Originally Posted by norco email

Bike Theft...The Dark Side of Cycling
About 3 months ago, some lowlife decided it would be cool to toss a brick through our receptionist's front window, then bust into our showroom and run off with a couple of bikes. I think it takes a certain type of person to do a grand in damage and walk off with another 10 G's or so in bikes. We caught this guy on video, but he didn't seem too worried about it. Of course since that time we have had to further reinforce our showroom with even more bars and security. I hate that part of cycling.

Anyway, the wild thing was, one of the bikes this guy walked with was a prototype 2005 Team DH Race bike. There are only four of these bikes in the world and other three are out with team and staff riders. Luckily, along with some pre-prototype frame and spec changes, these bikes also have a paint job that differed than the final production bikes we made and could be easily spotted even from a distance. When this went down I figured that a smart thief would strip the components off and ditch the frame.

End of story? right? Nope. Last weekend while we were at the Crankworx Freeride Festival in Whistler, a good friend came over to our display tent and told us "your stolen bike is here! I just saw it on the mountain and even chatted to the guy". At first we couldn't believe it. Maybe he was mistaken, or maybe it was some other bike. The we thought maybe one of our staff or team guys lent their model out. But after a few quick calls we realized that sure enough, this was our stolen bike. Now what?

The first thought that came to mind was to send a couple of our biggest guys on staff over to the base to wait it out. You know, go and grab it back. I'm sure you would understand why there were a lot of vigilante thoughts coursing through our veins at that time. However, after a few minutes of brainstorming, I figured I better go find out the legitimate way to get it back. I think going over with a group of our staff would have got ugly pretty darn quick. Anyway, a quick trip over to the Whistler RCMP detachment solved the problem.

On a side note, the RCMP have had reports of 57 bikes stolen in the 10 days prior to the Crankworx Festival including one right off the front rack of the head first-aid guy's Whistler/Blackcomb truck, right in front of their office. Wow, now that's low! So, as you can imagine, the RCMP is pretty motivated to get a bike back if possible.

After getting the file number from our original B&E and giving them a bit more information, they immediately freed up 2 constables to come with me to the base of the mountain to check things out.

By now, probably an hour had passed since the sighting, and I was sure that whoever had the bike had gotten nervous and bolted. The officers were cool about it all, telling me that if they got a call away they may have to jet, but they could hang out for as long as possible.

Sure enough, maybe 15 minutes later our bike rolled into the base area with some dude on it. Not sure if this guy spotted us or not, but he quickly did a U-turn and headed out the far exit. The RCMP guys cut him off and grabbed both him and the bike. I stayed the heck out of it and watched from a distance. After a few moments chatting, he was taken away with the bike in tow.

The good news is we WILL be getting our bike back. It may not be for another few months or more, but after the court date it will be coming home. It was absolutely without question, our bike. He will not be getting this bike back. From what I heard from the officers, this guys story didn't line up or make sense either (what a surprise huh?). They were doing a full background search on this guy when I left, looking for any record or previous charges of possession of stolen property.

Either way, I don't have a lot of sympathy. Anyone purchasing a bike online or out of the paper should be watching for stolen stuff. If it seems at all sketchy, do yourself a favor and just don't buy it!! I think we all know, when the price is too good or the seller doesn't have their original bill of sale, you're probably buying stolen goods. Lets try to shut this stuff down? it could be your bike next.

Oh yeah, and watch your bike up at Whistler? don't even run into use the washroom or go buy some food without a buddy to watch your stuff or a big lock. Pity it has come to that. I think there is no feeling worse than having your bike stolen.

Alright, just so this rambling isn't a total downer, I also wanted to tell you about some of the amazing riding that was going on last week. Man, if someone had told me 5 or 10 years ago that there would be riders doing backflips or backflip/barspin combinations or 360's off huge road gaps, I would have thought they were nuts. I'm sure you will see it all captured in full glory in the upcoming magazines and videos. Also, if you ever have a chance to get up to Whistler during the Crankworx Festival to see it live, do it. These world-class athletes will blow your mind.

I also wanted to send out congrats to our Factory Team. In total we came home with 5 podiums over the course of the event. And extra special congrats to Fionn who stood on the podium in all three of the events she competed in. Way to go you guys.

So what's next? VPS-Fests?..two of them!! If you're on the right coast, go check out the action at Blue Mountain this coming weekend (Aug 13/14), or, If you're our west like me, come out to VPS-Fest at Mt Washington Resort the weekend after that (Aug 20/21st) - it's going to be a great time!! Check out vpsfest.com for more info.

Enjoy the riding during this fantastic summer season and remember, watch your bike!
Seeya on the trails,