Some of you may have noticed that my satellite tracker stopped moving in Lyon as I attempted to ride between London and Rome. On Friday night I stopped at a hotel to escape some fairly torrential rainstorms, leaving my bike locked up in a secure car park only accessible to hotel guests (who had paid extra for the access code) and employees.

I was in my room for less than seven hours — between 11pm and 6am. In that time my bike was stolen. I have spent the last 24 hours dealing with the hotel and police in Lyon, but they have not managed to produce a result.

Not only did the thieves take my bike, they also stole all my equipment for the race. My frame bags, my sleeping equipment, etc. Absolutely everything. Some of my gear has taken me years to accumulate, modify, and test so that it performs exactly as I need it to — for it all to be taken away in one fell swoop is hard to take.

Loaded and ready to go Before the start

Going Forward

Given that it is now less than a month until the start of the Trans Am Bike Race, the theft has placed me in an almost impossible situation. Financially it is going to be extremely difficult to replace all my equipment and get ready for the race, even if I can find the necessary gear at such short notice.

I feel that the thieves haven’t just taken my bike and equipment — they’ve taken away everything I’ve dreamed about and worked hard towards for the last year.

I’ll be posting updates on the blog as news becomes available / my plans evolve. Fallout from the last few days is still continuing and I’m sure things will change in the coming days.