back.

Last time I posted a cycling related post, re the round Taiwan cycling trip, I was accused of being a troll. www.resaturate.com/cycleoverland

Maybe some good can come of this. You have to get over these things and move on - after grieving. I’m trying to tell myself that it’s good to be free of material attachments. Trouble is, it wasn’t so much a material attachment as my sole transport and a major part of my life past and present.

I’ve also told myself that if I rode a bike in Taipei for long enough, it was probably inevitable that I would either have it nicked or get in an accident. Lucky it wasn’t the latter.

Maybe this post is just therapy. But if anyone has any ideas of anything I could usefully do, or even tales of getting stolen property back, they’d be much appreciated.

Now I see how you chose your handle.

Sorry to hear about your bike.

I’ve one or two ol’dusty intercontinental missiles but no
bike I’m afraid. Oh look! is that jinxy the cat come here jinxy.

Sorry to here of your loss. Someone sensible will post soon.

I hope you get it back.

Can I suggest that if any Forumosians come across the bike, they donate the reward money to Animals Taiwan instead of their own pocket.

well, there is no way I would accept any reward.

I am going to keep an eye out when I am out and about. If you assume that the bike is going to be used from here on, I honestly believe you will get it back at some point. If it ends up parked somewhere in an alley or doorway forever, then it might not.

All the best in finding it.

As a side note, if you do get it back, maybe the Giant Factory would want it for their nostalgia museum?

It’s certainly noticeable. Currently it’s covered with stickers but I assume they would be taken off. But it’s not a mountain bike, which makes it more unusual. It’s also got unusual handlebars and luggage racks front and rear. And a Brooks leather saddle. Currently it has a really loud horn on the handlebars and an air bottle on the frame to power it - but again, these would probably get stripped.

Not exactly the standard knocked off bike. In the UK I always felt my £500 racer was less likely to be stolen than a £100 mountain bike because if you’re stealing bikes professionally you want to shift them as quickly as possible and not many people want racers.

well, a couple of years ago I made up some huge hotrod flames for my scooter, believing that because it would stand out it would be less likely to be stolen. When it did get stolen (keys were in it, doh) I believed that the flames would be taken off it within minutes, and I would never find it.
Well, guess what, it was found months later, and regarding the stick on flames, they were still on it. :astonished:

People that steal things like that are usually impulsive. I don’t the person gives a shit about the bike’s appearance at all, and it would be too much bother for them to remove the stickers. IF anything, they’d spray bomb it with yellow paint or something, but even that would take some effort.

I believe you’ll find it.

I remember when your scooter was stolen Truant!

Getting a bike stolen is sooo sad. My BMX (which was covered in stickers and rust) was also stolen 3 yrs ago. I took a photo to the police station and they laughed so much. I could have punched them.

Your bike and you went through a lot…I hope this is another difficult journey and I hope you guys get to go through more together.

[quote=“Battery9”]I remember when your scooter was stolen Truant!

Getting a bike stolen is sooo sad. My BMX (which was covered in stickers and rust) was also stolen 3 yrs ago. I took a photo to the police station and they laughed so much. I could have punched them.

Your bike and you went through a lot…I hope this is another difficult journey and I hope you guys get to go through more together.[/quote]

Bikes? Ok…

Try a '99 Ford Mustang having it’s 7000CAD rims stolen, Roush front air dam and DECH rear wing stripped in a night. Twas a sight to see it on bricks. Not a nice feeling at all.

Having things taken from you that you worked hard for is disheartening. I hope you find your bike.

Me too, Fruitloop. I sincerely hope you find your bike. Sorry to hear about it.

Thanks for the links. Really interesting site about your inter-continental bike ride.

Nothing worse than having your bike stolen. I’ll definitely keep an eye out for it. You never know, you might find it.

You get a really special relationship going with a bike when you ride it for a long time like that. What memories the two of you must have!

My regular bike shop (Alan’s Bikes near Gongguan) were relatively optimistic. They said it’s a distinctive bike and several customers in the past had mentioned seeing me or my bike around Taipei, based purely on an article Bicycle Update did when I arrived in Taiwan 4 years ago. So they said they’d put the word around. As with anything, if you’re into something, you notice things, so there’s a chance bike people might spot it.

There’s an early morning “dodgy” bike market by the river I’ll check out tomorrow. That’s probably my best bet. After that chances probably recede pretty quickly.

The less optimistic scenario is that it’s been shipped south to Taizhong or Kaohsiung.

have a look on yahoo, or maybe put a ‘wanted’ ad for a bike that fits that description. You never know how stupid some thieves are.

It’s been a mad day looking for dodgy bike sellers.

I got up at 6am and took a taxi to a vague location under the ChongYang bridge to Sanchong I’d been given by a bike shop. There was no sign of any bike market there so I walked across the bridge to Taipei City to check that end of the bridge. Nothing there either so into another taxi to the second site I’d been given, under the ZhongXiao Bridge. I told the taxi driver my story and he drove around looking but we couldn’t find anything there either. My overwhelming feeling was of helplessness without a bike to get around quickly and easily from site to site. With a bike I can get anywhere I want in Taipei 24 hours a day. Even a taxi is not as convenient as a bike since it will get you there but you can’t scoot around once you’re there.

