And That Makes Five

I’m happy to report that the Canyon I “found” the other day has been returned to its rightful and very grateful owner.

Before we get into the story, I didn’t take this guy out; he fell down on his own accord and it wasn’t actually my bike.

Anyway, I was riding home from a gravel ride, passing through North Fort Collins, when I spotted a carbon road bike that looked…..out of place.

It turned out to be a mint Canyon Ultimate SLX 8 w/ Force AXS and Zipp 303s. I circled the block and kept an eye on the guy with the Canyon.

I stopped about 60 yards away and searched Bike Index to see if it was reported stolen. Nothing came up. I didn’t know who the bike belonged to, but I was pretty sure it wasn’t the guy staggering down the street with a $6,500 carbon road bike and clipless pedals. I always try to assume best intentions, but I’m also not an idiot.

I rolled up and, from a distance, asked him a few questions about the bike. I even claimed it was mine just to see how he’d react. If he had made a decent case that it was his, I’d have moved on and minded my own business.

No dice.

He mumbled something incoherent, told me to f*** off, and then fell over, still holding the bike. That’s when I started repeating: “That’s my bike. Give it back or I’m calling the cops.” Eventually, he pushed/tossed/kicked the bike in my general direction. I rolled over, grabbed it by the stem, and took off cyclocross pit-bike style.

I rode the 6.5 miles home on my Crux without issue, but I definitely got some weird looks along the way.

Canyon is direct to consumer, so when I reached out to them with the serial number (Jason Curtis w/ FCPS did the same) they were able to track down the owner. Turns out the bike had been stolen earlier THAT SAME DAY from a fenced-in backyard in Midtown Boulder, some 50 miles away, while the owner was inside taking a post-ride shower.

Canyon put us in touch, and 10 days after it was stolen, I was able to return it to him on the greatest bike day of the year, Bike to Work Day. He was stoked to say the least.

That brings my direct bike recovery count to 5: a Pivot, an RLT, an Orbea, a beach cruiser, and this Canyon. Plus 2 others, indirectly.