Only in Powell River: Calgary visitor loses mountain bike on way to ferry, only to have it returned
“Hi, My name is Sean and I lost my bike in your town somewhere between Duck Lake Road and the Saltery Bay Ferry – can you ask around to see if anyone has found it”?
Reunited and it feels so good: Sean and his Cannondale Jekyll with unmistakable red front tire.
When Sean, a visitor from Calgary noticed on the ferry that his high-end Cannondale mountain bike was missing, he didn’t have much hope of its return. But in case there was a chance, he emailed the Powell River Cycling Association.
Powell River is a small, tight-knit community on the seaside, ~180 km’s north of Vancouver, but separated by large fjords, thus it requires 2 ferries or a flight to get here from Vancouver. Because of this physical environment, people tend to look out, and look after each other, because… well, because we just do.
So the email came through PRCA’s website www.bikepowellriver.ca to president@bikepowellriver.ca that a guy lost his bike. Sean, a music DJ, finished a ride on his last day of visiting Powell River, and was driving straight to the ferry but didn’t secure his bike properly and when he got to the ferry terminal— gasp! His bike was not attached!
He was hiking the Sunshine Coast Trail (North America’s longest hut-to-hut single hiking trail) www.sunshinecoast-trail.com and when he saw what was going on with the bike trails, he decided he better get his bike out and try some of our trails.
“I can’t believe how flowy and fun the trails were. This was my first time riding in the rain forest,” says Sean from Calgary who swears he is coming back to ride! (Never mind the fact we haven’t had more than 4 days of rain in our rainforest in the past 3 months, but that’s another story).
So how did it all work you out you ask?
The cycling community, empathetically and energetically began to look, spread the word, go out and ride the trails and dirt roads, and contact the local bike shop to help this good man find his bike. One of the local trail builders who is a director with PRCA, as well as director for BC Bike Race Powell River stage, Wayne Brewer, even offered to package up and cover the cost of the shipping of the bike back to Calgary if found!
That’s just how great Powell River is and especially how awesome the cycling community of Powell River is!
A local driving on the logging road near one of the trail heads found the bike, picked it up and posted on a local Facebook group, “Hey I found a really high-end mountain bike – contact to describe so we can it back to the rightful owner”!
A Facebook post got the word out, and another connected the found bike with its owner.
Sean was still touring the coast of BC and was only a drive and 1 ferry away (lower Sunshine Coast) so he drove back up and picked up his bike 1 day later – and get this – it had “only a minor scratch on the seat when it fell off the bike rack”.
With that, Powell River once again shone bright – highlighting what great people, trails, and environment we live in – and yes, Sean may indeed come back; he was offered a personal guide for his next visit into some more of our trails.
Oh and Sean, make sure your bike is attached more securely next time!
For more information about cycling in Powell River check out bikepowellriver.ca.
Brendan Behan