UPDATE: The cargo bike has been recovered
Capital Bike is looking to recover its custom cargo bike after it was stolen early Tuesday from outside the non-profit’s office.
The theft was captured on camera around 5 a.m. outside the Hillside Avenue office near Quadra Street. Video footage shows a man trying to cut through two locks with a battery-powered grinder.
“When that didn’t work, he took a really large wrench, like a large adjustable wrench and he used leverage to snap the locks,” said Capital Bike executive director Adam Krupper.
The man arrived on a bike and with a backpack of tools.
Krupper noticed the bike wasn’t locked up in its usual spot when he arrived at 8 a.m., but it wasn’t until others arrived that it became clear no one could account for its whereabouts and the bike had been stolen, he said.
The bike is usually locked up with two expensive locks on a bike rack outside the office when not being used, Krupper said.
The cargo bike was custom made in 2018 and ordered from Portland for the Greater Victoria Cycling Coalition, which merged with the Greater Victoria Bike to Work Society in 2021.
The green bike has a large cargo box on the front that is branded for Capital Bike.
About a month ago, Capital Bike put funds into the bike to electrify it, adding a motor, battery and integrated lights, Krupper said. It had less than 500 kilometres on the new motor when it was taken, he said.
“It cost a lot of money to get that conversion done. As a charity, we just don’t have money to throw around. We can’t afford to replace this bike,” Krupper said.
The non-profit uses the bike for all its outreach activities, such as group rides, pop-up lemonade stands, and delivering materials to special events.
Anyone with information on the whereabouts of the cargo bike or the man who took it is asked to call Victoria police at 250-995-7654, extension 1. Information can be shared anonymously with Greater Victoria Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.
