On October 23, 2011 I attended the Kamloops Bike Riders Associations annual Year Ender Bender.  The Ender Bender is a charity event for the Kamloops food bank and run by volunteers from the k.b.r.a. This is my third ender bender, my first being in October 2009.  I was a brand new rider, brand new bike and I wanted to ride. I had been told about the event from a local bike store ' Taboo Cycles '.  I must admit I was a wee bit nervous to show up alone and not knowing anyone from the bike community, but I mustered the e-mail for directions and off I went.  I was greeted with amazing support and it continued through out the day.  The members helped me, or more waited for me all day.  I was painfully slow and crashed a fair bit. I did earn my nickname ' tree hugger ' on that day.  The guys gave me tips on bike skills and kept cheering me on.  I fell for the sport of dh biking only a few weeks before, but I fell for the good peeps that ride dh on that day.  I can honestly say that bike peeps are just that, solid peeps that will help you out whenever they can, from pulling  your bike off the trail when you crash and dusting the dirt off , to helping me with business and personal issues. I love the joint passion I have with my bike peeps, the flair and zest for life and the true passion to share this amazing sports with others.  I have been blessed to have been givin the chance to give back to new riders myself and can honestly say the rewards are great. I love seeing the look of excitement and pride when a new rider lands their first jump or carves a sweet berm. I now know why the guys were so good to me on that  cold rainy ender bender at Harper  back in 2009 and I cant thank them all enough.  I dont need to mention names, they all know who they are. Thanks to my besty bike peeps   xoxoxo  Q      The video of my last Ender Bender is posted on my events page.

There is a sinking feeling you get when you walk up to the spot where your bike should be and it is not there. It is disbelief. I think to myself,it must be there, it was locked up, it has to be there.., but no it is not there, not in the back of my vehicle. A quick scan of the area does not reveal it either. 

Is  someone playing a really bad joke on me? I had only been in the park for half an  hour and it is a public park, who would take it? someone has to of seen something? I ask all the people I  can find, no one has seen  anything. The bike was not ridable, a large screw in my rear tire had ended my  day at the local hill, so the thief had to have thrown the bike in a truck or  walked it away. I try to report it at the police station but the doors are  locked.

I drive home in shock. The next day I file a report and start my  networking via friends and the net to get pics of my bike out everywhere.  I offer a  $500 reward on it's return, nothing turns up, police and friends say that I will never get it back, once a bike is stolen it is gone, you will never see it  again, it is probably in pieces already. My bike is not a common choice for DH  mnt bikers, it is a very unique looking  2009 cannondale perp 2, my baby,  my first big bike, it has  after market parts on it but it also has decals,  specific to me..IE "Q" in purple on either side, Canada flags, etc. I could go  on and on about it and all the specific parts... but lets just say it was known as my bike.

So a week exactly after it was stolen I return to the exact spot  where the bike was stolen, I put up large poster with pic and a no questions  asked, bike returned as stolen $1000.00 reward. This is the only poster I put up and only one with the $1000.00 reward. I have a small amount of hope and start  riding borrowed bikes, fast forward two months. I receive an e-mail saying "Yo  man I think I may know where your bike is, My`` buddy`` bought a hot bike for  $500.00 awhile back from some junkie and I think it might be yours. not sure though, will have to look at the poster again, (note the poster printed on  computer paper and tied to chain link fence through rain and wind 2 months ago) but if it is yours I am sure he'll give it up for the thousand reward".
 
I first, crap my pants..lol..and reply with...wow that is so awesome, I'd love my  bike back, can you send pics or serial number so I can confirm it is mine. He  reply with my bikes serial number.....Now I am really excited. I agree to meet him in two days. He says to text or e-mail him when I know the time and place,  yes I now have his cell number and e-mail, I have been blessed with the worlds stupidest thief. Now is when I get the police involved and now is when I learn  that the police are not that interested in stolen bikes. I am advised that if I dont want to scare the guy off that I should just pay the reward, bring a friend  and I am told again,how lucky I am to even get it back....like I don`t know  that.

Two days later on a Friday I text the thief, say I can meet ya at 6 p.m  tonight, He says great, he'll go get bike from his ``buds`` and meet me then. I  tell him we will meet at a well known coffee shop that is well lit and has people around all the time. I call police again and speak to the officer on  duty, he advices me to call his personal cell when I am within half hour of the meeting and as long as he is not busy he can come with me, undercover, so not to scare guy off, the officer gives me his  cell number....I think sweet I'm  set. 

I take the reward money out of bank, just in case police can't meet me, I  want my damn bike and if I have to pay off thieves it is worth it to me. I drop  my kids off and head out to meet the thief alone. On my way I am constantly  texting with thief, he is jumpy and nervous,,, I better not screw him over he  says... I reassure him non stop, I tell him if he is that nervous he could drop the bike at the police station and once I have it , I can ensure he gets the  reward. he says no no, I am good and that he will see me later. Half an hour  before I get to the meeting, I call the police officer...no answer??? I try two  more times, then finally a woman answers, I say you don't sound like a police  officer, she says no, but I am married to one, his wife.... oops.. awkward... he gave me his wife's cell, not his.. ha ha. She is polite considering the  situation and gives me his cell and I call him immediately. By now I am within  ten mins of meet. The police officer says he's getting an unmarked car and will  be there soon.

He says  he'll block the car in, just in case the thief is ready to run. I arrive at the meeting and see my bike hanging out of the back of a small car. No police  officer yet, So I pull around into the parking lot and block the car myself... love shuttle trucks...

The guy jumps out and shakes my hand, takes me to back of his car and he says hope this is your bike. I am trying to not look nervous as I  know the police will show up soon. I am only thinking get your bike out of this  car and into the back of your truck. I yank and pull and yes I have it. That is  when I notice the bike is untouched, short of the grips having been taken off  everything else is the same, just as I locked it up the day it was stolen, even  the screw in back tire that ended my day of riding two months prior. This is  when I notice the police car pulling up, I can see the red and blue lights in  the grill of the car. I move closer to my truck and then look right at the kid,  I say to him  in a slightly shaky voice ``I am not gonna charge you but I  sure as sh*t am not gonna pay you a dime`` The kid looks confused, the lights of  the ghost car flash up and now and he realizes he`s caught.

I hustle my bike  into back of my truck and watch the kid dance... hee hee. The officer confirms  it is my bike and that no money was exchanged. I say to the kid and the officer  that if he is indeed proven innocent, I will be happy to give him the full  reward. The kid insists that he was just looking for a quick buck for him and his buddy. I speak to the kid who repeats non stop how sorry he is and how  stupid it was of him to do and thanks me over and over for not charging him. The  officer advises kid to give up his buddy so the trail doesn`t end at him, to  date that has not happened. I have had my bike home for a few months now and  have had communication with the kid, thief, dumb a$$ what ever you wanna call  him a few times now. He is probably involved some how, the police felt the same,  but I have opted not to charge him. he had a clean record and I didn`t want to  be the one mistake he will regret the rest of his life. I can only hope he  learned his lesson, and I did get my bike back in perfect
condition, short of  missing the grips.

The real kicker is two weeks before I received the first  e-mail on my bike from that kid, I had entered my first DH bike race on a  borrowed bike. At the awards at the end of day I won.... get this... grips!!!!  at the time I thought...``great, I have grips, but no bike``...who would of  imagined two weeks later I`d get my stolen bike back minus the  grips...........now that's good bike karma : )

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