On Saturday November 14, I surrendered all my remaining Bike Rescue bikes
over to the RCMP. They are now doing a full investigation into all the bikes,
many having already been confirmed as stolen bikes that both myself and other
police agencies could find no record of in the past (ones that managed to slip
through the process). Some bikes seized had not finished my vetting process,
with a few that I had found to have active CPIC files but had not yet taken the
time to turn over to police for further investigation. While I applaud the
efforts of the police to finally weigh in and do more than just the passive role
they have had (and they have always fought against helping even to that degree)
I must say I find it rather suspect that they have chosen to wait until the last
possible second to do it. Also, why to do it by the forceful means they chose (I
was detained for the entire day in police custody, no charges laid) & a search
warranted executed on the warehouse in New Westminster. I also gave them full
access to my lockers in Coquitlam which they also cleared out. None of this was
necessary as I have provided full access to both locations in the past to
different police agencies, and a simple phone call to me would have resulted in
the same. But hey, it's not like the police enjoy using a show of force, is it.
I Shut down Bike Rescue officially on September 30, 2009 even though I have
continued on a very limited basis to investigate a few more bikes. This weekend
was to see the final sales of the remaining stock and then all the bikes put
into long term storage pending what to do about the future of Bike Rescue. Now,
the RCMP have effectively ended any chance of the program restarting as I am
left with a debt load of over $20,000 and no means to recover that unless they
choose to return the hundred + bikes that will clear their vetting process.
I have a request to put out there, if you or
anyone you know has had a bike returned to them through Bike Rescue, please
email me. I have no real contact information on anyone and would very much like
to ask them to say, in their own words the experience they had with us.
So to all who have had any involvement in Bike Rescue, those who have had
bikes returned to them, supporters, and critics thank you for raising the
awareness level of the epidemic plague that bike theft is in our region. I hope
that some one will in some way be able to pick up where I have left off and do a
more effective job, but if they find the same obstacles from the system that I
have, I suspect that in the end their efforts will to be thwarted from
succeeding.
Best of to all and most importantly, enjoy the ride!
Gord Blackwell
former operator of Bike Rescue
November 15, 2009
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Year: | 2006 |
| Make: | Kona |
| Model: | Coiler |
| Size: | 16" |
| Price: | $1000 |
Freeride with an XC flair, you can still pedal uphill easily with this ride but not fear any of the trails on Whistler. The best of all worlds without spending huge bucks.
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