Warren South resident Ian Petrie is still reeling from the theft of four By Callan Date
A $20,000 bicycle burglary has left a Narre Warren South father shattered and in danger of missing out on a mountain bike championship.
Ian Petrie had four custom-built mountain bikes stolen from his garage last weekend in a theft police said was premeditated.
Mr Petrie said he had spent years saving for the bikes and customising them for racing. Now he has nothing.
Further enraging Mr Petrie is the fact he now has no bike to ride in the final race of his mountain bike championship series.
“That’s what gets me so much. I’m currently coming third overall and we are meant to be racing in a couple of weeks,” he said.
Police said thieves gained access to the garage by removing several tiles from the roof.
They then stole Santa Cruz Vptree, Demo8, Nitro and Diamondback branded mountain bikes.
Mr Petrie said the chances of him racing were remote with insurance money not likely to come through in time.
“Even then I would much rather get these bikes back than the insurance,” he said.
Mr Petrie said his main racing bike, the Vptree brand worth $10,000, was irreplaceable.
“This bike is sort of the cream of the crop. It has taken me a while to get it to where it is.
“It is really useless for anyone that has it. It can’t be ridden on the street and you won’t be able to sell it off,” he said.
Police said the theft occurred between 4.30pm last Saturday and 3.30pm the following day.
Narre Warren Detective Sergeant Garry Kear said it seemed as though the thieves knew what they were looking for when they entered the garage.
He said several other valuable items were left untouched in favour of the bikes.
Anyone with any information about the bikes is asked to contact Narre Warren Police on 9705 3111.
