Charity cyclists have bikes stolen in Winnipeg

WINNIPEG — Bicycles belonging to two New Brunswick men who are cycling across Canada for mental health awareness were stolen while they did a media interview in downtown Winnipeg Friday morning.

Thomas Clark and Valentin Duquenne were devastated after the bikes went missing outside CBC Manitoba’s headquarters, but uplifted by the outpouring of support from Manitobans afterward.

“When I walked out, Tom started running towards the car and then I saw the bikes were gone. We were pretty speechless,” Duquenne, 24, said. “It’s not great. We’re kind of stranded in Winnipeg without the tools that get us across the country.”

Valued at $15,000 to $20,000, the bikes — Trek and Cannondale models — were locked on a rack on the back of a support car that was parked on Young Street, just south of Portage Avenue, when the theft happened at about 7:40 a.m. The lock had been cut.

“We’ve biked halfway across the country on those bikes,” Clark, 23, said. “We’ve had all the ups and downs, and everything along this journey so far has been done on those bikes. It really sucks because they kind of feel a part of us now.”

The men, from Moncton, expected to set off on the next leg of their journey from North Sydney, N.S., to Victoria, after completing the radio interview. Their charity ride began June 22.

Because of the theft, they planned to spend Friday night in Winnipeg, while they hoped to recover the missing bikes or acquire new ones to resume their trek.

“Even if they’re found after we’re gone, if we have to get new bikes or whatever the situation ends up being, those bikes do mean a lot to us, so it would be incredible to have them back,” Clark said.

An online fundraising page was set up to cover the cost of new bikes. More than $15,000 had been raised within a few hours. The riders also have a page for donations to their original cause.

Winnipeg police shared photos of the bikes on its social media accounts. Police spokeswoman Const. Dani McKinnon was disappointed by the incident.

“These guys are coming to do really good work and they pass through our city, and they go to share the word and this is what happens,” she said.

Duquenne said video from CBC’s surveillance cameras was reviewed. He hoped it would help police identify a suspect or suspects.

Clark and Duquenne dubbed their charity ride “Men Don’t Ride Alone,” while raising funds for men’s mental health initiatives. The friends, who began the effort with no cycling experience, hope to raise $250,000 for the non-profit Movember Canada.

Duquenne said the pair came up with the idea after he sought help for substance abuse problems and mental health issues in September.

“After that, once I got help and everything, I really wanted to make a difference in other men’s lives,” he said.

Before the theft disrupted their ride, Clark and Duquenne expected it would take more than two months to cycle more than 6,000 kilometres.

This is their first visit to Winnipeg.

“We had no idea it was like that,” Duquenne said about the theft. “We’ve stopped in major cities, like Quebec City, Montreal and Ottawa. Even some nights we didn’t even have the locks on the bikes, and we’ve never had an issue, not even a close call.”

He said the theft could have happened anywhere during their travels.

Clark and Duquenne said Manitobans rallied around the pair after they publicized the theft on their social media accounts. People offered donations, advice and words of encouragement.

“We really do appreciate the whole city coming together for us,” Duquenne said.

“Everyone is looking for these bikes and doing everything they can, so really shout out to Winnipeg for doing all they can to help us get them back,” Clark said. “It may have been where they were stolen, but all the good people in Winnipeg are doing everything they can for us.”

It’s not the first time visitors, be it people on a charity bike ride or walk, musicians or vacationing families, have suffered at the hands of thieves in Winnipeg.

Earlier this month, Fergus Watt, 69, was on a cross-country ride when his bike was stolen outside the Mountain Equipment Company shop on Portage Avenue. It was recovered after a Winnipeg Transit bus driver spotted a person trying to get the bike on the bus.

Blue Rodeo guitarist Jimmy Bowskill’s bike was stolen at The Forks in October while the band was in Winnipeg for a pair of gigs. It was also recovered.

Police estimate that about 3,000 bikes are stolen in the city every year.

» Winnipeg Free Press