So I went home for an hour or so. On my way, I spoke to a guy who sells bikes off a van in my street. He gave me a list of about four places and times they operated. After an hour’s rest, I went back to the first two places thinking maybe the markets hadn’t started that early. This was wishful thinking. So I went on to a site on Si Ping Street near ChangChun Road that I’d been told started at noon. Walked all the way up and down the street and the immediately adjacent alleys but absolutely no sign of anything other than a lone legit bike shop.

From there it was on to WanHua, where I’d been told to look around the LongShan Temple area. Nothing more specific than that. There were bike shops there but they all said the markets were a thing of the past. Gave out some flyers though.

From there, I decided to check out the site near the FuHe Bridge in Zhong He though it was meant to be on at 4am. We thought we’d check the site out anyway. When we got there, for the first time we found what looked like a market, though there was not much going on at 4pm. There were some guys there and after looking the bikes over I came clean and told my story. They were sympathetic and said that most bikes there were low-end and locals wouldn’t be interested in specialist bikes such as mine. And recommended a further site under the ChongXin Bridge between Sanchong and Xinchuang where most high-end bikes end up. But apparently it won’t be operating again until 11th December.

The markets are all closed on Monday’s, so on Tuesday very early (between 2am and 6am) I’m off to a site in DaDaoCheng and another at DaZhi Park in Sanchong. And back to the FuHe Bridge too, though apparently it is only really busy on Friday, Saturday and Sunday mornings.

So, I’ve had an interesting day trying my best to find some of the dodgier places in Taipei, but with little concrete luck. But there have been enough good signals to suggest it’s worth keeping trying for now. There were lots of mixed messages from different shops, but for now I feel keeping looking is the right thing to do. I don’t think I’m flogging a dead horse just yet.

Damn, fruitloop. Really sorry to hear this. I hope you get your bike back, cos by the looks of it you’ll be heartbroken about this for years (and I absolutely understand why).

I’ll certainly be keeping an eye out for it.

Sorry to hear about this. I wish you the best of luck in finding it again, although the chances are slim.

Sorry, it’s really crappy to have something irreplaceable stolen. :frowning:

[quote=“fruitloop”]

The less optimistic scenario is that it’s been shipped south to Taizhong or Kaohsiung.[/quote]It’s a long shot, but if I see the bike down here in Kaohsiung, I’ll most definitely let you know.

I surprised a thief breaking a window on a car in Kenting a couple years ago. I stopped, and he hopped on his scooter and drove away. I was riding a NSR at the time. I chased him for a solid fifteen minutes on small roads near Baisha. He wouldn’t stop, so I stuck my leg out and kicked him a few times until he crashed. Thinking back, it was a big risk to take for me, but luckily I got no troubles for it, even though he smashed himself up pretty badly.(Bid risk for the guy, too. He could have gotten hurt more than he deserved…)

Later that evening after the cops took the matter in their hands, I got a call from a British couple who thanked me because they had retrieved some of their belongings. 6 cars had been broken into that day by that same scumbag. :s

[quote=“fruitloop”]My regular bike shop (Alan’s Bikes near Gongguan) were relatively optimistic. They said it’s a distinctive bike and several customers in the past had mentioned seeing me or my bike around Taipei, based purely on an article Bicycle Update did when I arrived in Taiwan 4 years ago. So they said they’d put the word around. As with anything, if you’re into something, you notice things, so there’s a chance bike people might spot it.

There’s an early morning “dodgy” bike market by the river I’ll check out tomorrow. That’s probably my best bet. After that chances probably recede pretty quickly.

The less optimistic scenario is that it’s been shipped south to Taizhong or Kaohsiung.[/quote]

Do not be pesimistic.
My colleague 3000 USD bike was stolen a few weeks ago in the parking lot of our office. DRAMA as it was a limited edition of whatever know brand it was…

last week, while he went back home… he found the bike at 150 m outside the building chained with a new lock.
Nothing could stop him to take HIS bike back , including the new chain-lock.

And … our total sales force (500 people) were looking for his bike all over taiwan, so … stick around Breeze , it could be someone from around maybe…

Thanks for the optimistic comments. I really believe that for the time being, it’s worth keeping at it.

And a forumosan has offered to lend me their bike, which will make it a whole lot easier getting around. Thanks. You know who you are. As soon as you start networking, the world gets smaller and the odds much more favourable - without asking anyone to do anything much at all. I’ve met people I knew as a child by chance in India and in Malaysia, so I know that it’s not impossible that things could turn out. Six degrees of separation and all that.

Although I go through phases of cycling everywhere and then using the MRT/buses more often, I can’t express how lost I feel not being able to jump on a bike to cycle anywhere in town any time I like. Within a 10-15km square area, bikes really are the ultimate in freedom… so long as you have somewhere safe to lock them up!